| Febvre sensational to win sixth MXGP and edge closer to title |
Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube's Romain Febvre took a step closer to the FIM Motocross World Championship title at a cloudy Mantova today by acing both motos and earning his sixth success of 2015 to hold a 101 point advantage with just 150 points left to win. Teammate Jeremy Van Horebeek grabbed second position in the Grand Prix of Lombardia classification to mark the second time this season that both YZ450FMs have filled the top two spots on the podium.
Mantova last hosted a Grand Prix in 2010 and the Lombardian date slotted nicely into the calendar to replace the cancelled trip to Brazil. The compact, flat and sandy course was jumpy and full of tight turns.
Febvre took third place on his works YZ450FM in Saturday's Qualification Heat after recovering from a second lap fall. The Frenchman thus rolled into the gate for the first of two thirty minute and two lap motos on Sunday with the same slot. In the opening phases of the first race run under cloudy skies but in warm temperatures Romain chased Evgeny Bobryshev for the lead after a top five start. Although claiming later that he was not happy with his rhythm he made a move on lap eight of seventeen and was never headed. It was the tenth moto victory of the year for '461'.
Febvre followed his chequered flag with a virtuoso performance in the second race. The 23 year old burst through to the lead on the opening lap and controlled a ten second margin to make it eleven moto triumphs from the last seventeen and it was his third 'double' of the year. Febvre leads the world by 101 points and only needs to defend the same gap next weekend at Assen to make sure of Yamaha's first premier class title since 2009.
Jeremy Van Horebeek didn't have the best getaway from the gate and had to work hard to get into a position to pass a tiring Shaun Simpson for third place with two laps remaining of the first moto. It was a re-assuring result for the Belgian who entered the top three for the first time since the Grand Prix of Sweden. In the next moto he was again efficient and fast - especially along the start straight with the holeshot - and moved into second place by the second lap whereby he kept steady to make sure of 3-2 and his second podium finish of the season.
DP19 Yamaha Racing's David Philippaerts lamented a crash on Saturday as the former world champion was already nursing a painful left arm. The veteran started the first moto on Sunday but was hit around the sensitive and weak elbow joint in just the second corner of the race. Unable to hold the bike he pulled into the pits and is now targeting a swift recovery period to try and attempt the following date on the MXGP calendar.
The Grand Prix of the Netherlands will take place in an unusual location next week. The hallowed asphalt of the Assen circuit will get dirty for a temporary motocross course for round sixteen of the calendar.
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| 1st and 1st for 1st overall. Championship Position: 1st |
"It was a really good weekend and started from Saturday when I saw that I had the speed. My starts were not great today but I managed to pass and lead both motos. I'm really happy to be back on top of the box. We are getting close now to the end [of the season] and the title can be won next weekend. We will see. I think next weekend will be even sandier and it will be easy to make a mistake. We need to stay on two wheels and keep pushing. I'm happy that Jeremy is back on the podium and for sure it is good for the team, for Yamaha and all the crew. We've all worked hard."
| 3rd and 2nd for 2nd overall. Championship Position: 7th |
"I'm really happy. The weekend did not start well and I didn't feel comfortable but the team has been working so hard for me with many changes and I have to give this [the result] to them because they worked so much. I managed to take the holeshot in the second moto and it has been a while! I had some stomach problems that made it a bit tougher but I am really happy to be on the box again. I hope I can keep going like this and I'm pleased we could go 1-2. I hope Romain can do it [win the championship] next weekend because it will be awesome for the team and Yamaha."
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| | | Mantova, Italy 23/08/2015 | 17 Laps | | | race I | | 1 | Romain Febvre | Yamaha | FRA | 34'31.030 | | 2 | Evgeny Bobryshev | Honda | RUS | 0'04.594 | | 3 | Jeremy Van Horebeek | Yamaha | BEL | 0'07.105 | | 4 | Gautier Paulin | Honda | FRA | 0'09.938 | | 5 | Shaun Simpson | KTM | GBR | 0'14.492 | | 6 | Glenn Coldenhoff | Suzuki | NLD | 0'16.210 | | 7 | Dean Ferris | Husqvarna | AUS | 0'11.134 | | 8 | Maximilian Nagl | Husqvarna | DE | 0'28.494 | | 9 | Todd Waters | Husqvarna | AUS | 0'31.739 | | 10 | Tyla Rattray | Kawasaki | ZAF | 0'35.189 | | 11 | Davide Guarneri | TM | ITA | 0'49.523 | | 12 | Jose Antonio Butron | KTM | ESP | 0'57.884 | | 13 | Filip Bengtsson | Honda | SWE | 1'06.813 | | 14 | Nathan Watson | Husqvarna | GBR | 1'09.434 | | 15 | Angus Heidecke | KTM | DE | 1'41.091 | | 17 | Matevz Irt | Yamaha | SVN | '-1.000 | | 20 | Alfie Smith | Yamaha | GBR | '-1.000 | | race II | | 1 | Romain Febvre | Yamaha | FRA | 34'43.106 | | 2 | Jeremy Van Horebeek | Yamaha | BEL | 0'07.639 | | 3 | Shaun Simpson | KTM | GBR | 0'09.232 | | 4 | Evgeny Bobryshev | Honda | RUS | 0'11.658 | | 5 | Glenn Coldenhoff | Suzuki | NLD | 0'13.769 | | 6 | Gautier Paulin | Honda | FRA | 0'17.029 | | 7 | Christophe Charlier | Honda | FRA | 0'19.019 | | 8 | Dean Ferris | Husqvarna | AUS | 0'22.061 | | 9 | Tyla Rattray | Kawasaki | ZAF | 0'32.673 | | 10 | Maximilian Nagl | Husqvarna | DE | 0'33.673 | | 11 | Todd Waters | Husqvarna | AUS | 0'53.621 | | 12 | Davide Guarneri | TM | ITA | 0'57.085 | | 13 | Jose Antonio Butron | KTM | ESP | 0'57.295 | | 14 | Filip Bengtsson | Honda | SWE | 1'41.797 | | 15 | Pier Bertuzzo | Yamaha | ITA | '-1.000 | | 16 | Mike Vanderstraeten | Yamaha | BEL | '-1.000 |
| | | Rider Standings | After Race 15 of 19 | | | 1. | Romain Febvre | Yamaha | FRA | 597 | | 2. | Gautier Paulin | Honda | FRA | 496 | | 3. | Evgeny Bobryshev | Honda | RUS | 463 | | 4. | Antonio Cairoli | KTM | ITA | 416 | | 5. | Shaun Simpson | KTM | GBR | 392 | | 6. | Maximilian Nagl | Husqvarna | DE | 384 | | 7. | Jeremy Van Horebeek | Yamaha | BEL | 366 | | 8. | Clement Desalle | Suzuki | BEL | 331 | | 9. | Glenn Coldenhoff | Suzuki | NLD | 321 | | 10. | Todd Waters | Husqvarna | AUS | 300 | | 11. | Kevin Strijbos | Suzuki | BEL | 287 | | 12. | Dean Ferris | Husqvarna | AUS | 235 | | 13. | Tyla Rattray | Kawasaki | ZAF | 227 | | 14. | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 185 | | 15. | Christophe Charlier | Honda | FRA | 183 | | 16. | Jose Antonio Butron | KTM | ESP | 172 | | 34. | Cedric Soubeyras | Yamaha | FRA | 15 | | 36. | Matevz Irt | Yamaha | SVN | 13 | | 39. | Pier Bertuzzo | Yamaha | ITA | 12 | | 43. | Mike Vanderstraeten | Yamaha | BEL | 9 | | 44. | Paul Coates | Yamaha | GBR | 7 | | 45. | Jeffrey DeWulf | Yamaha | BEL | 4 | | 52. | Alfie Smith | Yamaha | GBR | 1 | | 57. | Lewis Gregory | Yamaha | GBR | 0 |
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| Paturel pleased with personal best fourth at Lombardian MXGP |
The Grand Prix of Lombardia saw Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing's Benoit Paturel register a best finish of fourth position overall in his rookie season. Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube's Valentin Guillod was fifth at Mantova after some difficult motos through the Italian sand and just keeps in touch with his quest to win the 2015 FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship. Round fifteen of eighteen in the series was played out in front of 18,000 spectators and under some cloudy skies at the town northwest of Bologna.
Yamaha had a full MX2 wing with EMX250 rider Damon Graulus joining Paturel and Brent Van Doninick in the Kemea Yamaha Yamalube awning. Mantova was sandy, jumpy and increasingly rough as the motos went on. Normally a circuit used by riders and teams to blow away the winter cobwebs - it hosts the annual Starcross International, one of the first high profile motocross meetings to take place in Europe every calendar year - the Italian layout was no stranger to most of the athletes even if the facility was on Grand Prix duty for the first time in five years.
The first moto saw Guillod primed to attack the top three but a slip on the first lap dropped him back to fifth and for most of the race he had to push to catch and pass Graulus; enjoying a GP appearance one week before his final commitment in the EMX250 European Championship. Guillod made it into fourth but was more than fifteen seconds away from title rival Tim Gajser. Fifth place was Graulus' highest ranking of the season in his fleeting wild-card appearances and teammate Paturel was a lonely sixth just behind. Third Kemea racer, Brent Van Doninck, wasn't far away meant that Yamaha had four YZ250Fs in the top eleven. Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube's Julien Lieber rode to fifteenth after being part of a first corner pile-up.
In the second race Paturel nailed an excellent start and proceeded to run in the top three for almost all of the moto. The Frenchman followed championship leader Pauls Jonass and was only passed by Tim Gajser in the closing stages to seal fourth place (another personal best) and the same ranking for the Grand Prix. Graulus and Guillod were limited by crashes on the start straight and the first corner and had to come back to seventeenth and fourteenth respectively. Guillod in particular was lucky to escape from a huge crash in the closing stages and actually crossed the line with a badly damaged bike. Van Doninick was solid overall with a top ten finish following a massive scrap between eight riders; the Belgian classified sixth on the day. Julien Lieber was better out of the start and rode to tenth after surviving unscathed in the wake of Guillod's fall as both teammates were battling together at the time. Graulus ended his Grand Prix experience with an encouraging ninth overall.
In the MX2 championship picture Guillod is fourth and 42 points behind Jonass with 150 left in the three Grand Prix remaining. Lieber is eighth, Paturel ninth and Van Doninck twelfth.
The FIM Motocross World Championship will enjoy its second taste of Dutch terrain in 2015 this coming weekend with the fabled Assen circuit hosting MXGP for the first time. The race marks the last European stop for the series this year before flying to Mexican and American dates on September 13th and 20th.
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| 4th and 14th for 5th overall. Championship Position: 4th |
"In the first moto I was third and made a little crash but then I didn't ride well. I wasn't using the right lines and didn't have a good feeling. Fourth was OK though. In the second moto I was on the inside of the gate and a crash from the outside just took me out. I hit my head and neck. I restarted last and got up to tenth, lost another place and then pushed to get it back but came into the jump before the finish line too fast. The front wheel wobbled and I lost the bike on the take-off and went flying. I was lucky. I tried to finish the best I could. There are still three GPs to go."
| 6th and 4th for 4th overall. Championship Position: 9th |
"I'm really happy with this race. I felt good from Saturday and got a good feeling with the suspension. I then had a bad start in the first race and took sixth and I wasn't happy; I didn't ride like I wanted. Before the second race I prepared better and made a really good start - second or third - and then I followed Jonass all race, only Gajser overtook me. I attacked Jonass with two laps to go but couldn't find a way past. Fourth in the GP is very cool for the championship and I want to finish in the top ten and will work for that."
| 15th and 11th for 12th overall. Championship Position: 8th |
"I think I had the speed all weekend but I crashed and lost a lot of positions on Saturday and it put me low in the gate. I had had a bad crash in the first moto because everybody went down in front of me and then again on the second lap. I came back to fifteenth; not a result I wanted. In the second moto I stalled the bike and we've had some problems with the clutch in the sand and we need to work on this a bit."
| 11th and 8th for 6th overall. Championship Position: 12th |
"The end result is good, but I'm not too happy with my riding. I felt really tired and could not push like I wanted. I had some troubls to pass riders and got stuck behind Sterry in the first moto and Jacobi in the second. I lost too much energy in those battles. Anyway, I managed to get two solid results and a sixth overall, so that's not too bad. Up to the next one!"
| 5th and 17th for 9th overall |
"In the end this was a positive weekend for me. In qualification we tried some settings and I was pleased with the result. I had a good qualification race and was feeling comfortable. The first moto went really well and I was happy with the speed, even though I got passed by Guillod in the end, I had similar lap times. It was kind of a relief to have a good race with a great result. I know what I'm capable of and this was a confirmation. A lot of things happened this year and it was difficult at times but I know now I have to keep working. In the second moto I touched with Benoit and Seewer and we crashed hard. At first I was a little dizzy and had some pain in my neck but I kept going and scored another four points. Now let's go to Assen and finish this year on a good note ! I really want to thank my mechanic Gino for all the help, my family, my father for all the support this weekend, and the entire team."
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| | | Mantova, Italy 23/08/2015 | 17 Laps | | | race I | | 1 | Max Anstie | Kawasaki | GBR | 34'33.215 | | 2 | Pauls Jonass | KTM | LVA | 0'03.500 | | 3 | Tim Gajser | Honda | SVN | 0'04.794 | | 4 | Valentin Guillod | Yamaha | CHE | 0'22.775 | | 5 | Damon Graulus | Yamaha | BEL | 0'26.142 | | 6 | Benoit Paturel | Yamaha | FRA | 0'29.515 | | 7 | Petar Petrov | KTM | BGR | 0'33.737 | | 8 | Brian Hsu | Suzuki | DE | 0'36.881 | | 9 | Jeremy Seewer | Suzuki | CHE | 0'39.971 | | 10 | Adam Sterry | KTM | GBR | 0'42.181 | | 11 | Brent Vandoninck | Yamaha | BEL | 0'55.039 | | 12 | Samuele Bernardini | TM | ITA | 1'02.463 | | 13 | Henry Jacobi | KTM | DE | 1'06.890 | | 14 | Ben Watson | KTM | GBR | 1'13.167 | | 15 | Julien Lieber | Yamaha | BEL | 1'21.941 | | race II | | 1 | Max Anstie | Kawasaki | GBR | 35'01.640 | | 2 | Tim Gajser | Honda | SVN | 0'11.000 | | 3 | Pauls Jonass | KTM | LVA | 0'13.851 | | 4 | Benoit Paturel | Yamaha | FRA | 0'14.295 | | 5 | Jens Getteman | Honda | BEL | 0'26.786 | | 6 | Thomas Covington | Kawasaki | USA | 0'30.282 | | 7 | Brian Bogers | KTM | NLD | 0'32.490 | | 8 | Brent Vandoninck | Yamaha | BEL | 0'35.837 | | 9 | Henry Jacobi | KTM | DE | 0'53.920 | | 10 | Ivo Monticelli | KTM | ITA | 0'57.185 | | 11 | Julien Lieber | Yamaha | BEL | 1'05.642 | | 12 | Petar Petrov | KTM | BGR | 1'12.185 | | 13 | Adam Sterry | KTM | GBR | 1'21.296 | | 14 | Valentin Guillod | Yamaha | CHE | 1'29.315 | | 15 | Davide Bonini | Husqvarna | ITA | 1'31.278 | | 17 | Damon Graulus | Yamaha | BEL | 1'46.438 |
| Max Anstie | Kawasaki | GBR | 1'54.769 | | | | Rider Standings | After Race 15 of 19 | | | 1. | Pauls Jonass | KTM | LVA | 475 | | 2. | Tim Gajser | Honda | SVN | 471 | | 3. | Max Anstie | Kawasaki | GBR | 437 | | 4. | Valentin Guillod | Yamaha | CHE | 433 | | 5. | Jeffrey Herlings | KTM | NLD | 423 | | 6. | Jeremy Seewer | Suzuki | CHE | 409 | | 7. | Jordi Tixier | Kawasaki | FRA | 393 | | 8. | Julien Lieber | Yamaha | BEL | 356 | | 9. | Benoit Paturel | Yamaha | FRA | 292 | | 10. | Petar Petrov | KTM | BGR | 285 | | 11. | Brian Bogers | KTM | NLD | 257 | | 12. | Aleksandr Tonkov | Husqvarna | RUS | 256 | | 13. | Brent Vandoninck | Yamaha | BEL | 212 | | 14. | Dylan Ferrandis | Kawasaki | FRA | 205 | | 15. | Thomas Covington | Kawasaki | USA | 204 | | 16. | Roberts Justs | KTM | LVA | 181 | | 29. | Damon Graulus | Yamaha | BEL | 33 | | 31. | Kevin Fors | Yamaha | BEL | 28 | | 56. | Yannis Irsuti | Yamaha | FRA | 0 |
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Dry Lap Record:
1'54.769
(Max Anstie, 23-8-2015) | | | |
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