main content of page
Racing News |
Perfect weekend for Romain Febvre in Sweden
Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre delivered a flawless performance at the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship in Uddevalla, Sweden, claiming three commanding victories and extending his series lead to 41 points with four rounds remaining.
Febvre and his KX450-SR stormed out of the gate in race one with the first of two massive holeshots. Though he briefly lost the lead in turn three as lines converged, he quickly regained control by turn four and began pulling away. Within a few laps, the Frenchman had built a six-second gap and held steady, managing the pace smartly as the gnarly, rutted track took its toll on the field. With his title rival finishing seventh, Febvre increased his championship lead to 25 points heading into race two.
A second holeshot—the seventh of his season—set the stage for a perfect weekend. Aware of the growing pressure behind him and the risks posed by deteriorating track conditions and late afternoon shadows, Febvre stayed composed. Despite a brief scare when he stalled the engine on lap eight, allowing his chasers to close in, he kept his cool, absorbed the pressure, and edged away once more.
As the local Swedish hero mounted a late charge, Febvre wisely avoided pushing past his limits. When the hometown favorite crashed after momentarily taking the lead on the final lap, Febvre was perfectly positioned to reclaim the top spot. The win marked his fifth GP victory and 15th podium of the season, delivering a 32-point swing in the championship and giving him a 41-point cushion heading into the final four rounds.
KRT teammate Pauls Jonass made a promising start to the weekend, climbing from 11th to 9th in the early laps of race one. However, a small mistake cost him positions, and a lack of recent GP race time eventually saw him finish 15th.
In race two, the Latvian made a remarkable recovery. After catching the rear wheel of a rival heading into the first corner, he was forced wide and found himself dead last. He reacted quickly, cutting inside through the sweeping turn to recover to 10th by the end of the opening lap. Holding a consistent pace throughout, Jonass secured 10th at the flag and rounded out the day 10th overall.
Romain Febvre:
"We’ve been working hard on our starts, and today I took two holeshots—it always makes life easier out front. In the first moto, Jeffrey was close at the end, but I wasn’t worried. The second moto was more stressful. I didn’t know where Lucas was, but I knew the top five were close, so I couldn’t afford any mistakes. Jeffrey was behind me for most of the race, then I realized it was Isak on the Yamaha after I heard the crowd. I knew he’d go for it on the last lap—and he had a good line I wasn’t expecting. I was still confident I’d win the GP and extend the championship lead, and then he crashed a couple of turns later. I have huge respect for Isak—he was really pushing. I’ve been chasing a perfect weekend all season, and everything came together here. It’s an awesome feeling, but the job’s not finished until the final round. I have to stay sharp until the end."
Pauls Jonass:
"It was a tough return to the GPs. It’s never easy to come back from injury mid-season, and I just couldn’t find my rhythm in either moto. I had a small tip-over and a few more mistakes in the first race. The second moto went a little better—just one small mistake mid-race. But I had to start somewhere. Back to the drawing board now to aim for a better result in Arnhem."
