Frenchman Romain Febvre of Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP moved second in the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship standings with his first GP win of the season on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa.
Having already headed ever session on the Saturday, Febvre was looking at the perfect weekend as he also dominated Warm-up and KX450-SR power again saw the Frenchman holeshot by a clear bike-length in the first GP moto.
The midday heat was claustrophobic and the Kawasaki rider was content initially to simply keep his closest chaser at arm’s length before emphasizing his outstanding pace at half-distance to gradually move six seconds clear until a fateful moment on the 13th of 17 laps when he momentarily lost traction on a slick downhill landing and slithered to the ground.
The incident cost 12 seconds, but he rejoined the race still second and quickly regained his composure to bring it home just three seconds shy of the winner.
Victory was never in doubt in race two after yet another clear holeshot as the Febvre coolly built an ever-greater lead over the rest of the field and was nine seconds clear at one stage before rolling through the final few turns to clinch an overwhelming moto win and secure his 16th career GP victory, his first since 2021.
The 57-point championship haul from the weekend has also advanced the Frenchman to second in the series with nine GPs remaining.
“It was important to finally win again, both for me and for the team and we’ve done the job this weekend; I was fastest every session and I feel my speed was really good,” said Febvre.
“We had a start-test day this week; I did 98 starts and three clear holeshots this weekend show that we found some good solutions.
“Now it’s up to me to carry on like this. The second moto was mine all the way, but it was my own mistake in the first moto. I was under no pressure, leading by several seconds and I was opening the gap.
“I felt I could take my time but it’s a little off-camber at that part of the track and I just went on the edge of the line; I opened the gas too early and I slid through 180 degrees. I was leading but it’s never over until the end; it was my mistake. I’m just a little disappointed because it should have been a perfect 1-1 weekend; we took back a few points, and I’m now second in the series, but it could have been even more.”
Photo courtesy Kawasaki
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RESULTS & STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 10 OF 19:
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), 35:18.962; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:03.627; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:04.956; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:15.790; 5. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:23.998; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:32.073; 7. Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), +0:37.236; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:44.659; 9. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Kawasaki), +1:00.621; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +1:04.957.
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:57.623; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:02.463; 3. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:14.192; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:18.102; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:32.890; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:45.801; 7. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:57.181; 8. Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), +1:03.972; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +1:07.599; 10. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Honda), +1:11.338.
MXGP – Grand Prix Top 10 Classification:
1. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 47 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 45 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 42 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 33 p.; 6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 31 p.; 7. Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), 27 p.; 8. Mitchell Evans (AUS, KAW), 26 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 23 p.; 10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 23 p.
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 505 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 404 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 386 p.; 4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 374 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 371 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 346 p.; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 324 p.; 8. Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), 256 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 229 p.; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 203 p.
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 36:03.223; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:05.592; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:14.758; 4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:19.960; 5. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:28.771; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:32.031; 7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +0:33.749; 8. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Husqvarna), +0:35.555; 9. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +1:00.831; 10. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +1:14.278.
MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 34:26.014; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:03.873; 3. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:04.923; 4. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:05.276; 5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +0:12.868; 6. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Husqvarna), +0:19.428; 7. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:29.614; 8. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +0:38.272; 9. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:43.455; 10. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:50.453.
MX2 – Grand Prix Top 10 Classification:
1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 50 points; 2. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 36 p.; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 34 p.; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 33 p.; 6. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 30 p.; 7. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 29 p.; 8. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 28 p.; 9. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 24 p.; 10. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 24 p.
MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 439 points; 2. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 434 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 417 p.; 4. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 381 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 381 p.; 6. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 373 p.; 7. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 315 p.; 8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 295 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 268 p.; 10. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 217 p.