The FIM Motocross World Championship moves on to Kegums in Latvia this weekend for the last of three back-to-back GPs. Romain Febvre will again defend the MXGP red plate, but he will be the sole Kawasaki Racing Team rider in the premier class as Pauls Jonass is still recovering from his crash in Germany.
The World Championship reached the halfway stage in Germany last weekend and everything is going perfectly for Romain Febvre, who has collected nine podiums from ten rounds. In Latvia Romain will line up with the red plate of the series points-leader on his Kawasaki #3 for the fourth consecutive GP.
Mathis Valin will also be racing for KRT in the MX2 class but Pauls Jonass will miss his home GP following a heavy crash during the final laps of the first moto at Teutschenthal. On his return to the team’s base in Belgium for further medical examinations after being hospitalized at Halle last Sunday Pauls received confirmation that he has two fractures in his shoulder but he will not need surgery as the breaks are clean and uncomplicated. He has to wear a sling for ten days before being allowed to move the shoulder; at the end of this month he will undergo further checks before returning to action on his Kawasaki KX450-SR.
Pauls Jonass: “For sure it’s tough mentally to miss more GPs after my crash in Germany, but it is what it is; it’s motocross racing and these things can happen. I don’t really remember what happened in detail but there were a lot of ruts just before that jump; I didn’t suffer a concussion and my head is clear but now I need to take it easy for ten days followed by a rehab process to be back as soon as possible. The feeling is not too bad at the moment though there is quite a lot of pain, but luckily I don’t need surgery and that’s positive. A few days in the sling, two weeks taking it easy and then I can slowly start the rehab before getting back on my KX450-SR in four to six weeks. The goal will then be a strong end to the season. Of course it’s disappointing to miss my home GP again, but good luck to Romain and Mathis this weekend.”
Antti Pyrhönen (KRT team manager): “It’s very unfortunate to lose Pauls ahead of his home GP with injury after his promising start to the German GP weekend. The positive aspect is that the injury is not worse and he will not need an operation. Pauls is an experienced athlete who knows how to overcome such setbacks and come back even stronger.”
Photocredits – Pascal Haudiquert
