The Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha Team took a mediocre start at the FIM World Championship MX2. Both Watson and Geerts had their share of bad luck at the Grand Prix of Argentina. Ben finished sixth, teammate Jago came home in eighth position.
Geerts piloted his YZ250F to a fourth position in the start of the first moto, while teammate Watson started as tenth. Geerts tried to follow the pace of the top three riders, but also had to pay attention for some strong guys hunting him. In the third lap the Belgian – who struggled with his goggles – was first passed by Vlaanderen and later by Olsen. Meanwhile, Watson was stuck in ninth place, just behind his compatriot Sterry. It took Ben almost 20 minutes to find his rhythm. Once found, Watson moved up to sixth place after passing Sterry, Vialle and Geerts, who had a late crash and finished 11th.
Watson took a great start in the second moto, just behind Prado en Evans. But after a short trip off the track and a crash the Brit fell back to 11th place. Geerts went the other way around: from 11th at the start to 7th. The Belgian teenager could move up one more place and finished just in front of his teammate Watson, who came back strong at the end.
“To be honest, we expected more points”, said team owner Hans Corvers. “But we also saw positive things from our riders. They just didn’t have luck on their side this weekend. Jago had problems with his goggles and crashed in the first moto, Ben went down in the second moto. Luckily, they escaped without an injury. The season is very long, still a lot can happen. Up to the next one!”
#193 Jago Geerts
8th overall
“Eighth overall, that’s not too bad for the first grand prix of the year. Although it could have been better. Both in the qualifying race and in the first moto I had problems with my goggles. I didn’t have a clear vision. That’s why I crashed in the first moto. A pity, as I was riding in 7the position at the moment. My start was really bad in the second moto, but the riding was much better. I came back into sixth position, which was pretty good.”
#919 Ben Watson
6th overall
“I am disappointed to say the least. I expect much more from myself and maybe this is why I feel like this. I was not really happy with my riding all weekend, although my speed was not that bad. A bad start in race 1 and too slow to pass riders made it difficult for me. I had a better start in moto 2, but first went off track and then crashed, dropping back to 11. I could only reach position 7 after a difficult race. It’s a long season and I am looking forward to the next one.”
RESULTS MX2
First moto
1. Jorge Prado (Esp/KTM)
2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Den/Hus) +0:16.677
3. Henry Jacobi (Ger/Kaw) +0:23.565
4. Calvin Vlaanderen (Ned/Hon) +0:25.535
5. Mitchell Evans (Aus/Hon) +0:27.289
6. BEN WATSON (GBr/Yam) +0:29.198
11. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) +1:01.848
Second moto
1. Jorge Prado (Esp/KTM)
2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Den/Hus) +0:04.825
3. Mitchell Evans (Aus/Hon) +0:12.437
4. Calvin Vlaanderen (Ned/Hon) +0:23.647
5. Henry Jacobi (Ger/Kaw) +0:30.601
6. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) +0:31.623
7. BEN WATSON (GBr/Yam) +0:34.405
Overall
1. Jorge Prado (Esp/KTM) 50
2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Den/Hus) 44
3. Mitchell Evans (Aus/Hon) 36
4. Calvin Vlaanderen (Ned/Hon) 36
5. Henry Jacobi (Ger/Kaw) 36
6. BEN WATSON (GBr/Yam) 29
8. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) 25
Next race: March 17, Dutch Masters in Axel
Images Yamaha Racing