Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre continued to put his best foot forward for Husqvarna Motorcycles by claiming fifth overall in the MX2 class at round 11 of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Teutschenthal, Germany.
Entering the MXGP of Germany fourth overall in the championship standings, Febvre sought to maintain his position. Gating well in the first race, the Frenchman worked his way into fifth and set about closing in on the leading group.
But a small mistake midway through the race saw him lose ground and was he forced to settle for fifth. A crash three laps into race two put paid to another top five result. Fighting hard to overcome his mistake, the Husqvarna rider battled his way back to sixth and ended his weekend a well-deserved fifth overall.
“I made one mistake in both races today and that cost me the chance of finishing better,” said Romain Febvre. “I knew my pace was good and in race one I got a decent start and was riding well. But after a few laps I tipped over and lost some ground on the guys in front and wasn’t able to close back in. Race two was up and down.
“The track was becoming very one lined and that made it difficult to pass on. I got past a few riders in the first couple of corners but then had a small crash on lap three and had to fight my way back up to sixth.”
For team-mate Aleksandr Tonkov the MXGP of Germany was one of both highs and lows. Running seventh and closing in on a top five result in race one, Tonkov was forced to stop when a rock smashed the hosing connected to the fuel pump. Determined to make amends in race two, the Russian attacked hard. Working his way into fifth place, Tonkov ended his day on a positive note.
“Race one was a disaster but race two was perfect,” said Aleksandr Tonkov. “In the first moto I was running seventh until a rock broke the fuel line on my bike. I was gutted not to finish but determined to make up for it in the second race. I got away well and attacked hard. Three of us were really close but I found my way into fifth with seven laps to go and held it until the finish. After the disappointment of race one it was great to end the weekend on a high with a top five result.”
Making his debut ride for Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing at Teutschenthal, Nathan Watson quickly settled into MXGP life. Only receiving the call on Wednesday to act as a replacement rider for the injured Tyla Rattray and Todd Waters, the young 20-year-old British rider acquitted himself well. Impressing with the 10th fastest time during Saturday’s Timed Practice, Watson showed good speed.
With the team’s focus solely on ensuring Watson gaining valuable MXGP experience, the Husqvarna rider achieved his best result of the day by finishing 16th in race one. Unfortunately a crash in the second race put paid to another strong result and he finished 24th.
But with a full race now under his belt, Watson hopes to improve his position when he continues to act as the team’s replacement rider at the MXGP of Sweden and Finland next month.
“I just wanted to gain some experience this weekend,” said Nathan Watson. “Everything was organised last minute to come here so I have to thank the team for their huge effort and support in helping me out – 16th in race one was a good result but I also had some other positives during the weekend.
“Setting the 10th fastest time in Saturday’s Time Practice was a great confidence boost for me and now that I have a couple of weeks to prepare for the next round in Sweden I can work more closely with the team to improve. Hopefully there I can deliver a better result and get closer to the top ten.”
The FIM Motocross World Championship continues with round 12 at Uddevalla, Sweden on July 6.
