Geerts Takes MX2 Championship Lead after Incredible Qualifying Race Win, Renaux & Coldenhoff Start MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina in Third & Seventh
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Jago Geerts powered his YZ250FM to pole position at the opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Villa la Angostura, Argentina. The 22-year-old Belgian was awarded 10 points for the Qualifying Race win and will start the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina tomorrow as the MX2 Championship leader. At the same time, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Maxime Renaux put in a scintillating performance to finish third in the MXGP-class qualifier, while teammate Glenn Coldenhoff fought to eighth.
The MX2 Qualifying Race was marked by Geerts speed and skill aboard the Factory YZ250FM. The ‘93’ took an impressive holeshot and quickly broke free, leading all 14-laps for an inch-perfect race win.
Thibault Benistant went bar-to-bar with his teammate Geerts around turn one but took longer than expected to find his race rhythm and ultimately finished fifth. At the same time, Rick Elzinga bounced back from a mediocre launch to start his rookie season inside the top 10. He was 10th.
The extremely fast-paced, wide and jumpy Patagonia Race Track made for intense racing. In MXGP, Jeremy Seewer started fifth and moved up to third after a thrilling battle with Pauls Jonass but could not finish after a spectacular high-speed crash. Fortunately, the 28-year-old Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP rider walked away unscathed and will be on the gate tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Renaux put in an incredible performance, charging hard from tenth to third, while Coldenhoff fought back from a mid-pack start to finish seventh.
Jago Geerts
MX2 Qualifying Race Winner, 10-points
MX2 Championship Leader, 10-points
“I am really happy with my Qualifying Race today. I had a really good start, took the holeshot and just rode a good pace for the whole race to take the win. This track is nice; it’s getting quite bumpy already, so I think it will be good for racing tomorrow. Overall, I am happy with today after a few difficult weeks.”
