Troy Lee Designs is pleased to continue its support of the 2021 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team as the team's official team helmet & gear sponsor. The teams fierce new and refreshed set-up confirms an extension of the partnership with Troy Lee Designs and looks to build on the success of last season.
Fielding an exciting three-rider line-up in 2021, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team is on the hunt for FIM Motocross World Championship glory, as it aims to secure the MX2 Championship gold plate while defending Yamaha’s title as the MX2 Manufacturer of the Year.
Made up of well-established race and Grand Prix winners, Jago Geerts and Maxime Renaux, and strengthened by the addition of last years’ EMX250 Champion Thibault Benistant, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team will see all three riders campaign the factory Yamaha YZ250FM in the hotly contested MX2 series.
Geerts, who enters his fourth consecutive year in MX2 with the Hans Corvers led Yamaha team, won the same number of races as the eventual World Champion in 2020 proving he has the speed to challenge for the crown. In addition to his 14 race victories, the 20-year-old Belgian celebrated six Grand Prix wins, and 12 podium finishes on his way to his second championship medal – he finished third in 2019 and second in 2020.
Renaux secured the bronze medal and was the winner of MXGP’s Jan de Groot Young Rider of the Year award. He won one race on his way to a maiden Grand Prix win and mounted the podium on no fewer than five occasions. The 20-year-old Frenchman is already familiar with his new team, having raced for the outfit back in 2015 – where together they celebrated the FIM Junior Motocross 125cc world title. After achieving his initial goal of finishing a season in MX2 on the podium, Renaux has gone the extra mile this winter in terms of his physical preparation and is determined to accomplish his ultimate goal of becoming MX2 World Champion.
Enjoying a successful start to his MX2 career, after dominating the EMX250 Championship with eight race wins and six round wins, Benistant made his Grand Prix debut at the end of the 2020 season. The 18-year-old instantly impressed with two top-three race finishes and a top-five overall finish during the three rounds he raced in Belgium and Italy. Having evolved within Yamaha’s own ranks over the past decade, the young Frenchman has earned his place within the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team and is eager to enter the MX2 series as one of the strongest rookies in 2021.
With the pre-season races fast approaching, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team is excited to unveil its new look and is scheduled to line up for the first time in 2021 at the Internationali d’Italia Motocross Championship, which is expected to take place on February 28th in Riola Sardo, Sardinia.