VOLUME 57 ISSUE 44 NOVEMBER 3, 2020 P37
couple of sketchy moments in the
first lap with the other guys but
then I took it easy from the begin-
ning. It wasn't easy to pass, I was
trying all outside lines but then in
the end I managed to fourth for
second overall."
Belgian Clement Desalle ended
up winning the second MXGP
moto. Desalle, who announced
earlier that he would be retiring at
the end of the season, was thrilled
to get the win so close to the end
of his racing days. It marked his
36th career win. Desalle got on
the podium with a 6-1.
"It's a really nice moment," the
Kawasaki rider, Desalle, said.
"After the first race, I was running
sixth, I said to the team I felt good
for fourth or fifth and then math-
ematically I still believed that the
podium was possible, and it was
still on my mind. I had a good
start [in the second moto] and
was third and could pass Tony
[Cairoli]. Then Jeremy Seewer
made a mistake and then I was
leading, and it was a feeling I
haven't had in a long time and it
was so nice, I really appreciated
it. I took it lap by lap. In the begin-
ning, I was making a mistake in
one of the sectors as I didn't have
such a good line and then I could
try another line and it was work-
ing, so then I was really happy
about my riding, I was focused,
and I thought maybe I can do it
and finally I did it so I'm supper
happy."
In MX2, Geerts traded moto
wins with Denmark's Thomas Kjer
Olsen (Husqvarna). In the first
race, Olsen ran down leader Tom
Vialle (KTM), passed him, and
took the win just two seconds
ahead of the KTM rider, with Brit
Jed Beaton (Husqvarna) taking
third right behind Vialle. Geerts
finished a close fourth after stall-
ing his bike earlier in the race.
Geerts came back and won
the second moto. The Yamaha
rider, Geerts, got a little bit of
help when leader Vialle went
down, handing Geerts the even-
tual win. Vialle dropped back to
third after the fall, with French
rider Thibault Benistant (Yamaha)
finishing second.
First-moto winner Olsen fell in
the second moto and crossed
the finish line in fourth.
Geerts went 4-1 for the overall
win, while Olsen took second
with a 1-4. Vialle was third overall
with 2-3.
In the championship, Vialle en-
joys a comfortable 73 points over
Geerts. Vialle could also clinch
the title at the next round. CN
Jago Geerts
took the MX2
win but still trails
points leader
Tom Vialle by 73
points with two
rounds left in the
championship.
