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Romain Febvre runner-up in Argentina
Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP's Romain Febvre opened his defense of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship title with a hard-fought second place at Bariloche in Argentina to head to Round 2 in Spain just two points off the championship pace.
The Frenchman quickly moved into fourth from a top-six start in Race 1 and on Lap 6 of 16 made an enthralling outside pass to take over third, six seconds from second. He halved the deficit to three seconds but could not quite close the gap to mount a final challenge and had to be satisfied with third at the checkered flag. A stunning start in Race 2 saw him take the KX450SR to a clear holeshot and he immediately opened up a commanding lead, only for the race to be red-flagged for an unsatisfactory start elsewhere on the grid. At the restart, he again moved into the lead on Lap 2 and quickly built a seven-second lead, which he maintained until the final four laps, and which would have ensured the overall victory. However, broken tear-offs on his goggles as he negotiated a back marker disturbed his concentration as the film flapped around his helmet and his closest chaser took advantage to close the gap, passing for the win two-and-a-half laps from the finish.
Teammate Pauls Jonass showed his best form since joining KRT last season with a series of top-six starts and good speed throughout both motos. A dramatic pass through the waves at two-thirds distance in Race 1 earned him fifth at the checkered flag and an even better result looked probable when he swept into fourth on the second lap of Race 2 before the race was red-flagged for an incident involving other riders at the gate. The Latvian was more affected by the red flag than any other as he came together with another rider at turn two of the rerun and had to charge from last to thirteenth at the finish. He holds ninth in the series standings heading to round two.
"We made some adjustments to the bike since yesterday and we got much better starts; I even got the holeshot in Race 2 before they red-flagged it. At the re-run I was just behind Tom [Vialle] off the start and had a better flow; that's always easier when you're in front and can ride your own lines. I was in a good spot but I didn't see Jeffrey [Herlings] had also passed Tom so I thought I had a huge gap. I rode one good lap to keep the distance when I saw Jeffrey with ten minutes to go, but then I broke the roll-offs on my goggles and I knew it would be difficult when he was on my wheels. My goal coming here was to be on the podium and I did that; now I have someone to chase and it's only two points."
- Romain Febvre
"I showed good speed all weekend - my best since I joined Kawasaki last year; we put in a lot of work during the winter - riding and training - and it seems to be paying off, but the restart in Race 2 cost me. I was in fourth when the race was red-flagged, then at the restart I came together with another rider at turn two and had to come from dead last to thirteenth. I was happy with my riding all weekend but of course I am disappointed with the final result. But that's how it goes sometimes so we will just keep working for higher results."
- Pauls Jonass
