Geerts wins GP, Benistant misses the GP!
Jago Geerts has won the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic in Loket for the second year in a row. Rick Elzinga finished twelfth. Thibault Benistant was the unlucky one of the weekend. The Frenchman had a serious crash on Saturday and was not allowed to start again on Sunday. Mixed feelings in the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team.
The FIM World Championship took place in Loket, Czech Republic, for round 12. A picturesque medieval town known for two things. One: as a filming location for the Bond film Casino Royale in 2006. And two: as host for the Motocross World Championship. In 1995, the old school circuit – with its strange surface and steep slopes – was the scene of a Grand Prix for the first time. This weekend they were already at edition 26 in Loket.
Heavy crash
On Saturday the mercury rose to 36 degrees in Loket. So it was a lot of work, but the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 riders initially seemed to feel good about those tough conditions. Benistant was the fastest in time training, Geerts set the fourth fastest time and Elzinga finished ninth. Three drivers in the top 10: promising. Unfortunately, things turned out completely differently afterwards. Geerts did not get into his normal rhythm in the qualifying race and was stuck in sixth place. Elzinga did not get further than P12. But the unlucky one was Benistant. The Frenchman was tagged at the start, crashed hard and had several riders run over him. Titi had to be taken to hospital with chest pain. Fortunately, no fractures or other serious injuries were found there. Yet Thibault was not given permission to start by the FIM doctor on Sunday. A huge setback for the Frenchman, who was second in the World Cup at the time.
Cannon launch
New day, new opportunities, Geerts must have thought on Sunday morning. The Belgian took a cannon start in the first heat on his YZ250FM and entered the first corner with an engine length lead. Jago clearly felt a lot better about himself than the day before. The vice world champion kept a tight pace, but at the end saw Horgmo approaching within a second and a half. But Iago did not let the Norwegian come closer. Good for his ninth series victory of the season. Elzinga fought the entire race for a place in the top 10. Something the Dutchman also just managed. No new holeshot for Geerts in series two. The Belgian moved from P8 to P4 in the first lap. Jago had to let Adamo pass on lap three, but then beat McLellan and Sacha Coenen to take third place. More than enough for GP victory. Number five already this season, his 21st in total. Elzinga had a disastrous start (19th), but still managed to advance to P13.
Geerts again reduced his deficit to Adamo by seven points this weekend. He is now third in the World Cup, 40 points behind the Italian World Cup leader. The unfortunate Benistant drops from P2 to P4 in the World Cup standings. Elzinga remains eleventh.
#93 Jago Geerts
“GP win and seven points back: then I can only be satisfied. Especially after Saturday. Loket has never been my favorite job. Certainly not at the beginning of my career. And on Saturday I had such a bad feeling here again. We then made some minor adjustments to the engine and that immediately paid off in the first series. I took the holeshot and was able to control it quite easily afterwards. The second series was completely different again. My start was a lot worse and that bad feeling from Saturday hit me again. When I got to third place and saw that Adamo and Längenfelder were too far away, I just secured that place. I didn't feel like taking unnecessary risks here.”
#44 Rick Elzinga
“It was my first time in Loket. I have to say, this is a damn special job. A hard surface, with a layer of gravel on top so that you slide across the track, as it were. And that took some getting used to for me. I am quite satisfied with the driving itself. Only my starts let me down a bit. And of course you make it very difficult for yourself on this course. Passing here is very difficult. I also lacked some aggressiveness in my passing maneuvers. Yet I have taken another step forward. I have to elaborate on that further. Now we have some sand racing coming up. I am certainly not a specialist, but anything is better than this Czech surface.”
Posted: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Gallery: ShotbyBavo
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