With the ‘Zelta Zirgs’ circuit in Kegums playing host to its second Grand Prix in the space of three days, it was another hard-fought thriller for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s duo of Jago Geerts and Ben Watson.
Fully focused on clawing back vital championship points after a rough Grand Prix less than 72 hours ago, Geerts was quick to put in some fast laps and managed to post the third-fastest time in Qualifying on Lap-4 with a 1:56.841, while Watson finished up the session in seventh with a 1:58.157.
In the opening race, Geerts went bar-to-bar with the Championship Leader Tom Vialle for the first three laps of the opening race before making a pass on the Frenchman for the lead on Lap-4. As Vialle dropped back to fourth position, Geerts retained the lead after a small mistake on Lap-9 and eventually crossed the line for his fourth race win of the season 6-seconds clear of Roan van de Moosdijk.
When the gates fell for the final race of the day, it was Geerts who pulled an impressive holeshot on his YZ250FM and controlled the race from start to finish to make it a perfect day at the MX2 Grand Prix of Riga, securing his first-ever double-race victory.
Teammate Watson had the speed to challenge a place on the podium but was unable to complete a single lap in the opening race due to a technical issue. Luckless again in Race 2, another rider wiped the ‘919’ out at turn-one ruining his hopes of a top-three finish. Nevertheless, his efforts did not go unnoticed as he charged hard from outside of the top-20 to finish inside the top-10 in ninth.
Watson was bumped up to 14th position in the Grand Prix classification thanks to the 12-points he was awarded for ninth in the final race. The Brit is now eighth in the MX2 Championship Standings.
The next round of the FIM MX2 World Championship will be the final round of the Latvian tripleheader and will take place on Sunday 14th August here in Kegums.
For full results from the MX2 Grand Prix of Riga, click here.
