Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre extended his lead in the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship series standings to forty-nine points with his second GP victory of the season at Lugo in Spain.
The sun came out from behind the clouds to herald the start of race one after a morning of rain had left the track muddy and the Kawasaki red plate holder, brimming with confidence after setting the fastest lap in morning Warm-up, celebrated with the first of two holeshots on the day. Riding with great composure in the demanding conditions and unpredictable surface the Frenchman controlled the race throughout, riding in his usual smooth elegant style to build a ten-second advantage. A clear holeshot in race two augured well for a repeat performance but on the second lap the Frenchman fell on the downhill landing after a big table-top as a drying rut grabbed his front wheel. He was relegated to seventh by the incident but a series of flambouyant passes saw him race inside one rival after another until he had reached the second place which sealed his second overall GP victory of the season and saw him extend his lead at the head of the championship points-standings significantly to forty-nine points.
Romain Febvre: “It was great to take the holeshot in both motos; it makes life so much easier. In the first moto I had good lines, could ride my own pace, take a good gap and managed the race from the front. But I had to stay calm and concentrated throughout the moto as there were so many square bumps and you could not see them under the mud. I took another holeshot in race two but then I made life difficult for myself. The downhill after the table-top was very sketchy with lots of mud and braking bumps so I wanted to change my line on the second lap; but I jumped too far to the middle, missed the line and fell. It was difficul to lift up the bike there and you always lose many positions if you fall during the first laps of a race. I found good solutions to make passes and came back to second; it was a really good ride. There are so many things to think about during a race and I didn’t realise at first that the overall was still on until I got the pitboard. I am so pleased to take the red plate to Ernee; the French GP is always special and I hear they have made some nice changes to the track too. I just hope we can finally have some good weather for us and for the fans; I will have special gear from J1 and I have also asked the Japanese for something nice on the bike.”
KRT teammate Pauls Jonass twice raced through the pack for ninth overall after two incident-packed races. The Latvian fell at the first turn of race one after catching the trackside banking but was back to twelfth within three laps with great speed through the waves and he was eleventh at the chequered flag. A bad jump at the gate in race two saw him initially eleventh but a series of forceful passes saw him move forward to seventh within four laps; he was sixth a few laps later before he tipped over in a tight right-hander two laps from the end to be pushed back to tenth. He has now further cemented eleventh in the series points-standings despite missing three GPs earlier in the season.
Pauls Jonass: “I made life difficult for myself today with the crash at the start of race one and mistakes in race two. I came through quickly in the first moto but I just blew myself up and got arm pump after I got to eleventh so I just had to ride cautiously and stay there. I pulled out some good passes to sixth, with a gap to the guy behind, in the second race but then I had a small tip-over with two laps to go. I am disappointed with those mistakes, but on the positive side I was feeling good on the bike all weekend; the speed is there as I showed with P2 in Timed Practice and I was moving forward both motos so I aim to be battling for podiums soon.”
