Vialle and Geerts: MX2 Rivals

There is no doubt, two men start tall in the MX2 class as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Tom Vialle and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory rider Jago Geerts have dominated the opening five rounds of the series. The championships points are 217pts to Vialle and 209pts to Geerts, with the Frenchman winning rounds two and three, and the Belgian winning rounds one, four and five.

So dominant are the two points leaders, that third placed man Roan van De Moosdijk of the F&H Kawasaki Racing Team is already 64 points behind Vialle and 56 points behind Geerts, after just five rounds.

Vialle has scored 6-1-2-1-1-2-4-4-1-2, while Geerts has gone 1-4-1-7-16-1-1-1-2-1 and is clearly warming up to as the series goes further. While Vialle has been the most consistent, that opening race in rounds three of the series cost Geerts dearly as he crashed on a couple of occasions and finished 16^th. Outside of that, his performances have been rock solid.

At the opening of three rounds in Latvia Vialle looked amazing, going 1-2 and really showing a lot of experience for somebody so early in their career. The 19 year old has hardly made a major mistake and while he has many good people around him, like his father Frederic, a former GP winner, and Joel Smets, the five time World champion, his job starts when the gate drops and he has shown he can handle anything thrown at him.

“It was a good weekend and I’m really happy” Vialle said. “There was a lot of water on the track in the morning, but I felt good on the bike by the time of the races and made great starts. Jago crashed in the first race and then I was comfortable in first position. We had a good fight in the second race, and we passed each other on the last lap. It was decent fight and I was happy to overtake him at the end because it was very hot, and I was pretty tired. I just made a little mistake and he got me back. It was so close but I’m happy to win the overall.”

For Geerts the start of the three legs of Kegums was a complete mess and mistakes reigned supreme as he went up and down the leaders board like somebody on a rollercoaster. He knew he had blown it and needed to get back to his best quickly.

“It was a tough day,” Geerts said. “I had a decent time practice, but in the first race I had two big crashes and only finished 16th so that was not really good. In the second heat, I got a good start in third and working my way up to first. So that was a good race and I just hope I can do the next races like that.”

Having struggled somewhat in the opener, Geerts came back in the second round and showed why many see him as the favourite for the MX2 championship.  His 1-1 performance gave him a lot of confidence and placed more pressure on Vialle to respond.

“Overall, it was a really good day for me. I got my first holeshot of the year in the second heat, so I was really happy with that. I felt good on my bike and on the track, so from here I look forward to racing here again on Sunday and getting closer to leading the championship.”

Vialle on the other hand just didn’t come to terms with the Kegums circuit, despite his brilliance in the opener a few days earlier, he looked confused and his rhythm just wasn’t there.

“I made the starts but struggled a bit with my rhythm. I was able to fight with Mathys (Boisrame) and Roan (Van de Moosdijk) for a little bit although I lost the tow after. We will work a little bit on my suspension setting for next Sunday. We still lead the championship and it is not too bad to take a 4-4 on a track where I wasn’t feeling so good today. Sunday will be a new day and I hope we will be able to fight for the win again.”

His second GP victory in a row meant that Geerts clawed closer to Vialle in the championship points and heading into Italy in a couple of weeks’ time you have a feeling this tight struggled between the two youngsters will remain full of drama and excitement.

“It was a good day for me. In the first race, I didn’t get a great start, but I made a lot of really good passes in the beginning and I think after 10-minutes I was in second. I got really close to Tom (Vialle) and I wanted to make one last move, but I crashed with a lapper. In the second race, I got the holeshot and rode a really good race for the win, so I am happy with that.”

In the third and final GP in Latvia Vialle did respond, and looked much better than the Wednesday, and going 1-2 was enough to make sure he kept his red plate as he heads to the hard pack of Faenza, a circuit that will suit him more than the sand loving Belgian.

“It is close with Jago. We shared the points and the guy who is 3rd behind us is a little bit further. It is quite tough to always fight with the same guy, but I think we can say this is one of his favourite tracks, so I was happy to be there with him winning some races and one GP. Today I didn’t lose points. I’ve improved a lot in the sand since last year. My starts were good all week, so it has been positive in Latvia and I liked the format and doing the three races here. We’ll see what is going on with the calendar now.”

Whatever happens in Italy over the next couple of months, you can be sure that both the Red Bull KTM Factory team and the Monster Energy Yamaha team will be giving their riders everything they need to fight this battle for the 2020 MX2 championship. Then it is up to Vialle and Geerts to make their magic work. Who comes out on top after the six rounds Italian gaunt could be crowned World MX2 champion.