In the opening race, Geerts got his YZ250FM off to a blistering start but was pushed back to fourth by Italian wildcard Matthia Guadagnini followed by Renaux within the first few corners.
After 16-minutes, a gripping battle between the Yamaha stars had sparked. The duo swapped third position a couple of times as they reeled Guadagnini in to challenge for second position. With 10 minutes left on the clock, Renaux blasted up the inside of the Italian for the position with Geerts following suit a few turns later.
Having dropped Guadagnini almost instantly, the remainder of the race was a relentless sprint to the finish. At the flag it was Renaux who managed to hold off a hard charging Geerts for second position, leaving Geerts to round out the top-three.
There were many dramatic scenes in the final MX2 race with many riders crashing due to the slick yet sticky, rough and edgy nature of the track. Renaux was the first of the Yamaha riders to fall victim, with a mistake dropping the Frenchman from third position back to fifth, while Geerts chased down the Championship Leader, Tom Vialle.
After 20 minutes in second position, Geerts race win hopes were spoiled by an enormous crash in the uphill wave section. He managed to recover for ninth.
Renaux inherited a position as a result of Geerts' crash and finished fourth.
The start was the main point of issue for Watson at the Città di Faenza Grand Prix as it is difficult for the tall Brit to gain time and make passes on a hilly yet tight and twisty circuit with many of his MX2 rivals weighing a lot less. After finishing ninth in the opening race, Watson proved he can run the pace of MX2’s front runners by setting the fastest lap of the Race 2 while dicing his way through the pack to fourth-position.
Watson remained the fastest rider in the race but ended up 11th after he was aggressively kicked over the ‘bars on a steep and bumpy decent.
Both Geerts and Renaux have retained their respective positions in the MX2 Championship. Geerts is second, 21-points shy of the leader, while Renaux is a further 50-points adrift.
The third and final round of the Italian tripleheader, round eight of the FIM Motocross World Championship, will take place here in Faenza on Sunday 13th September.
For full results from the MX2 Grand Prix of Città di Faenza, click here.
