Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre raced to a resounding second in Qualifying for the thirteenth round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at Lommel in the deep sand of northern Belgium.
A completely new track layout at the facility close to the Dutch border ensured even more rugged conditions than usual through the energy-sapping sand but the Frenchman, coming off three consecutive GP victories, was prepared for the challenge after a week of physio to the shoulder he injured last weekend in the Czech Republic. Fastest by nearly two seconds in Free Practice the Kawasaki leader was not concerned as two rivals edged him out in the closing stages of the Timed Practice session which decided the order of gate-pick for the Qualifying race as he chose to start from the very center of the grid to optimize his line into the long sweeping first turn. A lightening getaway saw the Green machine hit the peel-off point for the turn in front but a rival on the inside did not turn so quickly and ran him wide. Within half-a-lap Febvre was through to fourth and a lap later he cut under the next rival for third. There followed a breathtaking three-way battle for the lead as each of the candidates pushed to the limit; the unrelenting Flemish sand track is unique in that the slightest error costs seconds rather than tenths and it was two-and-a-half laps from the finish that the Kawasaki rider, who once again set the fastest lap, could finally make second his own after pressurizing the rider ahead into a mistake. He then closed down the two-second deficit to the leader dramatically but ran out of time to mount a final assault for victory. However second place brought a three-point win in the championship standings and an excellent choice of starting position for each of tomorrow’s even more demanding GP motos as he chases his fourth GP victory in succession.
Romain Febvre: “I worked with the physio every day this week to recover from the pain in my shoulder and on Wednesday I went riding to see how it was going. Today I had a good feeling straight away in the first practice session; I had good speed and could find my rhythm easily even if I couldn’t really show it when I was behind Prado and Coldenhoff during the Qualifying race. My feeling is good and tomorrow the goal will be to win another GP; today my start was good but I went too far outside in the first corner and I was fifth after two corners. I was soon third and then I passed Prado for second but I couldn’t find anywhere to pass Coldenhoff for the win in those last two laps. But I’m confident for tomorrow.”
KRT teammate Mitch Evans showed good speed for ninth in Timed Practice but had no joy at the first turn of Qualifying as flying sand left him temporarily unsighted and he fell; he fought back determinedly from the back to finish thirteenth.
Mitch Evans: “P9 in Timed Practice was OK but I’ve been hanging around there too long and want to be closer to top-five soon. I got roosted at turn one, couldn’t see and tucked the front in; I just had to salvage what I could from there. The track’s already quite rough today so tomorrow will be even deeper.”
F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo earnt seventh choice-of-gate for tomorrow’s round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship. The Norwegian’s KX250 took him into an immediate second place at the start of the Qualifying race and he held that position defiantly for a couple of laps before a couple of local sand experts came past and he settled into a comfortable fourth. Every rider was already making mistakes as track conditions were already highly demanding and a fall on lap five put him back to seventh, a position he then maintained to the finish as he found an ever-better rhythm.
Kevin Horgmo: “I didn’t find a flow in practice but I got a good start in Qualifying to ride second for two laps. The pace was really high at the beginning and the lines from the 125s, which raced immediately before us, were not good for us so I lost a few positions before I settled in and found my rhythm. I crashed one time in the waves but the flow on the track got better for us as the race went on and I felt more-and-more comfortable, which is promising for tomorrow.”
Teammate David Braceras was already impressive in Timed Practice as he posted his best flying-lap speed of the season to earn eleventh-choice of gate for Qualifying. Solid early laps saw him advance to tenth before losing one position four laps from the finish as the ever-more demanding track forced errors from the entire field.
David Braceras: “I felt good already in Free Practice and in Timed Practice I rode just two fast laps for eleventh; that’s my best all-season, and I did it here in Lommel! In the Qualifying race I pushed hard in the first few laps to win some places; I was tenth for some laps but then I started to make a few mistakes and finished eleventh. It was a solid day; now I will rest this evening because tomorrow will be even tougher.”
