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Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Powers France to Podium Finish at Motocross of Nations
Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre and Mathis Valin helped secure third place overall for Team France at the FIM Motocross of Nations held at Ironman Raceway in Indiana. On his Nations debut, Valin also claimed third overall in the individual MX2 classification and earned the prestigious Ricky Carmichael Award as the event’s best young rider.
France opened the event with the MXGP/MX2 race, where both Kawasaki riders delivered strong performances to put their country tied for first in the standings. Febvre battled near the front and recovered to fifth place despite a crash while fighting for third, while Valin charged from 16th to ninth overall, finishing just 0.2 seconds shy of first in MX2.
In the following MX2/Open race, Valin showed remarkable determination, climbing from 23rd to 14th, securing third overall in MX2 and keeping France second in the team classification heading into the final moto.
In the deciding MXGP/Open race, Febvre advanced from seventh to fifth, appearing to secure France second place overall before a late position change by a teammate on another brand pushed the team back to third on a tiebreak.
Romain Febvre:
"I gave it everything right to the final lap of the last moto. It’s a shame about my crash in the first race—I was in a great position but misjudged a turn full of water. Still, we did a solid job as a team. It’s been a long season, so I’m happy to finish on the podium, even if it’s a bit disappointing to just miss out on second to the USA."
Mathis Valin:
"It took me some time to adjust to the track yesterday since there were so many different lines, but I’m proud of my performance today. The first moto went really well—I held off Kay [de Wolf] almost to the end for the MX2 win. I was a bit tired for the second race, but I kept pushing. This was my first Nations, and I want to thank my teammates and team manager Gautier Paulin for their support and advice all weekend."
Kawasaki Racing Team’s Pauls Jonass also impressed, leading Team Latvia to a ninth-place finish in the Nations standings with seventh overall in the Open class.
Pauls Jonass:
"Seventh in class was okay, but I know I can do better. It was my first time riding here, and I never really found my rhythm on the track. Now we’ll head back to Europe for testing and come back stronger next year."