Geerts and co about the season opener
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team had a difficult World Cup start in Russia. Maxime Renaux finished sixth in Orlyonok, Thibault Benistant eleventh and Jago Geerts – who is struggling with a knee injury – twelfth.
Lovely sunshine, a spectacular circuit and – finally – a big crowd: what else do you need? Good starts of course. But that's where the shoe pinched for the three Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 riders.
In the first series, all three were hidden deep in the belly of the peloton. Renaux entered the first corner in 17th place, Geerts rode just outside the top 20 and Benistant himself was very last after a crash. The trio therefore faced a tough catch-up race on the fast and hilly track, right next to the Black Sea.
Renaux quickly moved up to eighth place, but then hung behind Pancar, Beaton and Hofer for a little too long. The Frenchman, third in the World Cup last year, kept pushing and was eventually able to beat the trio. After a small fall in the final phase, in which he lost one place, Renaux crossed the line in sixth place.
Geerts had moved up to 15th place in three laps, but was then knocked off his feet. The Balenian lost a lot of time and had to fight back from 22nd position. The vice world champion fought for every spot and point and managed to finish 17th. Two places behind his teammate Beninstant, who pulled off a decent catch-up race after falling at the start.
Geert's sixth
In the second series again not a very good start for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 riders. Renaux was eighth in the first corner, but crashed on the whoops on the first lap. The Frenchman was able to start a recovery in 26th place.
Geerts, who was eleventh out of the starting gate, immediately moved up to seventh place. Rubini was his next victim. Jago continued to hold on to sixth place, even when he was put under intense pressure in the final phase, first by De Wolf and then by teammate Benistant - who had come from 16th place. Geerts cracked, but did not break. Benistant just finished in his wheel. And Renaux? He set strong lap times and fought his way from 26th to 9th place. A nice recovery.
Maxime Renaux, 6th: “This is not the best start to the season. In the first series I had to work hard after a weak start. I got back to fifth place, but then had a small crash and lost another place. My start was a lot better in the second series, around eighth place, but in the first lap things went wrong again. I hit a rut a little too hard and hit the ground. I had to start a catch-up race last. One that took me to ninth place. The speed was quite good, but my starts need to be much better. If you want to play for the stage, you have to be at the front straight away. That's the most important lesson I learned today.”
Thibault Benistant, 11th: “That crash at the start of the first series immediately made my job a lot more difficult. Well, crashes are also a part of motocross. After that crash I had difficulty finding a good rhythm and passing other riders, so I only finished 15th. In the second series I took a mediocre start, around fifteenth place. This time I found a good rhythm quite quickly. In the end I finally felt really good about this job. I came very close to Iago. He is my teammate so I was a little more careful. I didn't want to do anything crazy and crash. My overall feeling? That we still have quite a bit of work to do.”
Jago Geerts, 12th: “Normally, twelfth place is not a good result for me. But today I am happy with those 19 points. One week ago it looked like I wouldn't be able to start in Russia after sustaining a knee injury in Ernée. So I can't complain about this result. During the timed training I still felt insecure, but as the day went on it got better and better. It's a pity that I was crashed in the first moto. Otherwise I might have been able to get four or five more points. My second series was solid. At the end I was still under a lot of pressure, but I was still able to hold on to sixth place. Not bad. And especially important: my knee injury has not worsened.”
Photos: CDS & shotbyBavo
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