MXGP sensation Romain Febvre was a guest of honour last weekend at Assen for the eighth round of MotoGP and was eagerly welcomed by the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team in what was the 23-year-old Frenchman’s first taste of the championship.
“I’d never been to MotoGP and it was amazing walking around the paddock and seeing all the trucks and hospitalities,” said Febvre, who has won the last three meetings of MXGP with his YZ450FM in France, Italy and Germany. “We went into the box and were allowed to watch the race from there. The bikes look so powerful but for me the best part was the noise…being close to that and feeling all of them take off from the grid was really exciting.”
“We met Valentino and to be honest I was impressed by how much the mechanics and most of the team knew about MXGP,” he added. Febvre visited Assen on Saturday and was not the only motocross Grand Prix star in attendance, team-mate Jeremy Van Horebeek was also at the circuit as well as defending champion Tony Cairoli.
The circuit made a presentation of their first running of an MXGP fixture – the Dutch GP, round sixteen on August 29-30 – on the eve of the MotoGP and the opening turn of the motocross layout will be built across the exciting and controversial chicane where Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez duelled so memorably last weekend.
Besides media duties, Febvre was able to enjoy an easy time in Holland and came direct from an intensive two-day test in Italy. The Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube team were able to hone the performance of the YZ450FM even further ahead of round eleven and the Grand Prix of Sweden at Uddevalla this weekend. “The team had an idea for the engine and we worked through it,” Febvre says. “I think they were happy that we found an improvement and I think it will make a difference at the starts. I’m really pleased we could still move forward with our work. I hope it will help us get out front this weekend.”
