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Romain Febvre consolidates third in MXGP standings
Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP's Romain Febvre strengthened his hold on third place in the standings as the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship approaches the halfway stage in the series with fifth overall at Montevarchi in central Italy.
The Frenchman gated well in the first moto but was stood up at Turn 1 when he was bumped by another rider and lost momentum through the rising turn to leave the corner nearly last. A stunning opening lap saw the Frenchman scythe his way through the pack to 10th, but he then faced a frustrating race searching for a way around a stubborn local rider. Once he found a way past after 10 minutes, he continued to make headway to take over his eventual sixth on the penultimate lap. Poor drive out of the gate proved costly in Race 2, but he rode a clever first turn to emerge tenth. By Lap 2 he was eighth but was then again confronted with a "wide" rival; he eventually launched into seventh, five laps from the close and made two further sweet passes to finish fifth in the moto for fifth overall. Scoring more points over the weekend than his closest chaser in the series standings, he has consolidated his bronze medal ambitions.
"We had to use the hard track tire today, and we just couldn't get the starts. I came back really well through the pack, but I'm a little frustrated because this is my type of track and I am sure I could have won the GP if I had started with the other guys. It's always easier to pass at the end of the motos when the other guys drop the pace, but I lost too much time at the beginning. We could change line in almost every turn in the first moto, but with the rain during the interval the inside was muddy for Race 2 so there were fewer lines to pass."
- Romain Febvre
KRT teammate Pauls Jonass battled relentlessly from poor starts in both motos. In the first race he pushed forward from 19th to a lonely 11th by half-distance and was rewarded with 10th in the closing stages when another rider fell. The Latvian made a clever switch to the inside of Turn 1 in Race 2 to secure a Top 10 start, and he pushed for the entire race to eventually finish eighth, just two seconds shy of sixth. He remains 10th in the series standings.
"Overall my riding was better this weekend, and it showed in the results. I had good speed, and my feeling for the track was there, but I just didn't get the starts, and that cost me. I had to come from a long way back in both motos; I made some good passes, and at the end I wasn't so far from the guys at the front. This was a real old-school track - hard and slick with limited traction - but it was nice to race something different."
- Pauls Jonass
