Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 rider Jago Geerts finished third in round 9 of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Arroyomolinos, Spain. The Belgian did some good damage control after a massive crash in race 1. Teammate Thibault Benistant finished sixth overall.

The grandstands were absolutely packed at the Intu-Xanadu circuit in Arroyomolinos, on the outskirts of Madrid. Geerts and Benistant secured a good gate pick after a strong qualifying race on Saturday, with Jago in 2nd and Thibault in 5th place. Geerts took full advantage of his position on the grid and was second in the first turn, right behind the surprisingly fast Elzinga. In the third corner, the Belgian took over the lead. But then things went wrong. Geerts was surprised by a freshly watered spot on the face of a take-off and suffered a big crash. After catching his breath, Jago rejoined the race in 23rd position.
Meanwhile, Benistant had gone the other way: the Frenchman missed his start completely and had to fight back from dead last. And he did well. After only five laps Benistant was already riding in sixth place. In the final phase, the former European champion was able to move up one more spot. Geerts regrouped after his spectacular crash and started an impressive catch-up race, which eventually brought him to ninth place.

Small mistake
Geerts got off to another flying start on his YZ250FM in race 2. The vice world champion was right behind Everts, who grabbed the holeshot. Geerts quickly stole the lead from his fellow countryman, closely followed by Vialle. The Frenchman got the lead when Geerts made a small mistake and tipped over. Jago had to settle for second place in race 2 and third overall.
Benistant had to play catch-up again in race 2 after a crash in turn 3 on the opening lap. The French teenager charged through the field to finish seventh, and sixth overall.
Geerts has dropped to second in the World Championship classification, but remains within ten points of the new leader, Vialle. Benistant has moved up into 10th place.

#93 Jago Geerts
3rd overall – 2nd in championship
“A bad day at the office. Luck wasn’t on my side today. I was leading the first race, when I had a terrible crash on a wet spot. I really needed some time to regroup. My handlebars were bent, but I was still able to come back to ninth place. To be honest: that was more than I expected. In the second race, I was leading again, but made a small mistake on lap 7. I lost the front, tipped over and lost one position. Of course, it’s a shame I lost a lot of points and the championship lead, but it’s not the end of the world. It could have been much worse. I did some good damage control today.”

#198 Thibault Benistant
6th overall – 10th in championship
“Not the results I was hoping for. In the first race I hit the gate and in the second race I crashed in the third turn. Both times, I had to fight back from last position. I had to push really hard. My riding was pretty good, the best of the season so far. Beside my poor starts, there were a lot of positive things today. This wasn’t the easiest Grand Prix, with the heat, but I felt strong physically. That’s another step forward. I’m already looking forward to next week, to the GP in Ernée, in front of my home crowd. I hope I can fight for the podium. One condition: I really need a good start.”

RESULTS
Race 1

  • 1. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM)
  • 2. Simon Längenfelder (Ger/Gas) +0:14.280
  • 3. Stephen Rubini (Fra/Hon) +0:17.620
  • 4. Kevin Horgmo (Nor/Kaw) +0:24.812
  • 5. THIBAULT BENISTANT (Fra/Yam) +0:28.915
  • 9. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) +0:55.292

Race 2

  • 1. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM)
  • 2. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) +0:10.923
  • 3. Simon Längenfelder (Ger/Gas) +0:18.624
  • 4. Liam Everts (Bel/KTM) +0:21.288
  • 5. Mikkel Haarup (Den/Kaw) +0:23.544
  • 7. THIBAULT BENISTANT (Fra/Yam) +0:31.328

Overall

  • 1. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM) 50
  • 2. Simon Längenfelder (Ger/Gas) 42
  • 3. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) 34
  • 4. Liam Everts (Bel/KTM) 33
  • 5. Stephen Rubini (Fra/Hon) 32
  • 6. THIBAULT BENISTANT (Fra/Yam) 30

World championship classification (9/19)

  • 1. Tom Vialle (Fra/KTM) 382
  • 2. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) 372
  • 3. Simon Längenfelder (Ger/Gas) 287
  • 4. Mikkel Haarup (Den/Kaw) 266
  • 5. Kevin Horgmo (Nor/Kaw) 259
  • 10. THIBAULT BENISTANT (Fra/Yam) 183

Next race: June 5, GP10 Ernée (Fra)

Images by @fullspectrum.media, yamaha racing