Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Jago Geerts was unstoppable at the fourth round of FIM Motocross World Championship in Oss, The Netherlands, as he powered his YZ250FM to a double race victory – his first of 2021. Maxime Renaux added to the teams’ success on Dutch soil, with the 30-points scored for fourth overall being enough to take the MX2 Championship lead, while Thibault Benistant tied for 10th. As a result, Yamaha has reclaimed its place at the top of the table in the manufacturers’ standings.
Maximizing the power of the YZ250FM, Geerts and Benistant were quick out of the gate in the opening race of the day. Geerts set the fastest lap of the race and made an impressive pass for the lead on Lap-3, as Benistant battled for fourth. Familiar with the tricky nature of a Dutch sand track, the young
Belgian, Geerts, excelled as he kept a fast and consistent pace for the entire 30-minute plus 2-Lap duration to take his first race win of 2021.
Benistant was in the running for a top-five finish in sweltering and sunny conditions but was taken out of fourth position when another rider made an aggressive move which caused both riders to fall. The 18-year-old remounted his YZ250FM inside the top-10 but fell again with less than 5-minutes on the clock and ended up finishing 13th.
Confronted by the rough and rugged sand surface, Renaux had to work hard to pass riders after crashing out of third position at turn-one. Ever the grafter, the ‘959’ knuckled down and tried to get creative with his chosen lines. While pushing forward, the Frenchman hit the dirt again in the middle of the race, but still managed to salvage ninth, which was enough to take the MX2 championship lead for the first time in his career.
In the final race of the day, Geerts was again unbeatable. The 21-year-old got off to another incredible start and resisted a hefty challenge from Dutch rider Kay de Wolf to score his first double race win of the new season.
A new and improved, mature approach to racing has already paid dividends to new championship leader Renaux. The ‘959’ remained cool, calm and collected as he put in a steady ride for fourth position, while Benistant put in an astonishing charge back to sixth after starting outside of the top-10.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team will proudly carry the MX2 Championship red-plate into the next round of the series that will take place next weekend in Loket, Czech Republic, on July 25th.