Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre retained the red plate of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship series-leader at the halfway stage of the series with his eighth consecutive season at Teutschenthal in Germany. Kawasaki extended their points-lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
The Frenchman was quietly confident after setting fastest time in morning Warm-Up but lost traction halfway down the start straight in the opening moto; turning tight at turn one he emerged fifth and pushed hard in first-lap traffic to advance quickly to third. A loss of momentum as his front wheel bogged in a deep rut temporarily cost two positions on lap two but he was soon back to fourth and, lapping two seconds a lap faster than the leaders, was soon on their rear wheels before being confronted with a frustrating half-hour as he endeavoured inside and outside his rivals to find a way past on the one-line track. A second-placed start in race two augured well but overtaking remained extremely difficult after a storm during the interval left riders searching for grip on the greasy surface. The decisive moment occurred on the tenth of sixteen laps as the Kawasaki rider was badly hampered by a back marker to relinquish second and eventually he settled for a third-placed moto finish which secured his eighth consecutive GP podium and a thirty-six point lead in the series standings at the halfway stage of the championship. His weekend haul also means that Kawasaki extends their lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship to twenty points.
Romain Febvre: “Everyone has a bad weekend during the season, so I am happy that I was still able to make the podium; we are only halfway through the series and consistency will be the key. It was just so challenging to pass here; everyone saw that, particularly in the first moto when we went 1-2-3-4 in each other’s wheels the entire moto and could not pass. My speed was good and I tried everything but the inside line was the fastest everywhere and I was inevitably making mistakes when I tried other lines to pass. My starts were not so good all weekend and I paid the price. The track opened up a little in race two after the rain but it was really annoying with the lapper when Jeffrey passed me. I am just happy that we go to Kegums next weekend because in sand you can pass.”
KRT teammate Pauls Jonass had an unfortunate day. The Latvian established himself in a solid seventh after a few corners of the first race and maintained that position until two laps from the finish when he ran off track and crashed hard into an advertising arch. He was taken to the track medical centre and did not start race two. He is now thirteenth in the series standings.
It was an equally frustrating day for Kawasaki Racing Team MX2 and Mathis Valin in the tenth round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship. The French teenager fell heavily just thirty metres out of the start in race one when he was sandwiched by his gate neighbors and touched the rear wheel of one of them. Unperturbed by the incident he lined up for race two but again had no luck as he was involved in a mid-pack collision just a few corners into the race; he rejoined the race after losing a minute but, with no prospect of scoring points, pulled out of the race after three laps.
Mathis Valin: “I caught the wheel of Adamo out of the start in race one; it was quite a big crash but I’m still on two feet and was looking forward to race two but this was just not my day.”
Antti Pyrhönen (KRT team manager): “It was a tough day at the office for the entire team. Pauls was having a good first moto but somehow lost it; he has an injury to his collarbone and shoulder but we won’t know the extent of the injury until he has had a thorough examination. Mathis crashed at the first start and then he had to pull out of the second moto in pain from the crash. Romain rode a strong race as always. It was visible to see in the first race that his start was not good; it was so difficult to pass on this track but he tried and was fighting all the way. Then he rode a smart race to P3 in race two in unpredictable conditions; he had bad luck with the lappers to lose second to Jeffrey.”
Photocredits Full Spectrum Media
