Frustrating weekend for KEMEA Racing-Yamaha
The Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 Team had a frustrating weekend in Agueda, Portugal. Bad luck and crashes hampered the ambitions of both riders in the sixth round of the FIM world championship. Jago Geerts, again very strong in the first series, finished 9th (3+DNF), Ben Watson 18th (18+14).
Saturday's qualifying race did not go as planned for the Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha riders. Watson crashed on the first lap and had to fight back from the very back. Not a simple task on the red clay court, with only one good line. The Briton finished 20th. Geerts, who suffered from a sore throat, rode an anonymous race and finished 11th.
GEERTS THIRD
Despite their poor starting positions, both Kemea Yamaha riders shot reasonably well out of the starting gate in the first heat. Watson entered the first corner in ninth place, Geerts in 12th. While the Belgian teenager already moved up a few places in the opening round, the Briton experienced déjà vu. Watson crashed on a wet spot on the first lap and had to start all over again.
Geerts was already in seventh place after one lap and gradually closed the gap on the riders in front of him. The teenager had good speed, made no mistakes and advanced to fourth place. In the last lap Jacobi crashed, allowing Geerts – who was under a lot of pressure from Evans – to finish third. Watson crossed the line in 18th place.
BAD LUCK
The second series couldn't have started worse for the Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 Team. Geerts received a hard blow from Olsen at the start and was almost last. After changing his glasses, Geerts started his catch-up race. One that ended when he couldn't avoid a crash just in front of him. Game over. Watson also had his share of bad luck. He saw someone fall right in front of him at the start, so he had to restart from the back. The Briton worked hard and was able to come back to 14th place.
Despite his DNF, Geerts is still fourth in the world championship. Watson, on the other hand, drops from five to seven.
#193 Jago Geerts
“A very frustrating day. Even though I was a bit sick, I still felt good on the bike. The first series went very well. I built up slowly and was able to move up from seven to three. But the second series ruined everything. At the start, Olsen suddenly came out from the inside and gave me a shout-out. My glasses were even damaged. I was almost last and had to change glasses. I then started overtaking and had a good rhythm until Vaessen crashed right in front of me. There was no way I could avoid him. End of story. Very annoying, especially because I couldn't do anything about it myself.”
#919 Ben Watson
“A horrible weekend. About a copy of last week. It already started with a bad result in the qualifying race on Saturday. So I knew I faced a tough challenge on this job. Still, I got a pretty good start in the first heat, but unfortunately I slipped on a wet spot on the first lap. After that it was very difficult to gain positions on this circuit. Same story in series two. Beaton went down right in front of me at the start. I couldn't avoid him and had to start over last. 18 and 14 in the series, that's really bad. I do not know how it happened. I'm working harder than ever this year, but the results are just the opposite. Very bizarre.”
Marnicq Bervoets
“A miserable weekend for our team. We could have come closer to third place in the World Cup, but it was just the opposite. Watson is currently going through a difficult period. We have already talked a lot, but it is not easy to find a ready-made solution. He just needs one good result to get going. Hopefully that result will come soon. Geerts' first series was the only highlight of our weekend. Jago drove very smartly. Unfortunately for him, his podium chances were ruined at the start of the second series, when Olsen sold him a fries. Well, we just have to keep working hard for that third place in the World Cup.”
Posted: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Photo: Yamaha
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