Moving to the classic circuit of Talavera de la Reina in Spain for round seven of the FIM Motocross World Championship, Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre claimed a hard fought fourth overall in the MX2 classification.
Eighth overall at the GP of Spain, Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray continued to close in on a top five result in the highly competitive MXGP class.
With the MXGP series returning to the hard packed Talavera venue following a 14-year absence, Frenchman Romain Febvre was confident of repeating his podium result from round six at last weekend’s GP of The Netherlands. Fourth in qualification, the Husqvarna rider got his weekend off to a great start.
Ending the opening lap of race one in sixth position, Febvre pushed hard to improve his pace on the challenging track. But with the course only offering one fast line, he eventually ended the race in fifth.
Gating strongly in third position for race two, Febvre found himself in a five-rider battle for the race lead. Reaching second position by mid-distance, a mistake on an uphill jump saw him slip back to fifth. Fighting back to third place on the final lap – and a potential podium result – an aggressive move by close rival Jose Butron saw Febvre crash and end his race in fourth and fourth overall at the Spanish GP.
For team-mate Aleksandr Tonkov, it was a weekend of misfortune. Despite riding well, Tonkov crashed twice in race one and finished 10th. Eager to improve in race two a bad start left him with a lot of ground to make up. Unfortunately a broken battery wire stopped the Russian in his tracks and he was forced to retire.
Making positive strides towards the front of the MXGP class, Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray ended the GP of Spain in a well-earned eighth overall, only two points off a top five result. Showing good speed in both motos, Rattray powered his FC 350 around the hard packed and bumpy hillside circuit to eighth position in race one. Hoping to better that result in race two, Rattray collided with another rider on lap one. Dropping as far back as 16th, he recovered well to place 10th.
The FIM Motocross World Championship continues with round eight at Matterley Basin, Great Britain on May 24/25.
Romain Febvre: “It’s been an eventful GP for me. Race one was okay. My start was good but the track was difficult to pass on and I could only move up to fifth.
“Starting third in race two was a big help and I was right in the battle for the lead until a mistake on a jump dropped me back to fifth. I was riding strong and closed back in on the leading group. I got into third on the final lap but Butron put a hard pass on me and I crashed. It’s frustrating because I could have got onto the podium.”
Aleksandr Tonkov said: “I’m disappointed with the weekend. At the moment I seem to be out of luck. My speed is good, and I’m riding well but after two crashes in race one, 10th was the best I could do. Race two ended before it really got going due to a broken battery wire. It was a freak occurrence and there was nothing the team could do. The British GP is in two weeks time so hopefully things will go my way there.”
Tyla Rattray commented: “I feel positive about the weekend – I was riding well and my speed was good. A couple of small things held me back but in the first race I managed to get a good start and run upfront for a while. That felt good.
“Race two I hoped for the same but collided with another rider and damaged my radiator scoop in the process. It was flapping about all race and was catching in my boot in the corners so I had to ride a bit cautious. I definitely feel a top five result in on the cards next time out at Matterley Basin. I like that track and know I can do well there.”
