Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Jago Geerts made an impression at the fourth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Agueda, Portugal, making amends to his first race woes with a convincing victory in Race 2. The result was enough to see the 21-year-old make the third step of the podium, and by maintaining his 100% podium streak in 2022, he has retained a 16-point advantage at the top of the MX2 Championship Leader board. Teammate Thibault Benistant made a solid return to racing with two consistent rides for seventh overall.
Geerts got the Portuguese Grand Prix off to an inch-perfect start. The Belgian was flawless on Saturday, leading every lap of the Qualifying Race to secure his third consecutive Qualifying Race win. At the same time, after a five-month break from racing, while recovering from an ACL ligament repair, Benistant suffered from arm-pump during his first race back but fought hard to qualify 12th position.
Starting from Pole Position in the championship races, Geerts got off to a decent start in Race 1 but had his hand come off the handlebar on the landing of a small step-up jump and was thrown to the ground on lap 2. The ‘93’ had to make a brave remount and while it seemed inconceivable for the Belgian to bounce back from the spectacular fall with the Agueda circuit proving hard to pass on, he dug deep and put on a compelling display of heart and determination as he charged to a ninth-place finish.
Determined to salvage as many championship points as possible, the YZ250FM ace bounced back with a vengeance in Race 2. The 21-year-old showed how potent he is this season, charging back from fourth to pass some of the strongest championship contenders on his way to an emphatic race win – his fourth of the season and 24th of his career.
As for Benistant, the young Frenchman settled into a smooth and consistent rhythm in both races and made good progress throughout the weekend to finish seventh and eighth in the races for seventh overall.
After an incredible salvage operation, Geerts still maintains a 16-point lead in the MX2 World Championship, while Yamaha continues to lead the Manufacturers’ Classification by 2-points over KTM. Having missed the first three rounds through injury, Benistant put his first score on the board and now leaves Portugal 18th in the World Championship classification.
The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place next weekend, April 7th and 8th, in Pietramurata, Italy.
Jago Geerts
3rd MX2 Grand Prix of Portugal, 37-points
MX2 Championship Leader, 174-points
“I’m really happy about my riding today, although I am not so happy about my mistake in the first heat, but these things can happen. I managed to do some damage control and finish ninth. In the second heat, I felt really good on the track and was happy with the way I rode. I just want to limit these mistakes more for the next rounds.”
Thibault Benistant
7th MX2 Grand Prix of Portugal, 27-points
18th MX2 Championship Standings, 27-points
“The weekend was difficult in the beginning. I felt quite tired and had to deal with arm-pump. But, over the weekend, it got better and better. I still had some arm-pump, so I had to focus on staying relaxed. I got two good starts today, although I was on the outside gate, so it was hard to stay at the front around the first turn, I just focused on finding my rhythm without pushing too hard. In both races my riding was not bad, and I think for a come-back ride, this was not too bad, so I will try to continue on this way and make a come-back step by step.”
