Yamaha celebrated a remarkable double victory on the opening day of the MXGP of Spain, with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Jago Geerts clinching his maiden MXGP-class qualifying race win and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Thibault Benistant securing his third MX2 pole position of the season.
Words | Press release
Making history at the eighth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, in Lugo, Spain, Geerts achieved a significant career milestone by securing his first-ever MXGP class qualifying race victory. The Belgian sensation showed a glimpse of his potential, in wet and challenging conditions, by leading the race from start to finish. Despite intense pressure from the championship front runners, Romain Febvre and Lucas Coenen, Geerts maintained his composure, in what became increasingly slick and tricky conditions as rain continued to fall throughout the race, to secure an emotional and long-awaited race win.
“I’m super happy with how the Qualifying Race went. I finally took a holeshot and I just had a good feeling on the track and throughout the race. I just kept my focus, did my laps and managed to win the race. I knew that it was coming but it’s nice to finally do it!”
In MX2, Benistant continued his impressive sprint-race form, securing his third qualifying race win of the 2025 season. Starting from second position, the Frenchman quickly moved into the lead and controlled the race masterfully, holding off championship leader Kay de Wolf to take a stunning victory.
“Today was not super easy. The track was not easy to ride. If you went to tight on the turns, you would lose too much speed and if you went too wide, you open the door to get passed. So, it was hard to ride defensively, trying not to lose to much speed or get passed. It was really nice to win this race after a few tough weekends. It doesn’t surprise me, I know what I am capable of, it’s just not easy to do it all the time. So, it’s nice, and it gives me some more confidence to do it again.”
