Difficult first race in Riola Sardo for Kemea-Yamaha
The Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 Team had a difficult first race of 2019. Ben Watson (4+9) suffered a lot from pumped arms in the international opening race in Riola Sardo, while Jago Geerts (14+DNF) had bad luck in both series .
Watson started reasonably well (fifth) in the MX2 race, but was unable to keep up with the pace of the leaders. The Brit was slowed down by pumped up arms and wisely decided not to take unnecessary risks. At the end of the series, Watson still managed to move up one spot and finish fourth. Geerts got off to a bad start, but fought back to eighth place. When he wanted to move up one place in the last lap, he fell to the ground. Unfortunately, Geerts was unable to start his engine again.
The same story for Geerts in the Superfinal, with the best MXGP riders. The Belgian was unable to avoid a crash just in front of him and had to restart last. Just like in the first series, he made up a lot of positions (twelfth). But then he was driven off the track by another rider and could not continue. Watson also suffered a lot from pumped up arms in the second series. Despite that problem, he still managed to finish ninth. “If you only look at the results, it was not a good day for us,” says team manager Marnicq Bervoets. “Yet I also saw some good ones today. Jago came back strong twice, but was unlucky at the end just as many times. Ben, who was struggling with his arms, did not reach his normal level, but rode a smart race by not doing anything crazy. We did have some problems today. Also with the engine. It is now up to us to find a solution to this as quickly as possible.”
#193 Jago Geerts
“The driving itself was quite good, everything else was not. I had a very bad start in the first heat. I was almost last, but I was still able to come back to eighth place. Unfortunately I crashed on the last lap when I was trying to catch another rider, after which I couldn't get my bike going anymore. The second race, along with the 450s, was similar. I had a mediocre start, but couldn't avoid a fall right in front of me. I had to start overtaking from the very back again. I came back nicely to 12th place, but then I was knocked off my feet, so I could no longer continue. A disappointment. The results were not what I had hoped for, but fortunately the driving itself was good.”
#919 Ben Watson
“Honestly, this was a poor day. I suffered a lot from pumped up arms. Bizarre, because I've never had that problem before. But that made it very difficult to run the race I had in mind. I didn't want to take unnecessary risks and therefore rode far below my normal pace. It is now up to me and the team to find solutions. We will continue to try new things. And definitely change some things, such as the position of the steering wheel for example. We still have a few weeks to find the perfect set-up. The most important thing is that we have it ready by the first Grand Prix in Argentina.”
Next match: February 3, Ottobiano (Ita)
Posted: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Door: Kemea-Yamaha
Photo: Kemea-Yamaha
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