The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team enjoyed another great weekend, at round 7 of the FIM World Championship in Kegums, Latvia. Maxime Renaux got his first ever double moto win and extended his championship lead out to 34 points. Jago Geerts finished second, Thibault Benistant fifth.

The Zelta Zirgs circuit in Kegums is a regular in the FIM World Championship. Last year the technical sand track hosted the first ever triple-header (after a long break due to a worldwide lockdown because of covid-19), with Jago Geerts dominating the last two races. This year, the Latvian Grand Prix concluded the first part of the championship, before heading into a four week break ahead of the Turkish double-header.

Man on a mission
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 riders arrived in Latvia with a lot of confidence after taking first, third and fourth place in Lommel last weekend. Renaux set the second fastest time in qualifying. He was one tenth of a second faster than Benistant in third. Geerts qualified in eighth place.

Renaux felt great on the sketchy Latvian sand track. The championship leader, who was fifth in the first turn, was clearly a man on a mission. In just four laps he was already in the lead after some superb passes on Hofer, Geerts, Beaton and finally Guadagnini. The Italian tried to react, but without success. Renaux was in a league of his own. With ten minutes left on the clock Geerts – who was suffering from arm pump in the beginning of the race – won the battle for third place by passing Beaton. Benistant had a lot of work to do after a mediocre start (10th). As if that poor start wasn’t enough, the rookie was also hit by a rock on his collarbone. Thibault showed a lot of determination and still managed to finish fifth.

Carbon copy
The second race was almost a carbon copy of the first one. Guadagnini took another holeshot and was closely followed by the Yamaha duo of Renaux and Geerts. Again, Renaux only needed a few laps to take the lead and pull away from the rest of the pack to take his first ever double moto win. Geerts wasn’t bothered by arm pump anymore, but needed too much time to pass Guadagnini for second place. The Belgian put in a last effort to close the gap on teammate Renaux but ran out of time. Benistant – only 12th in the first turn – fought through the pain barrier in the second race to finish seventh.

Like one week ago in Lommel, all three Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 riders finished inside the top-five overall. Renaux extended his championship lead out to 34 points and Yamaha – in the manufacturers classification – out to 20 points.

After four consecutive weeks of racing, the FIM World Championship now takes a four-week break. The championship resumes on September 5th in Turkey. However, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team will participate in the Belgian championship in Balen next week.

#93 Jago Geerts
2nd overall – 3rd in championship
“On the box again. So, you can say it was a pretty good day for me. Although, I was suffering from arm pump again in the beginning of the first race. I had a good start, but it took me a while to find a decent rhythm and speed because of my arms. Third place is not bad at all. I got another good start in the second race. I felt much better, my arms were not bothering me anymore. I was able to catch Gudaginini in second place and went for Renaux. I came close, but not close enough. I ran out of time. Second overall, lot’s of championship points. I’m happy with that.”

#198 Thibault Benistant
5th overall – 5th in championship
“My Grand Prix started really well, with a strong performance in time practice. I almost got pole position, but made a small mistake in my last lap. Nevertheless, I was third fastest. I couldn’t convert it into a good start. I had to fight back from tenth place. On my way to top five I took a big stone to my collarbone, the one I broke during the winter. It was really painful. Especially during the second race. I was struggling with pain and with a bad start, but still managed to take some important championship points. Now, it’s time for some recovery during the small break.”

#959 Maxime Renaux
1st overall – 1st in championship
“My first ever double moto victory! A perfect day. I felt like flying today. A great feeling. I progressed a lot mentally. I know when I can go for win or not. Today it was time to go for the win. I rode two similar races. I didn’t have the best start, but could make my passes pretty quickly to take the lead. As soon as I got the lead, I was able to pull away and control the race. I wasn’t tired physically, but mentally it was really tough on this sketchy track. We have a few weeks to rest now. That’s good. I can focus on recovery and start building up for the second part of the championship.”

RESULTS

Race 1

  • 1. MAXIME RENAUX (Fra/Yam)
  • 2. Mattia Guadagnini (Ita/KTM) +0:05.989
  • 3. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) +0:09.857
  • 4. Jed Beaton (Aus/Hus) +0:10.701
  • 5. THIBAULT BENISTANT (Fra/Yam) +0:13.810

Race 2

  • 1. MAXIME RENAUX (Fra/Yam)
  • 2. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) +0:03.991
  • 3. Mattia Guadagnini (Ita/KTM) +0:10.646
  • 4. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM) +0:12.473
  • 5. Ruben Fernandez (Esp/Hon) +0:30.841
  • 7. THIBAULT BENISTANT (Fra/Yam) +0:36.555

Overall

  • 1. MAXIME RENAUX (Fra/Yam) 50
  • 2. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) 42
  • 3. Mattia Guadagnini (Ita/KTM) 42
  • 4. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM) 33
  • 5. THIBAULT BENISTANT (Fra/Yam) 30

Championship classification (7/18)

  • 1. MAXIME RENAUX (Fra/Yam) 271
  • 2. Mattia Guadagnini (Ita/KTM) 237
  • 3. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) 235
  • 4. Ruben Fernandez (Esp/Hon) 214
  • 5. THIBAULT BENISTANT (Fra/Yam) 204

Next race: August 15, Belgian championship Balen (Bel)

Images by @shotbybavo – @cdsimages – Yamaha Racing