MX2: Geerts takes Pietramurata race two win and overall victory

Round 17 of the 2020 MX2 World Championship, the MXGP of Pietramurata, took place in the Ciclamino circuit for the second of three rounds at the Italian track that will close the season this Sunday. 

It was a strong start for Jago Geerts in the second moto, as he took the early lead ahead of his teammate, Ben Watson, and one of his teammates for 2021, Thibault Benistant. 

Tom Vialle’s new #1 plate did not being him any luck, as he dropped out on the opening lap, one which both Isak Gifting and Thomas Kjer Olsen crashed as well. 

The two factory Yamahas gradually pulled away at the front ahead of Benistant, who was coming under pressure from Jed Beaton as the race went on. These four would decide the fate of the GP.

With Geerts out front from Watson, and Benistant keeping Beaton at bay, the Belgian would emerge the Grand Prix victor. However, if Beaton passed Benistant and the two factory Yamahas remained with the #193 ahead of the #919, the Australian would pick up his first Grand Prix win. If, though, Watson was able to pass Geerts for the lead, that would guarantee the Brit his second overall win of the season. 

The race, then, was tense at the front, with a change of position anywhere having major implications for the overall result. 

As it was, though, Geerts was able to do enough to keep Watson at bay, and Beaton was unable to deny the Belgian by passing Benistant, who in the end was able to make it a Yamaha 1-2-3 in the second moto behind Geerts and Watson. 

Beaton could do nothing about the Frenchman in front of him, with the #198 hanging on to his best race result in MX2 in his final race of the season – Benistant will not be present for the MXGP of Garda at the weekend. 

Twenty seconds back of Beaton was Maxime Renaux, the Frenchman finishing fifth ahead of Ruben Fernandez, with the two ensuring there were five Yamahas in the top six of the second moto – an impressive result for the Iwata brand. 

Honda had their representation inside the top 10 guaranteed by Stephen Rubini, who took seventh place ahead of Thomas Kjer Olsen, who recovered to eighth after his crash on the opening lap. Alvin Ostlund and Conrad Mewse completed the top 10, Mewse being the top KTM rider at the finish following Vialle’s problems on the first lap. 

Bas Vaessen was just under three seconds behind his Hitachi KTM teammate in 11th place at the finish, while Bailey Malkiewicz was 12th ahead of Michael Sandner, Morgan Lesiardo and Petr Polak who completed the top 15; while Todd Wilson was 16th in front of Richard Sikyna, Isak Gifting who recovered to 18th after his first lap troubles, Kevin Horgmo and Glen Meier who completed the top 20. 

For the overall, the result meant that with a 5-1 scorecard, Jago Geerts would take his sixth overall win of the season with his 14th race win, meaning he edges back ahead of Vialle in the wins tally for 2020. 

Joining Geerts on the podium would be Ben Watson and Jed Beaton, who were tied on 40 points with Watson taking the second step courtesy of a better second race result. 

Maxime Renaux was fourth overall, ahead of Thibault Benistant and Ruben Fernandez, meaning there were five Yamaha riders in the overall top six, another sign of how well the YZ250F is performing in Pietramurata, and how strong the Iwata marque’s MX2 line up is. 

Thomas Kjer Olsen was seventh overall, tied on 28 points with Fernandez but missing out on a top six result courtesy of finishing behind the #70 in the second moto. The Dane was three points clear of newly-crowned champion Vialle, who went back out in the second race and finished a lap down in 23rd – a broken gear lever after contact on the start straight is what brought Vialle to the pits at the end of the opening lap. 

Stephen Rubini and Alvin Ostlund completed the overall top 10, with Isak Gifting missing out for only the second time this season with his 18-18 netting him 19th overall.