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Another podium for Romain Febvre in South Africa
Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP's Romain Febvre claimed his fifth podium of the season in the 11th round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at the Terra Topia MX track on the outskirts of Johannesburg in South Africa.
A good jump at the gate and a tight line through Turn 1 in Race 1 saw him emerge third. An immaculate pass for second was unfortunately negated before the end of the opening lap as a knock to his knee pushed him back temporarily to fourth. He was forcing the pace again after 10 minutes, and the pressure paid dividends on Lap 6 as he swept back to third. With the front-three matching each other's lap times, there was a tense high-speed chase to the flag as the Top 3 in the world confirmed their current rankings. A similar start in Race 2 saw the Frenchman push into third halfway round the first lap, and a stunning move after 10 minutes saw him cut under his rival for second. That position appeared secure until he fell to a surprise attack at the 20-minute stage. His brace of third-placed motos secured third overall and has further consolidated third in the series standings, 39 points clear of fourth.
"I felt fast all weekend - the speed was there and also the starts - and had hoped for better, but I hurt my knee on the first lap of Race 1 and had a lot of pain for most of the moto. I took a good start again in the second race and was managing Jeffrey [Herlings] behind me for more than 20 minutes. I am getting there step by step, closer to the front two every week, and the three of us are gone from the pack. I could always hold their race pace, and I have been working on my one-lap speed these last few weeks."
- Romain Febvre
KRT teammate Pauls Jonass raced to his best result of the season in the first moto as he swept through the center of Turn 1 and rode an attacking first couple of turns to complete the opening lap fifth. After a decisive defense against the chasers through the early laps, he was already making the position his own when a faller handed him fifth, and by mid-moto he was already a secure fourth behind Febvre and the other main title chasers. The Latvian didn't get quite such a good jump in Race 2 but soon settled into eighth until an aggressive move on Lap 7 knocked him back to 15th before he could remount but he responded admirably to salvage 13th at the checkered flag. He remains 10th in the series standings and has closed significantly on eighth.
"I'm riding really well, but the final result was frustrating. The pace wasn't quite there in the first laps of Race 2 and that's when you end up in a situation like the one with Fernandez; it was a big knock, and it took me a while to get going again as I was quite confused for a few seconds. This week we managed two good motos, but we need to put three solid races together."
- Pauls Jonass
DRT Kawasaki's Kay Karssemakers confirmed his 10th place in the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship standings with solid rides to 11th in each moto. The Dutch youngster posted good starts in each moto, holding ninth for the first two laps of Race 1 before being pushed back to his eventual 11th at half-distance. An even better start in Race 2 saw him eighth, amongst the factory bikes, for 10 minutes before he had to settle for 11th again.
"My starts were OK, and there were some positives this weekend, but my riding could have been better. Now we head back to Europe, and we will work to be closer to the Top 8 again. There are some nice GPs coming up with the team's home GP at Foxhills and sand GPs in Lommel and Arnhem."
- Kay Karssemakers
