Benistant second for his own people, problems Geerts
Thibault Benistant finished second in the French championship in Ernée on Sunday. The reigning EMX250 champion finished second in both MX2 series. Jago Geerts was stuck in 12th place, after a fifth place and a DNF.
Only two of the three riders of the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team traveled to Ernée: Jago Geerts and Thibault Benistant. Maxime Renaux opted for a weekend off so that he is mentally and physically fresh for the start of the world championships in Russia next weekend.
Weak starts
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory duo did not shoot well out of the starting gate in the first heat. Benistant entered the field tenth, Geerts was almost last after he narrowly avoided a crash after a tap from Langenfelder. The Balenian – wearing number 364 for the occasion – also suffered from pumped up arms in the initial phase, which made it difficult for him to advance forward. At the front, Benistant had moved up to fourth place, but he wanted more. The Frenchman – who rode for his own people – kept pushing and moved up two more places to finish second. Geerts eventually found the right rhythm and after a long catch-up race, he crossed the line in fifth place.
DNF Geerts
Benistant made a strong start in the second series on his YZ250FM. The Frenchman dived just behind his compatriot Vialle in the first corner and fought for the lead for five laps. Geerts, on the other hand, got away poorly again (17th), but was able to make up quite a few places in the opening phase. After four laps he was already sixth. But then things went wrong. Jago made a mistake and fell to the ground. The vice world champion lost a lot of time and places and then decided to quit the fight. Benistant also crashed, but fortunately did not lose a position and finished second again.
#93 Jago Geerts
“I had two very bad starts today, which of course made the job a lot more difficult. In the first series I was almost last and I also suffered from pumped up arms. Still, I was able to come back to fifth place. Far from bad. In the second series, after another poor start, I fought back to sixth place. But then I made a stupid mistake and went down. I was too far behind and didn't want to take any more risks."
#198 Thibault Benistant
“I'm quite satisfied with my two races. The feeling on the bike was excellent, the setting was top notch. It was also fun to ride in front of the public again, even though it wasn't the big crowd yet. It was especially a very good final test in view of the World Cup, which starts next week. Too bad about that little slider in the second series. I would have liked to duel with Vialle longer.”
Posted: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Gallery MX July
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