Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha rider Jago Geerts had a bad day at the office in Uddevalla, at round 16 of the FIM World Championship MX2. The Belgian teenager only finished 11th (14+8) in Sweden, but luckily remains third in the championship.

No Ben Watson in Uddevalla, as the Brit is recovering from a wrist fracture. Geerts was the sole Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha rider to line up at the Glimming Motorstadion. The Belgian teenager, who is fighting for the third spot in the world championship, didn’t feel at ease on the undulating hard pack track. Geerts missed his start in the first race (13th), made a small crash on lap 7 and dropped back to 17th place. Passing was very difficult on the one-lined track and Geerts could only recover to 14th place.

Geerts’ start in race 2 was a bit better: he was eight in the first turn and moved up two more places in the beginning of the race. But things went wrong went he tried to attack Walsh. Geerts made a mistake, his front wheel slipped away and he went down. The Belgian, who dropped to 11th place, had to fight back again. And he did. He gained three more positions to finish eighth in race 2 and 11th overall.

Geerts is still third in the world championship classification, but Tom Vialle – who won the Grand Prix – is only seven points behind him.

#193 Jago Geerts

11th overall

“Of course, I’m disappointed with this result. I made a stupid mistake in both races. Both times my front wheel slipped away. I was angry about that, especially in the second race. I felt good, was on my way to a top five result when it happened. Sometimes things don’t go as you wanted to. This was a really difficult Grand Prix for me. I have to learn from my mistakes. I need to avoid those small crashes. Luckily, I’m still third in the championship. It will be a battle for bronze until the last GP.”

Marnicq Bervoets

Team manager

“Eleventh is, of course, not the result we hoped for. Unfortunately, Jago made two small mistakes and it’s really difficult to recover on this slick track. We must take the positive things out of this Grand Prix. I was happy with his level of riding after his crash in race 2. So smooth, so free. He fought back, which is a good sign. One thing is for sure: it will be a hell of a fight for the third spot in the championship. Probably a battle that will continue until the final moto in China.”

RESULTS

Race 1

1. Jorge Prado (Esp/KTM) 

2. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM) +0:01.186

3. Henry Jacobi (Ger/Kaw) +0:23.385

4. Calvin Vlaanderen (Ned/Hon) +0:24.875

5. Adam Sterry (GBr/Kaw) +0:29.699

14. JAGO GEERTS (BEL/YAM) +1:00.884

Race 2

1. Calvin Vlaanderen (Ned/Hon)

2. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM) +0:07.499

3. Adam Sterry (GBr/Kaw) +0:14.043

4. Jorge Prado (Esp/KTM) +0:14.377

5. Maxime Renaux (Fra/Yam) +0:22.345

8. JAGO GEERTS (BEL/YAM) +0:29.524

Overall

1. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM) 44

2. Calvin Vlaanderen (Ned/Hon) 43

3. Jorge Prado (Esp/KTM) 43

4. Adam Sterry (GBr/Kaw) 36

5. Maxime Renaux (Fra/Yam) 31

11. JAGO GEERTS (BEL/YAM) 20

World Championship classification (16/18)

1. Jorge Prado (Esp/KTM) 737

2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Den/Hus) 592

3. JAGO GEERTS (BEL/YAM) 467

4. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM) 460

5. Henry Jacobi (Ger/Kaw) 442

9. BEN WATSON (GBR/YAM) 282

Next race: September 8, GP17 Afyonkarahisar (Tur)

Images by Yamaha Racing/@shotbybavo/CDS