Vialle races to another MX2 victory at home Grand Prix

MXGP made the first of two visits to France this season with the tenth Grand Prix of 2022 taking place on the immaculate hillside course of Ernee. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle rode to victory in MX2 in front of his home fans.

  • KTM’s strong term with the new KTM 250 SX-F continues in MXGP as Vialle takes his eighth podium finish in a row and his sixth win of 2022
  • A packed attendance at Ernee cheers the former world champion and current MX2 points leader to 1-3 finishes under changeable but bright skies
  • Vialle heads rival Jago Geerts by 11 points in the standings as he retains grip on the red plate

MXGP made a long overdue return to the first-class racing facility at Ernee in northern France. A bumper attendance braved early summer storms in the build-up to the GP and also through practice and qualification on Saturday that turned the clay-soil into a series of long, tough and punishing ruts and bumps.

Tom Vialle rode his KTM 250 SX-F to 2nd position during the qualification heat and two top-five starts on Sunday allowed the 21-year-old to make a strong bid for another trophy. He fought off the attention of title rival Jago Geerts to take a popular first moto win and recovered quickly from a brief fall in the second race to place 3rd. The combined tally was enough to walk the top of the rostrum. The 1-3 results meant Vialle’s ninth podium from ten Grands Prix, sixth win from the last eight and ninth moto triumph: at least one from the last seven rounds. His cushion in the championship is now 11 points.

DIGA Procross KTM racer Liam Everts, a rookie who has been progressing with some bright performances on the edge of the top five in recent meetings, steered his KTM 250 SX-F to 6th overall with a 6-7 score.

After back-to-back Grands Prix in Spain and France, MXGP makes it a triple with the journey to Talkessel in Teutschenthal, Germany next weekend.

Tom Vialle, 1st and 3rd for 1st overall in MX2: “An amazing weekend for me. It started out tough with the quali race on Saturday but 2nd position was quite safe for the starts today with the inside gate. I wasn’t riding that freely in the first moto but the fans were unbelievable and pushed me every lap and all the way. In the second moto I had a small crash behind Jago and with the three of us leading and really going for it. I knew when I fell in a muddy section that I wouldn’t catch Jago and Thibault again but I’m really happy to take the overall here.”

 

Results MX2 France 2022

 

1. Tom Vialle (FRA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-3

2. Jago Geerts (BEL), Yamaha, 2-2

3. Thibault Benistant (FRA) Yamaha, 8-1

4. Kevin Horgmo (NOR), Kawasaki, 4-4

5. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 3-5

6. Liam Everts (BEL), KTM, 6-7

 

Standings MX2 2022 after 10 of 19 rounds

 

1. Tom Vialle, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 427 points

2. Jago Geerts, 416

3. Simon Laengenfelder, 323

4. Kevin Horgmo, 295

5. Mikkel Haarup, 281