Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre qualified third for tomorrow’s German round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at Teutschenthal.
A frustrating Timed Practice had left the Frenchman with a start-gate on the far outside for Qualifying; this is generally a huge disadvantage at this track as the inside gates are significantly closer to the first turn but a strong resolve and KX450-SR power saw him emerge from turn one in the top-ten and quickly making moves up the leaderboard. By lap two he was sixth and followed this up with clever line-choice and momentum to take over third by lap seven of twelve. He was lapping significantly faster than the leaders during the second half of the race, but his deficit through the first few laps proved too much of a handicap to have any chance of improving yet further on third.
Romain Febvre: “After the French GP I took one week off to give my thumb time to recover; I restricted my preparation to general sporting activities but no bike training. I tried a test-ride this week, but it was so painful that I had to stop riding after twenty minutes so I don’t know how to explain this result! This morning I had so much main during the practice sessions; I was not riding with confidence, was not riding at a good speed, and was only twenty-seventh to the gate. Here that is a really bad position, but I could emerge from the first turn in the top-ten and then passed many rivals, including Herlings, to finish third. It was not easy, but I did my best to save good points.”
KRT teammate Jeremy Seewer also faced a difficult Qualifying from gate eleven but he too powered out of the start to round turn one in the top-eight. Needing a couple of laps to settle the Swiss didn’t advance quite as quickly as his teammate during the early laps but he too was on a charge during the closing stages to almost catch the rider in fourth.
Jeremy Seewer: “The track was very strange in Timed Practice after the rain and I didn’t find a good flow; it was almost like enduro and the 450 is a huge bike on this small track. I made a super-good start in Quali but the distance is ever further to turn one here because of the angle of the gate so I wasn’t even in the top-five from P11 on the gate. Fifth was a solid result in the circumstances so I’ll be more in the game tomorrow, but I don’t think anyone knows what the weather frog has in store for us.”
Bike It Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team’s Jack Chambers missed his first Qualifying points-score of the season by just a couple of seconds in the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship as he raced home eleventh. The American had advanced from twelfth to ninth during the first three laps before surrendering two positions mid-race.
Jack Chambers: “My best Quali placing this year! I had a couple of eighths last year so we’re working towards that step-by-step; it’s not a huge step but we’re heading in the right direction. We’ve made a couple of changes, both on the bike and mentally too since I changed my living-space back in England. It was a very random moto with the weather but I went for tear-offs in the hope it would stay dry. Anyway, it’s a decent gate-pick for tomorrow and that could be vital if it rains again.”
Teammate Bobby Bruce again started well in tenth and eventually finished fifteenth when he regained his composure after losing places quickly during the hectic early laps.
Bobby Bruce: “That was probably my best Quali to date. I didn’t feel too comfortable early in the moto but luckily the rain held off for most of the race and I started to pick up to put in my best lap at the end. The track’s really technical and tough – which I like – so we should have a good race tomorrow if the rain stays off.”
Quentin Marc Prugnières raced his Kawasaki to sixth, equaling his best result of the season.
