Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre swept to his fourth podium of the year in the Portuguese round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at Agueda to further strengthen his third place in the standings at the halfway stage of the season.
The Frenchman swept through the first turn third in race one, but an over-cautious opening lap saw two of the most aggressive rivals in the championship leap past. He soon regrouped to join a four-rider breakaway and was clearly the fastest through the waves but, needing five further laps to pass into third, he lost the tow to the front two and had to be satisfied with third at the finish. He was closed down heading into turn one of the second moto but was quickly on the move with successive passes to seventh on the first lap and a dramatic move into sixth on lap two. A clever switch of lines secured fifth five minutes later and he soon pulled back fourth and set off after third, the position he needed for the podium. Matching the lap times of the leaders he exerted pressure on third and it paid dividends four laps from the end when his rival succumbed to the pressure and Febvre could secure his fourth podium on the season. With the series now at the halfway stage the defending champion enters the second-half of the season already a secure third in the points standings.
Romain Febvre: “Finally I could put two good motos together again and when I do that I know I can be on the box. The first moto I got a good start and was up there all race, but I really had to work for it in the second moto. I could see Gajser ahead of me and I knew I needed him for the podium so I pushed hard to catch him and pressured him into making a mistake. And I wasn’t that far from the leaders; it’s hard not to be racing them but I’m getting there and I was closer than in the first race. It was nice to have a track with good grip and I was really enjoying my riding. It will be interesting to go to South Africa next week; it’s the first time we have been there but it’s the same altitude as Mexico so we know what we have to do.”
KRT teammate Pauls Jonass found himself pushed wide at turn one in the first moto, but was soon making moves from outside the first ten to complete the opening lap seventh. It looked like another lonely ride for the Latvian as the leaders had already sprinted clear but he regrouped mid-race to quickly run down sixth in the closing stages. A top-three start in race two was the basis for another excellent ride; he surrendered a couple of places during the hectic opening lap but responded well to move back into the top six before half-distance and maintained the position securely to claim a deserved sixth overall. He remains tenth in the points standings but has closed significantly on eighth heading into the second half of the series and can look forward confidently to climbing the rankings.
Pauls Jonass: “Another positive weekend with good speed and riding. I was happy with my pace in the first moto and consistent lap times. My start in moto two was really good but I was riding a little tight and made a few bad line-choices on the first lap to let a couple of guys past. But all of the hard work is finally paying off and I’m getting closer step-by-step to the front guys.”
