After an absence of four years, the FIM World Championship returned to Frauenfeld, Switzerland. Not – like in 2018 – to the artificial track next to the sugar factory, but to the old Schollenholz track where a Grand Prix had last taken place in 1983. The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2-riders immediately felt good on this rather short track. Thibault Benistant took the pole position after a convincing win in the qualifying race on Saturday. World Championship leader Jago Geerts finished third and Rick Elzinga was ninth.
Crash Geerts
In the first moto the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2-riders came out of the gate like a rocket. Geerts was leading into the first corner, closely followed by Benistant (3rd) and Elzinga (5th). The championship leader did not waste any time and immediately made a gap with the rest of the pack. Jago seemed to be heading to a smooth victory. Until in lap 14, when he made a mistake on a jump and landed next to the track. The damage was big. Especially his bike was seriously bent. The consequences were hard: Geerts fell back to seventh.
One lap before, Benistant – who was attacking Van de Moosdijk for the second place – also had a small crash. The French rider, who was suffering from arm pump, only lost one place and finished fourth. Elzinga, who succeeded to stay in front for some time, had to let go at the end and crossed the finish line in eleventh position.
See Geerts crash at 1 min 21 below:
Geerts: This is not the result I hoped for. Still, I can’t complain. The starts were good, my pace was excellent too. But that crash in the first moto ruined everything. I still don’t know exactly what happened. I followed the same track every lap. But suddenly things went wrong. Was it a stone that came loose or so? No idea. It was scary. A big crash. I was seriously shaken, and my bike was completely bent. I’m happy I still could finish seventh. In the second moto I was still suffering from that crash. This week will mainly be about recovering.”
Benistant: “The first GP-win of the season is a fact. Nice! For me and the team. The two motos were completely different. In the first moto I was riding too tight. I was suffering from arm pump. I tried to put pressure on the leaders, but then I made some small mistakes and so I had to let go. I felt a lot better in the second moto, more relaxed. I decided to attack immediately. Successfully. Geerts kept putting pressure on me, until he made a mistake. Then I could cruise to victory.”
Elzinga: “I had a difficult weekend in Switzerland. I didn’t really feel comfortable on this track. My starts were however very good. In the early stages I could follow the leaders, but then I cramped up. I suffered a lot from arm pump, and was forced to slow down my pace. Really frustrating. The races now follow each other very quickly. Next weekend Pietramurata is already on the program. I made my GP debut there last year. Immediately seventh. A nice result. Perhaps the ideal spot to relaunch myself.”
Words and image: Yamaha