Ben Watson – Feeling good with sixth in Italy!
The Mantua track hosted the second and last round of the Internazionali d’Italia Motocross PRO 2024. The heavy rainfall of the previous days made the track particularly challenging, full of mud and ditches.
Words and Images by MRT Racing Team Beta Factory
MRT Racing Team Beta Factory’s Ben Watson (Beta RX450), seventh in qualifying, made his way up to eighth position in the first MX1 heat after a start out of the top ten, caused by the fall of another rider. In the second heat the British rider improved his position by finishing seventh after making another excellent comeback. With the sixth overall position of the day, Watson ended the Championship just a step behind the podium, in fourth position with fifty four points.
After setting the sixteenth fastest time in qualifying, Ivo Monticelli (Beta RX450) was forced to make a difficult comeback in the first heat, which he finished in fifteenth position after a crash. In heat two the rider started fifth and maintained this position until the halfway point of the race. A crash dropped him to eighth position, which he maintained until two laps from the end, when he had to withdraw.
BEN WATSON:
“In qualifying I set the seventh fastest time despite not being able to lap as fast as I could have, as the feeling with the bike was very good. In the first heat a rider crashed in front of me and I was forced to make a comeback. I felt good on the bike and overtook many opponents finishing eighth. My feeling for the second heat was good but once again I was slowed down at the start. In the last two races we have grown a lot and I’m sure we can bring a lot of satisfaction in the World Championship.”
IVO MONTICELLI:
“In the first heat I had a problem at the start, which forced me to the back of the group. I recovered up to twelfth position, when I slipped and finished fifteenth. In the second heat I got off to a much better start. I had a good rhythm and was fifth for the entire first part of the race. Then I dropped to eighth position and with two laps to go I was forced to stop. Now we still have a month before the start of the World Championship and I know what to work on in order to reach Argentina fully fit.”
The Internazionali d’Italia Motocross PRO are over, and MRT Racing Team Beta Factory can now use the upcoming weeks to get ready in the best possible way for the first round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, planned for the weekend of 9-10 March at Villa La Angostura in Patagonia, the stage of the Argentine Grand Prix.
