Febvre undeniable with 1-1 victory in Sweden

MXGP SWEDEN - ROUND 11     Uddevalla MXGP Race Report - 05/07/2015 Febvre undeniable with 1-1 victory in Sweden 22,000 spectators found a vantage point around the compact Uddevalla circuit for a sun-kissed Grand Prix of Sweden and Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube's Romain Febvre dashed to his fourth consecutive victory, first 1-1 double and extended his lead in the premier class at the eleventh round of eighteen in the 2015 MXGP FIM Motocross World Championship. Team-mate on the works YZ450FM, Jeremy Van Horebeek, finished second overall for a perfect score for the Italian crew and the Belgian toasted an emotional first rostrum appearance of the year. Thermometers climbed to nearly thirty degrees at the venue north of Gothenburg and the dusty and hard-pack circuit was a typically frustrating and tricky track to judge and where extra importance was placed on the start. In the free week after the Grand Prix of Germany - and before attention-grabbing visits to Assen for the latest appointment in MotoGP - the factory team embarked on further tests in Italy and some of the speed and capabilities of Febvre and Van Horebeek in Sweden were testament to the extra work. The first moto (both races lasting thirty minutes and two laps) saw Febvre sliding out of the opening corner in first position. From there the Frenchman was able to ride at easy race-winning pace ahead of Evgeny Bobryshev and when the Russian crashed at mid-distance then Van Horebeek was able to rise into second and mark his best finish of the season so far. For Febvre it was a fifth moto victory from the last five Grands Prix and helped extend his championship advantage.    In the second outing Febvre seized the holeshot but ran a little wide in the first turn and Kevin Strijbos was able to front the pack. Febvre stalked the Belgian as the duo broke away and assessed where he was faster, where he could improve and where the best overtaking opportunity would come. He made his move on lap fifteen of nineteen with a block pass in the back section of the circuit and then pulled away from his rival to celebrate a stunning 1-1; the first of his career. Van Horebeek started in fifth and held the same rank to the flag that was enough for the second step of the 'box'. DP19 Yamaha Racing's David Philippaerts classified tenth overall. The former World Champion and the rider with the most experience at Uddevalla (the course has changed direction twice in its lengthy period as a mainstay circuit on the MXGP calendar) had a tasty battle with Tommy Searle and then the works Suzukis of Kevin Strijbos and Glenn Coldenhoff in the first moto and defeated all of his challengers to take a worthy seventh position. In the second moto he rode to ninth by beating Gautier Paulin. In the FIM World Championship standings Febvre has created a cushion of 39 points over Antonio Cairoli in his ownership of the red plate. Van Horebeek is making ground after being forced to miss two Grands Prix due to a broken foot. He sits in eighth while Philippaerts holds fast in twelfth. MXGP continues onto Kegums this weekend for the Grand Prix of Latvia. Round twelve is not the last event in July with eastern European emphasis as the Czech fixture is slated for the 25th-26th.  Romain Febvre 1st and 1st for 1st overall. Championship Position: 1st "The weekend was really great. I had won three in a row coming here but had not gone 1-1, so to do that is so good. The start was important to be able to reach the lead, ride safe and find good lines. In the second race I had the holeshot but because I went a little bit wide Kevin came inside. I knew it would be difficult to pass him because we had a nice battle on Saturday. I made a couple of mistakes and in my mind I was thinking second was enough to win the GP but after two laps I was again on his rear wheel so I decided again to try and pass and made it happen with three laps to go. The start is getting very important every race and we all have the same speed. We had some testing last week and we improved a lot our performance for the starts and also on the track. We will see…this weekend went pretty good so we can be happy with the job we did." Jeremy Van Horebeek 2nd and 5th for 2nd overall. Championship Position: 8th "It has been a while! There was a lot of pressure at the beginning of the season but then I broke my foot and it was difficult to come back from that and I was struggling mentally and thinking 'why is this happening to me?'. I regrouped and have been working really hard and it has been starting to pay off in the last weeks. I am still not totally satisfied however…I know I can do better." Erik Eggens - Yamaha Motor Europe MX Racing Manager "What a day. The teams - in both MXGP and MX2 - are working so well at the moment to be able to make results like these and develop the YZ450F and YZ250F to be some of the best bikes on the track. Romain continues to enjoy a fantastic year and Jeremy's comeback from a difficult beginning to the season was almost complete with a strong performance today. The guys are operating at a high level and we are pleased and proud. There is still a lot of racing ahead but we cannot be more satisfied with how it is progressing at the moment." 2015 MXGP Sweden Uddevalla 05/07/2015 race I 1 Romain Febvre Yamaha FRA 34'28.955  2 Jeremy Van Horebeek Yamaha BEL 0'14.107  3 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'18.097  4 Todd Waters Husqvarna AUS 0'18.528  5 Gautier Paulin Honda FRA 0'20.159  6 Dean Ferris Husqvarna AUS 0'25.268  7 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'31.278  8 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'32.398  9 Glenn Coldenhoff Suzuki NLD 0'35.198  10 Christophe Charlier Honda FRA 0'43.540  11 Nathan Watson Husqvarna GBR 0'49.268  12 Tyla Rattray Kawasaki ZAF 0'58.359  13 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 1'07.124  14 Jose Antonio Butron KTM ESP 1'10.338  15 Alessandro Lupino Honda ITA 1'11.107  race II 1 Romain Febvre Yamaha FRA 35'12.538  2 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'01.295  3 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'31.708  4 Dean Ferris Husqvarna AUS 0'33.610  5 Jeremy Van Horebeek Yamaha BEL 0'40.109  6 Glenn Coldenhoff Suzuki NLD 0'42.819  7 Todd Waters Husqvarna AUS 0'45.235  8 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0'48.698  9 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 1'01.555  10 Gautier Paulin Honda FRA 1'01.775  11 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'15.115  12 Tyla Rattray Kawasaki ZAF 1'24.928  13 Nathan Watson Husqvarna GBR 1'29.212  14 Alessandro Lupino Honda ITA 1'35.945  15 Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 1'41.088  MXGP World Standing Rider Standings After Race 11 of 19 1. Romain Febvre Yamaha FRA 419 2. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 380 3. Maximilian Nagl Husqvarna DE 360 4. Gautier Paulin Honda FRA 351 5. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 319 6. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 291 7. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 257 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek Yamaha BEL 232 9. Todd Waters Husqvarna AUS 224 10. Glenn Coldenhoff Suzuki NLD 196 11. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 186 12. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 176 13. Dean Ferris Husqvarna AUS 164 14. Tyla Rattray Kawasaki ZAF 156 15. Ken De Dycker KTM BEL 155 16. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 124 30. Cedric Soubeyras Yamaha FRA 15 35. Matevz Irt Yamaha SVN 9 39. Paul Coates Yamaha GBR 7 41. Pier Bertuzzo Yamaha ITA 6 43. Jeffrey DeWulf Yamaha BEL 3 50. Lewis Gregory Yamaha GBR 0 Circuit Length: 1750 Last Years Winner: Antonio Cairoli Fourth MX2 podium of the season for Guillod in Sweden Standing Construct Yamaha's Valentin Guillod was once again a star of the MX2 category in the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship as the fast and talented Swiss grabbed the runner-up position today at a sunny Grand Prix of Sweden on his YZ250F. Uddevalla welcomed 22,000 fans into the condensed and cambered facility that featured hard-pack, dusty and slippery terrain. Three Yamahas featured in the top ten of the final MX2 results sheet with Kemea Yamaha's Brent Van Doninck taking a bright sixth place. Round eleven of eighteen baked in summer temperatures and Yamaha's MX2 crew were looking for the same levels of thrust as the Swedish fighter jet that rocketed over the circuit in a demonstration performance on Saturday morning. Guillod was the standout in the first moto. He took his time to hunt Pauls Jonass in third position and soon passed the struggling Latvian to take his tally of top three moto finishes to six for the season. Van Doninck beat Jeremy Seewer by the narrowest of margins to obtain sixth and register his second highest result of 2015 and in his rookie season. Team-mate Benoit Paturel had a great ride to recover from a first lap crash and last position to come all the  way back to twelfth. Standing Construct Yamaha's Julien Lieber crashed out of eighth when his rear brake failed and he drifted back to twentieth in what was a race of 'survival'. For the second race in the afternoon and across a terrain that was becoming increasingly littered with ruts as well as braking and acceleration bumps, Guillod was again a protagonist. '92' was lucky not to fully hit the fallen Jeffrey Herlings on the exit of the first corner but a slight touch caused his gear lever to bend and VG had to manipulate the component to be able to shift through the motor. He reached sixth place and knew he needed two more positions to make sure of a fourth podium celebration from the last six GPs and thus pushed hard to pass Vsevolod Brylyakov and Lieber - running better and higher - to secure a satisfying fourth spot and therefore second overall. Lieber rescued what had been a tough day so far with sixth but was also slightly frustrated to have lost a top four finish. Paturel and Van Doninck circulated close together in tenth and eleventh. The Frenchman hit the deck once more and was again on the chase whereas the Belgian was struck by another rider and then found difficulty in finding places to make safe overtaking moves. Sweden saw the EMX250 European Championship in action for their sixth appointment from nine in the 2015 contest. Damon Graulus had a contrasting weekend. The Belgian rode to victory on Saturday afternoon in the first moto after profiting from Nick Kouwenberg's error. On Sunday morning the Kemea Yamaha rider steered his YZ250F to thirty-sixth after a first lap crash that left him far behind the pack once he had restarted. In the series standings Graulus is still firmly in the hunt for the title. He is fourth, 22 points from the top and will be looking for more come round seven in just a few days. The Grand Prix of Latvia at the fast and open Kegums circuit will bring the FIM Motocross World Championship up to round twelve of eighteen next weekend. Valentin Guillod 3rd and 4th for 2nd overall. Championship Position: 3rd "I was struggling with the track yesterday and did not find the right setting with the bike but finally it came together for the qualifying race. I didn't have the best start in the first moto but I was able to pass some guys and could stay on two wheels in the first five laps because they put so much water down. It was really slippery. When it got drier I was able to push more and third place was really good. I didn't make a good start again in the second moto and I really have to work on that. Jeffrey [Herlings] crashed in front of me and I tried to go to the right but still hit his wheel with my shifter and it was bent. It was really difficult to ride because shifting down was OK but to go up meant moving my foot around a lot. When I got the signal that I would just miss the podium I pushed really hard and got two more positions right at the end. To finish fourth was really good for the championship and I took good points today. I want to thank Standing Construct Yamaha for the great job they did and all my sponsors for the support. It is very cool to see two Swiss riders on the podium and I want to dedicate this to my grandmother who just turned 85!" Julien Lieber 20th and 6th for 13th overall. Championship Position: 8th "I broke my rear brake on the first lap of the first moto and just crashed on a slippery corner using the front. I took one point for twentieth but couldn't do any better. The second moto was better but I didn't have the speed to run with the leaders. I was disappointed to lose two positions on the last laps and need to work this week for an improvement in Latvia." Brent Van Doninck 6th and 11th for 6th overall. Championship Position: 17th "This week I was able to train on the bike again for the first time since my knee injury, and I felt the difference. If you only do the races you miss some rhythm and it's hard to build up. Now, this weekend, I finally felt like I was riding like it was at the beginning of the season. In the first race I finished sixth after some riders in front of me crashed, so that was good. in the second race my start wasn't too bad, but then someone hit me and I dropped back a lot of places. I tried to come back but it was just impossible to pass. The tracks are so flat these days. There are some bumps but they don't create any lines, and that makes it hard to pass. Anyway I still finished sixth overall, so that's great. Up to Latvia now where the track is more sandy, so I'm looking forward." Benoit Paturel 12th and 10th for 10th overall. Championship Position: 12th "I'm really mad at myself… I knew I had to be careful in the first laps as they had watered the track but in both races I hit the deck. Once you crash it is so hard to come back. The first race I was riding well and made a good comeback but the second one was more difficult. It could have been much better and with a tenth overall I'm not satisfied. But anyway, we need to look forward now and I will try to do better next week in Latvia." Damon Graulus 1st and 36th for 7th overall. EMX250 championship Position: 4th "I felt great this weekend. The first moto went really good, I built up my race lap-after-lap and was closing in on Nick. I was a little lucky he crashed and was happy to win the moto. In the second moto my start was good and I was immediately having a good feeling on the bike. On the large corner on the back of the track I suddenly flew over the bars. I don't know what happened there, some people told me I was hit but I didn't feel anything. I lost a lot of time and just couldn't get past any riders. I lost a lot of points in the championship and should have been up there… but that's racing. There are still 150 points to win. I won't give up yet!" 2015 MX2 Sweden Uddevalla 05/07/2015 race I 1 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NLD 35'10.178  2 Tim Gajser Honda SVN 0'07.770  3 Valentin Guillod Yamaha CHE 0'14.010  4 Pauls Jonass KTM LVA 0'21.869  5 Vsevolod Brylyakov Honda RUS 0'23.943  6 Brent Vandoninck Yamaha BEL 0'25.324  7 Jeremy Seewer Suzuki CHE 0'26.261  8 Brian Bogers KTM NLD 0'52.897  9 Ivo Monticelli KTM ITA 0'57.424  10 Jorge Zaragoza Honda ESP 1'03.012  11 Roberts Justs KTM LVA 1'03.891  12 Benoit Paturel Yamaha FRA 1'05.194  13 Thomas Covington Kawasaki USA 1'05.441  14 Davy Pootjes KTM NLD 1'19.695  15 Samuele Bernardini TM ITA 1'24.772  17 Kevin Fors Yamaha BEL 1'30.709  20 Julien Lieber Yamaha BEL 1'43.832  race II 1 Tim Gajser Honda SVN 34'10.850  2 Jeremy Seewer Suzuki CHE 0'02.097  3 Jordi Tixier Kawasaki FRA 0'02.758  4 Valentin Guillod Yamaha CHE 0'18.776  5 Vsevolod Brylyakov Honda RUS 0'19.725  6 Julien Lieber Yamaha BEL 0'22.466  7 Max Anstie Kawasaki GBR 0'38.816  8 Brian Bogers KTM NLD 0'40.653  9 Roberts Justs KTM LVA 0'48.374  10 Benoit Paturel Yamaha FRA 0'49.537  11 Brent Vandoninck Yamaha BEL 0'55.698  12 Ben Watson KTM GBR 0'57.417  13 Samuele Bernardini TM ITA 1'01.338  14 Anton Lundgren Husqvarna SWE 1'15.634  15 Jorge Zaragoza Honda ESP 1'21.929  16 Kevin Fors Yamaha BEL 1'29.283  MX2 World Standing Rider Standings After Race 11 of 19 1. Jeffrey Herlings KTM NLD 423 2. Tim Gajser Honda SVN 345 3. Valentin Guillod Yamaha CHE 335 4. Jeremy Seewer Suzuki CHE 311 5. Pauls Jonass KTM LVA 307 6. Jordi Tixier Kawasaki FRA 306 7. Max Anstie Kawasaki GBR 262 8. Julien Lieber Yamaha BEL 259 9. Aleksandr Tonkov Husqvarna RUS 256 10. Dylan Ferrandis Kawasaki FRA 205 11. Petar Petrov KTM BGR 194 12. Benoit Paturel Yamaha FRA 192 13. Brian Bogers KTM NLD 179 14. Thomas Covington Kawasaki USA 153 15. Roberts Justs KTM LVA 145 16. Vsevolod Brylyakov Honda RUS 144 17. Brent Vandoninck Yamaha BEL 138 28. Kevin Fors Yamaha BEL 27 32. Damon Graulus Yamaha BEL 13 49. Yannis Irsuti Yamaha FRA 0 Circuit Length: 1750 Last Years Winner: Jeffrey Herlings

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