Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre extended his points lead in the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship with a charge up the leaderboard to second in Qualifying for the British round of the series at Matterley Basin.
The Frenchman immediately confirmed his liking for the vast sweeping track in the south of England with fastest time in Free Practice before earning fifth gate-pick for Qualifying in Timed Practice. Fifth past the pit straight out of turn one he pounced for fourth within the next few corners before lining up a decisive pass on his closest championship rival, building exhilarating speed through the final turn to carry the momentum along the home straight. Grip was at a minimum on the hard-baked surface but the combination of Febvre’s delicate throttle control, the smooth power delivery of the KX450-SR and the superb traction of the Dunlop tyres saw him make a further exquisite pass for second in a sweeping downhill turn to set his sights on the leader. Their pace took them fifteen seconds clear and the Kawasaki rider was able to close down the leader time-and-again without the opportunity to make the final pass. But second place extends his championship lead to twenty-nine points heading into tomorrow’s two GP motos.
Romain Febvre: “Overall it was a good day and I felt really comfortable on the bike. The start is always a little different here with the downhill immediately out of the gate; I didn’t get a really good jump but I could compensate through the turn to come out top-six and then I made my way through to second. It was a good battle with Jeffrey the last five or six laps and I could close him down but there was just too much dust to make the pass; I could not see when I got close and had to wait. It’s a shame but second was ok.”
Kawasaki Racing Team MX2’s Mathis Valin started the weekend well with second-fastest lap in Free Practice before earning eighth-choice of gate in Timed Practice for the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship. A ragged start in Qualifying saw him closed down immediately out of the gate and he was fourteenth at the the first split. He was through to eleventh by the completion of the first lap but needed four more laps to find his way into the top-ten. Another pass two laps later saw the French teenager secure his eventual ninth.
Mathis Valin: “I was feeling good already through both practices but I had a really bad start in Qualifying. It was quite dusty but I was able to pass some guys for P9; tomorrow is more important and I learnt where I can make passes today.”
Photocredits – Pascal Haudiquert
