Vialle Captures MX2 Crown
T
he MX2 crown came down to
a final-moto shootout be-
tween rivals Tom Vialle and Jago
Geerts at the MXGP of Turkey
in Afyonkarahisar, September
4. After winning moto one over
Geerts, Vialle (Red Bull KTM) led
Geerts (Monster Energy Yamaha)
going into moto two by just one
point, so it was a promoter's
dream winner-take-all conclusion
to the 250cc Championship.
In the deciding second moto,
Geerts got out to the early lead,
and Vialle quickly passed his way
into second, so the champion-
ship battle was on. And it was a
good one.
Vialle stalked Geerts for a bit
then executed a clean pass on
the Belgian, who then made a
few mistakes, allowing Vialle to
get away. However, Vialle made
a few mistakes of his own and
Geerts was able to catch back
up and the two swapped posi-
tions a couple of time.
The drama quickly ratcheted
up a notch or two when Vialle
fell, collecting Geerts. It was
now a race to get back going
which Vialle won. He then found
himself with a five-second gap
on Geerts, who was now on a
mission to pull the Frenchman
back in. Unfortunately for Geerts,
he would drop his bike again and
found himself 12 seconds back.
Despite making up some ground,
it was too much for Geerts to
catch Vialle, who eventually took
the moto win and championship
by six seconds over Geerts.
Vialle, a now two-time MX2
Champion, finished out the
season just four points ahead
of Geerts. Germany's Simon
Langenfelder (GasGas) ended
the championship in third, ahead
of Kevin Horgmo (Kawasaki) and
Thibault Benistant (Yamaha).
IN
THE
WIND
P44
Tom Vialle captured
his second consecutive
MX2 crown after a
nail-biting finale at the
MXGP of Turkey.
