Second MX2 world title for Tom Vialle
Even in his best World Cup season ever, Jago Geerts has to bow his head to Tom Vialle. The 21-year-old Frenchman won his second MX2 world title after a thriller in Turkey. Geerts ends up as vice world champion with just 4(!) points.
After two disappointing GPs in Finland and Sweden, Geerts saw a lead of 23 points melt away to just 2 points before the final and decisive round in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
Start-finish victory Tom Vialle
The all-important holeshot in the first series went to Tom Vialle. He had Kay De Wolf and Simon Langenfelder behind him, while Geerts got stuck at the start. After a nervous opening round, the World Cup leader had climbed to third place behind De Wolf.
In no time Vialle built up a lead of 3 seconds. In the meantime, it took Jago quite some time to pass a strong De Wolf. In the fourth round the Balenaar still took the measure of the Negaan Husqvarna rider.
Geerts then steadily chipped away at Vialle's lead, but with less than 10 minutes to go he slid in a corner. This allowed De Wolf to regain second place, but 'The Jag' made an excellent recovery and quickly struck back. The gap with Viale turned out to be too big, so Jago had to be satisfied with second place.
De Wolf (photo above) finished third, ahead of teammate van de Moosdijk and Längenfelder. Liam Everts finished neatly sixth. The first round was less positive for wildcard driver Rick Elzinga. The ZMX250 champion hurt his wrist and gave up.
Vialle wins all or nothing duel
Although Vialle had an excellent starting reaction, Geerts persevered and took a crucial holeshot. Title rival Vialle started his race in third place but resolutely attacked. On the second lap the Frenchman took the lead. This marked the beginning of a game of cat and mouse.
Geerts increased the pressure and came alongside several times without completing a decisive overtake. Halfway through the race, leader Vialle made a mistake, but Jago, who was just behind, could no longer avoid the fallen KTM rider and lost most of the time!
With 9 laps to go the Frenchman led by 4,3 seconds. However, Geerts' recovery was interrupted by a second slide. As a result, the 16-time GP winner was beaten back to more than 12 seconds. In the final phase, the Monster Energy Yamaha leader launched a final offensive, but he would not get closer than 4 seconds. So Vialle deservedly leaves for the US with two world titles in his suitcase. From 5 he will compete for Red Bull KTM in the AMA Supercross and Motocross.
Roan van de Moosdijk (4-3) ended his last race of the season with a deserved attempt, Husqvarna colleague De Wolf finished fourth. Liam Everts finished 2th in both the Turkish GP and the final standings of the MX10 world championship. MX2 rookie Kay Karssemakers (Hitachi KTM Fueled by Milwaukee) finished neatly 11th. The 18-year-old Brabander is in turn 14th in the final score, just after van de Moosdijk.
For many riders, the belt is now coming off after a long and tough season. Those selected for the MX of Nations have just under three weeks to prepare for the most important MX race in the world!
MX2 Race 1
1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 34:40.047; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:10.015; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:18.089; 4. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Husqvarna), +0:25.823; 5. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:29.658; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:39.076; 7. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +0:44.717; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, GASGAS), +0:45.908; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +0:48.473; 10. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +1:04.158; 11. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:19.606; 12. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KTM), +1:20.358; 13. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Kawasaki), +1:31.999; 14. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Fantic), +1:42.007; 15. Emil Weckman (FIN, Honda), +1:49.108; 16. Jakub Teresak (CZE, KTM), +1:54.274; 17. Cas Valk (NED, Fantic), -1 lap(s); 18. Scotty Verhaeghe (FRA, KTM), -1 lap(s); 19. Hakan Halmi (BUL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Dimitar Grozdanov (BUL, GASGAS), -2 lap(s); 21. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), -6 lap(s); 22. Stephen Rubini (FRA, Honda), -15 lap(s);
MX2 Race 2
1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 33:51.211; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:06.022; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Husqvarna), +0:23.505; 4. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:26.610; 5. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:27.812; 6. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:37.609; 7. Andrea Adamo (NOW, GASGAS), +0:57.357; 8. No Banner (SLO, KTM), +0:59.866; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +1:03.034; 10. Stephen Rubini (FRA, Honda), +1:24.307; 11. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KTM), +1:36.029; 12. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +1:42.642; 13. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Fantic), +1:43.907; 14. Jakub Teresak (CZE, KTM), +1:46.722; 15. Scotty Verhaeghe (FRA, KTM), -1 lap(s); 16. Cas Valk (NED, Fantic), -1 lap(s); 17. Emil Weckman (FIN, Honda), -1 lap(s); 18. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 19. Hakan Halmi (BUL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Dimitar Grozdanov (BULL, GAS), -4 lap(s); 21. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Kawasaki), -7 lap(s);
MX2 GP Turkey final standings
1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Geerts Trade (BEL, YAM), 44 p.; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 38 p.; 4. Kay de Wolf (DOWN, HOUSE), 35 p.; 5. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 32 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 29 p.; 7. Andrea Adamo (ITA, GAS), 27 p.; 8. No Banner (SLO, KTM), 27 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, CAW), 24 p.; 10. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 24 p.; 11. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KTM), 19 p.; 12. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, FAN), 15 p.; 13. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 13 p.; 14. Jacob Teresak (CZE, KTM), 12 p.; 15. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 11 p.; 16. Emil Weckman (FIN, HON), 10 p.; 17. Scotty Verhaeghe (FRA, KTM), 9 p.; 18. Cas Valk (NED, FAN), 9 p.; 19. Mikkel Haarup (THEN, COW), 8 p.; 20. Hakan Halmi (BUL, KTM), 4 p.; 21. Dimitar Grozdanov (BULL, GAS), 2 p.; 22. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 0 p.;
MX2 World Championship final standings
1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 758 points; 2. Geerts Trade (BEL, YAM), 754 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 596 p.; 4. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, COW), 527 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 510 p.; 6. Kay de Wolf (DOWN, HOUSE), 445 p.; 7. Mikkel Haarup (THEN, COW), 443 p.; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, GAS), 437 p.; 9. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 384 p.; 10. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 310 p.; 11. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 284 p.; 12. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 255 p.; 13. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 214 p.; 14. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KTM), 195 p.; 15. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 179 p.; 16. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 172 p.; 17. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, HON), 125 p.; 18. Jacob Teresak (CZE, KTM), 119 p.; 19. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 113 p.; 20. Jeremy Sydow (GER, KTM), 104 p.; 21. Petr Polak (CZE, HON), 84 p.; 22. Kevin Brumann (SUI, YAM), 82 p.; 23. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 49 p.; 24. Joel Rizzi (GBR, YAM), 49 p.; 25. Filip Olsson (SWE, HUS), 43 p.; 26. Guillem Farres (ESP, KTM), 38 p.; 27. Tomas Kohut (SVK, KTM), 38 p.; 28. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 34 p.; 29. Leopold Ambjörnson (SWE, HUS), 33 p.; 30. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), 32 p.; 31. Albin Gerhardsson (SWE, HUS), 30 p.; 32. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), 26 p.; 33. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), 26 p.; 34. Delvintor Alfarizi (INA, HON), 23 p.; 35. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 23 p.; 36. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), 21 p.; 37. Emil Weckman (FIN, HON), 21 p.; 38. Ananda rigi Aditya (INA, HUS), 19 p.; 39. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), 19 p.; 40. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, KAW), 19 p.; 41. Noah Ludwig (GER, KTM), 19 p.; 42. Diva Ismayana (INA, KAW), 18 p.; 43. Nakami Vidi Makarim (INA, HUS), 18 p.; 44. Dharwin Lingam (MAS, KAW), 17 p.; 45. Pablo Jeremias Pascual (ARG, KTM), 16 p.; 46. Luciano Righi (ARG, HUS), 16 p.; 47. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, FAN), 15 p.; 48. Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 14 p.; 49. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, KTM), 13 p.; 50. Fermin Ciccimarra (ARG, YAM), 12 p.; 51. Maxime Grau (FRA, HUS), 11 p.; 52. Florent Lambillon (BEL, SUZ), 11 p.; 53. Scotty Verhaeghe (FRA, KTM), 9 p.; 54. David Braceras (ESP, KTM), 9 p.; 55. Cas Valk (NED, FAN), 9 p.; 56. James Carpenter (GBR, KTM), 7 p.; 57. Samuel Nilsson (ESP, KTM), 7 p.; 58. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), 7 p.; 59. Kimi Koskinen (FIN, GAS), 4 p.; 60. Christopher Mills (GBR, KTM), 4 p.; 61. Hakan Halmi (BUL, KTM), 4 p.; 62. Dorian Werlé (FRA, KTM), 4 p.; 63. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 4 p.; 64. Maximilian Spies (GER, KTM), 4 p.; 65. Nico Greutmann (GER, HUS), 3 p.; 66. Adam Collings (GBR, KTM), 2 p.; 67. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 2 p.; 68. Dimitar Grozdanov (BUL, GAS), 2 p.; 69. Bobby Bruce (GBR, GAS), 2 p.; 70. Eric Tomas (ESP, YAM), 1 p.;
Photos: Ray Archer, Full Spectrum Media
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