Slippery and stony FIM Motocross World Championship Pietramurata Italy

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An eventful 15th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Pietramurata, Italy, saw Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Jago Geerts secure second overall after two contrasting races. At the same time, Maxime Renaux salvaged enough points to round out the top-five. As a result, Geerts has strengthened his place in the championship, which is currently second position – 16-points clear of the rider in third and 87-points shy of the leader, Renaux.

 

The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team returned to the hard-packed, tight and compact Ciclamino circuit for the second of three back-to-back races to take place in one week, excited for another day of thrilling MX2 action.

 

Geerts made a customary fast start to the opening race and latched onto the back of the defending champion Tom Vialle. As the pair pushed each other, their pace was so rapid that they quickly left the rest of the pack far behind. Meanwhile, Renaux was again caught in a first-turn melee but was fortunate to keep his YZ250FM up on two-wheels.

 

After crossing the first sector outside of the top-20, the French ace had to brawl his way through the pack. Fighting his own battle through the undulating twists and turns of the circuit, it seemed the ‘959’ was the only rider able to make passes and he was impressive in his pursuit before another rider carelessly cut him off, causing him to crash.

 

As Renaux rejoined the race and fought back to seventh, Geerts was forced to settle for second at the flag.

 

Thibault Benistant was also caught in the first turn carnage. He freed himself from the first-turn entanglement but suffered some unbearable arm-pump as he tried to fight back, and eventually finished 15th.

 

In race two, Renaux rocketed to a top-three start as Geerts got squeezed to the back of the pack. Fired up and determined to prove his place at the top of the championship, Renaux passed Vialle and briefly led the opening lap until the ‘28’ made an aggressive attempt to fight back and ended up taking both riders out.

 

Renaux rejoined the race on the cusp of the top-10 but was distracted by a piece of wire that was stuck in his rear wheel and whipping his leg throughout the race. Worried that the bike may have been damaged in the crash, the YZ250FM star tried to stay calm and collect as many points as possible. He ended up finishing fourth.

 

Meanwhile, Geerts bounced back from a challenging opening lap and made some outstanding passes despite the challenge of a slick and ‘hard-to-pass’ circuit. The fast-moving Belgian managed to cross the finish line in sixth, which secured him enough points to mount the second step of the podium.

 

As for Benistant, the young rookie struggled to get comfortable on the slippery, stony surface and made the most of a difficult day to finish ninth in the final race and 12th overall.

 

Following the results from the MXGP of Pietramurata, all three riders have retained their respective positions in the MX2 championship standings. With three rounds remaining in 2021, Renaux leads by 87-points over Geerts. Benistant remains seventh.

 

The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will be the third Grand Prix to take place in the space of seven days. It will take place here in Pietramurata on Sunday 31st October.

 

Jago Geerts

2nd MX2 Grand Prix of Trentino, 37-points

2nd MX2 Championship Standings, 508-points

“The first heat was really good with a good start and I was the whole moto behind Tom (Vialle), but it was difficult to pass, so I was close, but second. In the second heat, I went too early off the start and messed it up, and then I was back in 25th or something after the first lap, but I managed to come back strong, to sixth, which was enough for second overall. Overall, I am really happy with my riding, and I hope to come back on Sunday and get two good starts and then see what we can do.”

 

Maxime Renaux

5th MX2 Grand Prix of Trentino, 32-points

MX2 Championship Leader, 595-points

“It was another tough day for me today. I had a terrible start in the first race and then another rider took me out. So, it was a hard charge to get back to seventh. I had a much better start in the second race, was second out of turn-one and directly went for the lead. I moved into first, and then the rider that was second just tried to enter where there was no space, so we collided and crashed, and then I was off the track. Then I had a cable caught in my rear wheel and it was slapping me, so I was scared something was broken on the bike and didn’t want it to block on a jump or something like that. Overall, two really strange motos, but overall, I am happy. I am really looking forward to the last race with two good starts and I will try to be up front.”

 

Thibault Benistant

12th MX2 Grand Prix of Trentino, 18-points

7th MX2 Championship Standings, 384-points

“Today was really difficult for me. I didn’t have a good feeling on the track and was only 13th in Timed Practice. In the first moto, I was stuck in the first corner with another rider, and then I had really bad arm-pump because we are trying new things on the bike and I was not feeling too good with this. In the second race, I tried to find my rhythm, but it was not really easy for me this week.”

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