Kemea Yamaha started with two riders – Ben Watson and Jago Geerts – in the international race in Hawkstone Park. De third rider of the team, Vsevolod Brylyakov, preferred to stay longer in Sardinia for extra trainingsessions.
Both Watson and Geerts can look back on a solid race in Hawkstone Park. Watson sent his YZ250F in both MX2-races to a fifth place, good for a sixth spot overall. The 17-year-old Jago Geerts also put in a strong performance. Even though he suffered arm pump, the youngster finished ninth overall in the MX2 (after a tenth and eighth place in the heats).
Also in the Superfinale, with the best MXGP riders, the Kemea boys showed very good speed. Watson finished ninth, Geerts twelfth.
Next weekend, the Kemea Team will travel to France, to take part in the last race of the preseason in Lacapelle Marival. It’s the last test before the start of the world championship, on March 4, in Neuquen, Argentina.
Team manager Marnicq Bervoets
“The results were already better than in Riola Sardo. There was a lot more regularity in the performance of our boys. That is of course positive. Watson rode two solid MX2 races, but was not yet able to fight for the top three. He showed his best level in the Superfinal. His last ten minutes were brilliant. If he had showed that speed in de MX2-race, he would have finished on the podium. We can see Watson has a lot of potential. But Ben has to be more self-confident. Geerts was also pretty strong in Hawkstone Park. You can see that Jago has a lot to offer. He is of course very young, it’s up to us to make him grow steadily. Unfortunately: he was again struggling with arm pump. So he continues to work closely with Kemea’s physiotherapist. ”
First heat MX2
1. Pauls Jonass
2. Martin Barr +16.525
3. Thomas Kjer-Olsen +20.373
…
5. BEN WATSON (GBr/Yam) +36.654
10. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) +1:12.387
Second heat MX2
1. Pauls Jonass
2. Thomas Kjer Olsen, +3.397
3. Adam Sterry, +19.405
…
5. BEN WATSON (GBr/Yam) +27.219
8. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) +47.478
Overall MX2
1. Pauls Jonass 50
2. Thomas Kjer-Olsen 42
3. Conrad Mewse 36
…
6. BEN WATSON (GBr/Yam) 32
9. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) 24
Superfinal (MXGP+MX2)
1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Glenn Coldenhoff +3.734
3. Gautier Paulin +16.605
…
9. BEN WATSON (GBr/Yam) +1:09.241
12. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) +1 lap
Images Yamaha