Another top five for Romain Febvre
Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team's Romain Febvre achieved another top five result and won the award for the fastest lap of the day at the seventh round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship in Faenza in northern Italy.
Febvre immediately confirmed a solid performance in qualifying with a top four start in the first moto. The Frenchman set the fastest lap of the day and enjoyed an exciting duel with the eventual winner during the first half of the heat. Several times he came desperately close to moving up to second place until a small mistake on the final lap ended his hopes of finishing second. In eighth place after the start of the second moto, the Frenchman lost contact with the leading group while trying to pass Seewer. Once past, he reaffirmed his speed by regularly setting the fastest lap on the increasingly rough circuit. Going into the final lap, he had the day's winner and his pursuers in his sights, but he simply didn't have time to catch up. He eventually finished in sixth place. Overall he finished fifth in a tight battle for points. Romain is now ninth in the rankings.
Teammate Clement Desalle bravely braved the discomfort of recent injuries to maintain his lap times during each thirty-minute plus two-lap race. Indeed, the Belgian called on all his energetic reserves of energy and dedication in the stifling heat to post his personal fastest lap of the second heat on the very last lap. After spending the entire first moto on the edge of the top ten, the KX450-SR power put him through the first uphill turn into the top three of the second moto. Although he quickly dropped to sixth place, he showed remarkable resistance for the rest of the moto to only lose three more places. He finished eleventh in the general classification and is now tenth in the points classification of the world championship.
Romain Febvre: “The first heat was really good. I had a good start and finished third. I was happy with my riding but after twenty minutes I lost contact with the leaders when I made a mistake before the pits. I pushed hard to recover, but on the last lap I made a small mistake. My second start was not so good. I rode a strong opening lap to get through, but the leaders were already well in front when I finally finished sixth. I had some nice battles with Seewer, Coldenhoff and Clement, but in the end I had to be satisfied with sixth place. I'm a little disappointed because a podium finish was possible with a better start, but that's racing! “
Clement Desalle: “It was a little better than last weekend. I feel some improvement. My first start wasn't that good and I made some mistakes in the early laps, so I finished 11th. My second start was really good in third position, but I'm not back in shape at the moment because of the situation with my neck and my back. Eleventh and ninth aren't so bad, because last week I wasn't even sure I could race. My second moto was better. It was certainly the best of the last four here in Faenza. At the end of the race I still had some pain in my back. I hope things will get better on Sunday with some more rest and physical training. I would like to thank the team for their support during this difficult period.”
Posted: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Photo: #NiekFotografie
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