Geerts and Rodriguez on Gooik!
Jago Geerts dominated the international race in Gooik, Belgium. The 18-year-old rider from Balen took the victory in MX2 after winning both motos. His teammate Anthony Rodriguez just missed the podium after a 7th and a 2nd place in the heats. With a 5th place, the Venezuelan was the best MX2-rider in the Superfinal. Geerts finished 8th in that race with the best MXGP-riders.
No Ben Watson at the start in Gooik. The Briton, currently 4th in the world championship MX2, preferred a weekend without a race. With Geerts and Rodriguez, Kemea Yamaha still had two strong riders at the start.
Geerts – encouraged by a little army of fans – took the holeshot in the first moto and didn’t waste any time in the first lap. He immediately made a gap and could easily win the heat. His teammate Rodriguez made his job a bit harder in that first moto. The Venezuelan started as 7th, but crashed in the first round and had to fight back from 24th position. He managed to finish in 7th position, after a strong recovery.
Geerts started in 4th position in the second heat. The Belgian was very aggressive in the first lap, took the lead from Haarup and tried to make a gap again. But this time one rider could follow the teenager: his teammate Rodriguez. The Venezuelan was putting pressure on Jago all race long, but couldn’t pass him. One and two for Kemea in the second heat and a first place for Geerts overall.
In the Superfinal, the two Kemea-boys had to fight against the more powerful 450’s. Both Rodriguez and Geerts showed their talent against the MXGP-riders. Rodriguez was the best MX2-rider on the 5th place, after passing a lot of MXGP-riders. The same can be said about Geerts, who finished 8th.
Geerts – encouraged by a little army of fans – took the holeshot in the first moto and didn’t waste any time in the first lap. He immediately made a gap and could easily win the heat. His teammate Rodriguez made his job a bit harder in that first moto. The Venezuelan started as 7th, but crashed in the first round and had to fight back from 24th position. He managed to finish in 7th position, after a strong recovery.
Geerts started in 4th position in the second heat. The Belgian was very aggressive in the first lap, took the lead from Haarup and tried to make a gap again. But this time one rider could follow the teenager: his teammate Rodriguez. The Venezuelan was putting pressure on Jago all race long, but couldn’t pass him. One and two for Kemea in the second heat and a first place for Geerts overall.
In the Superfinal, the two Kemea-boys had to fight against the more powerful 450’s. Both Rodriguez and Geerts showed their talent against the MXGP-riders. Rodriguez was the best MX2-rider on the 5th place, after passing a lot of MXGP-riders. The same can be said about Geerts, who finished 8th.
#193 Jago Geerts
1st place overall“It’s always nice to win. I had two great starts in the MX2, that made my job a lot easier. In the Superfinal we had to fight against the more powerful MXGP-bikes. A disadvantage, especially in the start. But I managed to come back from 16th to 8th position. Not bad at all. Even more important than the result today: my ankle and calf injury didn’t bother me at all. A big relief. A boost of confidence, one week before the Grand Prix of Great Britain in Matterley Bassin. I’m really looking forward to race that great track.”
1st place overall“It’s always nice to win. I had two great starts in the MX2, that made my job a lot easier. In the Superfinal we had to fight against the more powerful MXGP-bikes. A disadvantage, especially in the start. But I managed to come back from 16th to 8th position. Not bad at all. Even more important than the result today: my ankle and calf injury didn’t bother me at all. A big relief. A boost of confidence, one week before the Grand Prix of Great Britain in Matterley Bassin. I’m really looking forward to race that great track.”
#127 Anthony Rodriguez
4th place overall“The result wasn’t that important today. I needed some more time on the bike after my move from the States two weeks ago. Today was a good practice day for me. One minus: my crash in the first moto. I tried to fight back, but it was very difficult to pass on this grass track. I felt pretty strong in the second moto. I could follow Geerts all race long. I tried to get close enough to attack him, but Jago was a bit faster. The Superfinal was my best race of the day. I started in 13th position and could pass some MXGP-riders to finish 5th. A nice feeling, good for my confidence.”
4th place overall“The result wasn’t that important today. I needed some more time on the bike after my move from the States two weeks ago. Today was a good practice day for me. One minus: my crash in the first moto. I tried to fight back, but it was very difficult to pass on this grass track. I felt pretty strong in the second moto. I could follow Geerts all race long. I tried to get close enough to attack him, but Jago was a bit faster. The Superfinal was my best race of the day. I started in 13th position and could pass some MXGP-riders to finish 5th. A nice feeling, good for my confidence.”
RESULTS
First moto
1. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam)
2. Micha-Boy De Waal (Ned/Hon) +5.250
3. Mikkel Haarup (Den/Hus) +13.795
7. ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ (Ven/Yam) +1:20.302
Second moto
1. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam)
2. ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ (Ven/Yam) +1.893
3. Micha-Boy De Waal (Ned/Hon) +12.124
Overall
1. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam) 50
2. Micha-Boy De Waal (Ned/Hon) 42
3. Mikkel Haarup (Den/Hus) 38
4. ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ (Ven/Yam) 36
Superfinal (MXGP+MX2)
1. Glenn Coldenhoff (Nld/KTM)
2. Kevin Strijbos (Bel/KTM)
3. Shaun Simpson (GBr/Yam)
5. ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ (Ven/Yam), first MX2-rider
8. JAGO GEERTS (Bel/Yam), second MX2-rider
Pic: ERIC LAURIJSSEN
Words: Kemea Yamaha
