Vialle With Momentum

Despite having a two-point deficit on Monster Energy Yamaha rider Jago Geerts heading into the final Grand Prix of the season, set for the Afyon Motor Sports Center in Turkey, Tom Vialle of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team has the momentum and probably the confidence to close the deal. Scoring a stunning 1-1 in France last weekend, Vialle has everything going in his favour to take his second MX2 World championship in a little over a week’s time.

“It was a good day to win in France “Vialle said. “The fans were incredible. I could hear them everywhere they pushed me so much. Thanks a lot, to the whole team for all their work, we got the job done and we have one race left to go. We know what we need to do in Turkey.”

The Frenchman scored 2-1-1-2 results in the two GP’s held in Turkey in 2021, taking two GP wins and Vialle also picked up 8-2 results in his MX2 rookie season in 2019. The fact he has so much momentum heading into Turkey and the self-belief he will take from having won there twice in 2021 just makes the job seem that little bit easier.

“The battle this year with Jago is really cool. He wins some races; I win some races and he is pretty tough. He has a lot of pressure like me, and we are very close, and the final round will be really. I need to do this alone and it is a little more pressure, but I can handle that. To win both rounds in Turkey last year was really good. It is important for me to finish nice, my last races before I leave MX2. I want to win as much as possible.”

With Geerts on 710 points and Vialle on 708 points, you just know that the pressure on both guys will be huge, and we have seen both Geerts and Vialle make big mistakes at critical moments. Nothing is a sure thing with these two and while you have the feeling Vialle is handling the late season pressure better than Geerts, that can change in a flash.

If Vialle were to win in Turkey and take his second MX2 World championship, he will join a select group of Frenchmen in two Motocross World Championships, that list includes Marvin Musquin, Sebastien Tortelli, Frederic Bolley, J. M. Bayle and Mickael Pichon.

The journey to becoming a French legend is in his eyesight and now all he has to do is take that French hard pack form to Turkey and capture what has been an incredible battle between a young Frenchman and a young Belgian. Bring on Turkey!!

Photo Copyright: Ray Archer