Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre extended his lead in the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship to forty-two points with a strong ride up the leaderboard to finish third in Qualifying at Arnhem in The Netherlands.
The Frenchman, fourth in Timed Practice, emerged top-six from the hectic first turn and moved past his KRT teammate for fifth on lap two. A scintillating pass on the current world champion saw him move forward to fourth on lap five before exerting pressure to take over third three laps later. Displaying outstanding speed through the waves he quickly closed down second but the lapped riders were now coming quick and fast and they eventually cost the Kawasaki leader his run on second. But in taking the chequered flag third he significantly finished ahead of his rival in the series points-standings to move one point further clear at the head of the table with a forty-two point advantage heading into tomorrow’s two GP motos.
Romain Febvre: “I was a little careful in practice this morning as the track surface was a lot harder than in previous years so there were a lot of edges on the take-offs and in the turns. We found some good solutions for the race and the track was getting more bumpy so I had a good race pace. My start was not so good but I could turn inside and was behind my teammate. I was making a few mistakes on the first lap but then I found my flow and could pass Pauls, Gajser and Coenen. I came close to Glenn but I couldn’t find a solution to pass him and settled for third with good points; that was the aim today.”
KRT team colleague Pauls Jonass made a bullet start from mid-grid to hold fourth through the first few turns and keep the “big-five” in sight for several laps before the inevitable arm pump started to dig in so soon after his return from injury on such a demanding track and he was gradually pushed back to ninth at the finish.
Pauls Jonass: “I got a good start; the first fifteen minutes were good and I had a good flow behind the front guys for the first few laps. But then I got a little tight in my arms and lost my rhythm; it’s difficult on this track if that happens as you can’t keep the flow over the bumps. Nothing can replicate the race intensity so I didn’t execute the whole race today, but it’s another step; I should have a better feeling and hope for more tomorrow.”
Kawasaki Racing Team MX2’s Mathis Valin finished sixth in Qualifying for the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship. The French youngster got a good jump from his seventh-choice gate-pick but was hindered in the hectic first turn and had to show gritty determination to hit the first timing split ninth. He moved forward to eighth already on the opening lap and there followed an attacking charge up the leaderboard to take sixth on lap ten of fourteen and secure that position to the chequered flag as he denied a last lap challenge from the current world champion.
Mathis Valin: “The start wasn’t the best as some guys crashed which made it confusing in the first turn. It’s not so deep sand as Lommel but the track was tough and I had a good pace together with McLellan; we passed everyone in front to almost catch fourth at the end. P6 was not bad but I want more.”
Bike It Kawasaki’s Kay Karssemakers held a strong eleventh for most of the Qualifying race before a couple of late race errors dropped him to fourteenth.
Kay Karssemakers: “I need to improve my flying lap speed in Timed Practice but I made decent start from mid-gate. I’ve been working hard with both Steve Dixon and my personal trainer and we are looking to get into the top-ten before the end of the season. Small steps and long vision is the motto.”
