Marnicq Bervoets: More about the Italian triple-header

Marnicq Bervoets the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing MX2 Team manager has seen it all before. As a Grand Prix racer himself the Belgian battled the likes of Stefan Everts and Joel Smets, and while he didn’t get himself a world title, his name belongs amongst the best GP riders to ever live.

Multiple runner-up positions behind Everts and Smets made sure his name was often in the history books and his Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations performances are near legendary with a handful of race wins and also team victories with Team Belgium.

As a team manager he still experiences days of celebration, defeat and frustration and the triple header in at Faenza gave him a little of everything. The opening round on the old school circuit didn’t see a GP win, but it did see his rider Jago Geerts move closer to series leader Tom Vialle, of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, while Ben Watson struggled badly on occasions, he did show signs of what he is capable of.

“Geerts did what he had to do: get a good result on this difficult and tricky track,” Bervoets said. “Jago took two great starts, which helped him a lot. He rode a very smart race, without taking too many risks. Second place overall and five points closer on Vialle in the championship classification; job well done. Watson had a really tough day. Two crashes in the first lap of the first race, with a broken lever as a result, ruined his day completely. In race two he had difficulties to find a good rhythm. He started in ninth place and finished in the same position.”

Round two in Faenza wasn’t as kind for the team as Geerts crashed and Watson couldn’t get the starts and also hit the deck on occasions. For Bervoets it was frustrating to see his riders not show their complete potential.

“This is a very tricky track. You can ride 30 perfect laps but can get thrown off the bike on lap 31. This circuit is really brutal. You have to be careful all the time. Geerts raced pretty well in the first race. Watson missed his started completely but showed his potential in his catch-up race. An impressive performance on this kind of track. The second race was a disaster for us with both riders crashing, while riding in second and fourth position. We lost some valuable points today, but the championship is far from over.”

Fortunately, the final round in Faenza last weekend brought a smile to the team managers face as Geerts rode brilliantly and nearly won the Grand Prix, while Watson crashed, he did show good speed and was more consistent.

“I’m pretty satisfied with the performances of our riders. Geerts is second overall with the same points as Vialle. A good result on a track that suited Vialle better. Also, a good result after his crash on Wednesday. Watson was also riding strong. A pity about his crash in the second race, because he was putting pressure on Vialle. Now we are looking forward to Mantova.”

And now onto Mantova, where Geerts will try and contain the Frenchman and get a little closer to his dream of becoming Belgium’s first World champion in more than a decade. With Bervoets by his side, the experience is there and no doubt the white sand of Mantova will help his cause.

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