Eighth podium in a row for Maxime Renaux
Maxime Renaux took his eighth podium in a row at round 12 of the FIM MX2 World Championship in Lacapelle-Marival. The Frenchman finished third in front of his own people after two tough overtaking races. Geerts (ill) finished fifth, Benistant (sore shoulder) seventh. Renaux already has a 91 point lead over Geerts in the World Cup.
Although a Grand Prix has never been organized in Lacapelle-Marival before, the hard, compact track is not an unknown place for most riders. The French circuit has been on the calendar for years as a preparatory race. As always in France, the spectators came to Lacapelle-Marival in large numbers. There was a great atmosphere, including horns and chainsaws. “The audience is going crazy,” said Maxime Renaux on Saturday, after his Go Pro round. The timed practice was a spectacle in itself with only nine-tenths of a second between the first and thirteenth rider! Renaux set the second fastest time, Benistant was fifth, Geerts twelfth.
Great line
Remarkable: Geerts – who fell ill on the night from Saturday to Sunday – took the best start of the three Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 riders. The Belgian settled just behind Vialle on his YZ250FM, while Benistant entered the first corner in fifth. World Cup leader Renaux missed his start and had to work his way to the front from eleventh position. Not an easy task on the compact French track. While most riders were struggling to make up places, Renaux found a great line on the whoops and was able to overtake his rivals in the corner. Van De Moosdijk was Renaux's first victim, followed by Hofer, Benistant and Geerts. Always in the same place. A great catch-up race by Renaux, who crossed the line in fourth. Just ahead of teammates Geerts – who had made a small mistake at the beginning of the series – and Benistant.
91 points lead
A similar start for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 riders in series 2. Geerts again shot best (third) out of the starting gate, two spots ahead of Benistant. Renaux missed his start again (9th). While Benistant lost a few positions in the initial phase, Renaux started another mission. The World Cup leader quickly moved up to fifth place and then put heavy pressure on Hofer and Geerts. Maxim took the Austrian inside and then needed a few attempts to move past Geerts to third place. But that was not enough for Renaux, who immediately chased Guadagnini. In no time he was hanging on the Italian's rear wheel. After a clever maneuver, Renaux moved to second place, good for third place in the GP final standings. His eighth podium in a row! The ill Geerts held on well in fourth place, which gave him fifth place in the final standings. Finally, Benistant finished seventh in both heat two and the GP.
Renaux did a good job again in his hunt for the world title. The Frenchman increased his lead again. With six Grand Prix to go, Maxime is already 91 points ahead of his first pursuer, Jago Geerts.
#93 Jago Geerts
“I was struck by the stomach flu on the night from Saturday to Sunday. I had a fever, was vomiting, had diarrhea and also had muscle pain everywhere. On Sunday morning it was doubtful whether I would start. Luckily I did that anyway. I took two good starts, which of course helped a lot. During the series I noticed that I couldn't really fight, that I couldn't find that extra bit of energy. Considering that stomach flu, a fifth place is far from bad. Hopefully I can fully recover by next weekend.”
#198 Thibault Benistant
“I cannot be satisfied with this result. I am disappointed in myself. Especially because I rode here in front of my own audience. I wanted to show more. Although I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I had a pretty bad fall during training last week. I still had a lot of pain in my shoulder this weekend. In the second series stomach problems were added. Probably due to the medication for my shoulder pain. The disadvantage is that we now have many GPs in a short time. Hopefully a week will be enough to fully recover.”
#959 Maxime Renaux
“It was a very tough day. My two series were a copy of each other. After a missed start I always had to fight back from eleventh or twelfth position. Believe me, not an easy task on this course. Passing is really difficult here. I am very satisfied with the driving itself. I was able to perform some nice passing maneuvers and also fought a few nice maneuvers. One big negative: my starts. They definitely need to improve! Well, back on the podium, another nice step forward in the title fight.”
Posted: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Door: Yamaha
Photos: CDS
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