Five minutes with Hans Corvers
The Motocross World Championship will stop in Lommel this weekend. Without a doubt the most talked about GP of the year. Lommel is known as the toughest race in the world. It is a real home race for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team. We asked team owner Hans Corvers four questions.
We have completed five of the nineteen GPs. Are you satisfied with your riders' results so far?
Hans Corvers: "Absolute! Two GP victories, five series victories, six podium places, the red plate and last week the full podium in the second series in the Czech Republic. Then you can only be satisfied. Yet we can still do better. Geerts is gradually gaining steam. If he does not suffer from pumped arms and can drive freely, he is clearly stronger than last season. Renaux is in the lead. I had already predicted before the season that he would make the most progress. Have you seen his first series in Loket? Riding from the back to fifth place on that difficult course. Cheers. And then there is our youngster, Benistant. I watched with wide eyes as he won a series in Maggiora and Loket. He has a lot to offer and we are going to enjoy him a lot. This is without a doubt the strongest team I have ever had. That complete podium in Loket is the best proof of this. Who would have thought so many years ago that the small Kemea team would pull off something like this? I already secretly dream of one day taking the full GP podium. Imagine."
The Grand Prix in Lommel is on the program this weekend. Is such a home race still special?
Hans Corvers: “Of course. Close to home, a lot of people coming to watch our boys. Normally we always organize something extra for our sponsors in Lommel. Some kind of VIP package. But because of corona we can't risk that. We want our riders to come into contact with other people as little as possible. Imagine if one of our boys were to become infected that way. We will never forgive ourselves for that. We are happy that we can race and that spectators are allowed again, albeit to a limited extent. Hopefully we can show off all the bells and whistles in Lommel again in 2022, because our loyal sponsors deserve that.”
You have won once with your team in Lommel so far, last year with Ben Watson. What is the goal this weekend?
Hans Corvers: “We shouldn't be shy about that: we are again aiming for a win, because we have three good sand riders in the team. Normally, Geerts should have an advantage in the Lommel sandbox. 5.000 spectators are allowed on Sunday. Half of that comes for Jago. Nice support. Jago also deserves to win his home GP. But I remain cautious. Just look at the past years. The rest doesn't stand still either. Not even within our own team. All three have top equipment. Yamaha has taken another huge step forward in that area this year. All three start with podium ambitions. Do you know what Benistant said to me the other day? Hans, you should stop saying that this is a learning year for me, that the top 10 is the goal. I already want to be a top three rider.”
The ultimate goal is of course the world title. With three riders in the top 7, this could even become an internal battle. How are you going to approach that?
Hans Corvers: “We do not hide our ambitions. We are indeed aiming for the world title. And yes, maybe it could become an internal battle. There is only 39 points difference between Renaux, who is in the lead, and Benistant in seventh place. Geerts is fifth on 33 points. So it is a very open championship. How are we going to handle it if it becomes a battle between teammates? Honestly… no idea. We've never experienced that before. So far the atmosphere is very good between the drivers. Off the court they fool around with each other. On the track they fight against each other, but with a lot of respect. It is up to us, the management, to ensure that that atmosphere remains that way.”
Photos: shotbyBavo
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