Clément Desalle and Romain Febvre about their seasonal debut
The Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team was back in action this weekend in Sardinia, with both Clément Desalle and Romain Febvre back behind the starting gate.
Five weeks prior to the opening round of the FIM MXGP World Championship, several major teams were in attendance. It is the first opportunity of the season to ride under competition conditions and it was the first time that this competition was part of KRT's winter preparation.
Clément Desalle rode a strong race and finished in fourth position in the MX1 race, where he achieved the same lap times as the race leader. Romain Febvre had to deal with the inevitable effects of arm pump after the long winter break.
Neither rider rode a fast opening lap in the super final as the 450s were given the outer starting gates. They both saw this match as good training. The team will start next month in Lacapelle-Marival in France in preparation for the world championships starting on March 1 in Matterley Basin, southern England.
Clement Desalle: “It was good to be back behind the starting gate and it was nice to ride on a beautiful and natural track here in Sardinia. My start was reasonable, I came through the first corner in sixth place and finished with a good feeling in fourth place. I felt good physically and enjoyed riding. The start of the super final was difficult as I had to avoid several riders who crashed in different incidents. We now continue to train in Belgium and Spain plus one last preparatory race in Lacapelle Marival before the GPs start. “
Romain Febvre: “It's great to be competing again after such a long break. I knew before I came here that I still needed to work on my speed, but that's normal at this stage of the season. Physically I was OK, although I suffered from arm pump in the first race. I made a small mistake during the super final, but my speed kept coming back. Since the beginning of this month I have been able to train on my bike every day again, so we will stay here in Sardinia for a few more days before we go to our last preparatory race. “
François Lemariey (KRT team manager): “We are still preparing because both Clément and Romain had to recover from their injuries in 2019 in the first weeks of winter. We never stopped working in the workshop, the KX450-SR was completely new last year but we now know it perfectly and can work on the details with KHI in Japan to offer our riders the very best equipment. We have two top drivers and we want to give them all the facilities so they can concentrate on racing. So far everything is going in the right direction. This year we have several new team members, including Jacky (Vimond) and a physiotherapist. We tested with Clément in December and he was happy with the evolution of the engine. Last week we completed our tests with Romain in Sardinia, he is also satisfied with the engine. Both drivers now know what they need to do to be completely ready for the first Grand Prix of the season.”
Photos: Ray Archer/Kawasaki Racing Team
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