Pure perfection for Febvre & Anstie in Mantova
By Infront Moto Racing on 23rd Aug 15
Round 15 of the FIM Motocross World Championship was dominated by Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalubes Romain Febvre and Monster Energy DRT Kawasakis Max Anstie who used their creative lines and unique skill to stand top of the box at Lombardia.
MXGP
Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube's Romain Febvre is proving he's got all the ingredients of a world champion and that smell of a freshly baked title is starting to waft into the Yamaha pits. Eleven race wins, six overall victories and ten consecutive podium finishes have left Febvre with a healthy 101 point lead in the MXGP Championship.
He's not the picture of consistency we saw last year but Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube's Jeremy Van Horebeek is starting to piece the puzzle back together, starting with a Fox Holeshot which was a box he ticked in race two. After finishing second overall, Van Horebeek said, "It's been a wild ride this year, but I knew I could do this. It's my second time on the podium but proved that I can still do it, so I am happy.”
After a few rough years hindered by injury, Team HRC's Evgeny Bobryshev has finally turned his ship around and is looking strong and consistent. The Russian was second in race one and fourth in race two which left him uncorking his third bottle of bubbles this year. "I'm tired of crashing so being consistent is important for me,” Bobryshev said.
This weekend was far from the sand of Lommel, but Hitachi Construction Machinery Revo KTM's Shaun Simpson was still fast. The Brit has finally received factory support from KTM and was looking strong and confident on the new 2016 KTM 450SX-F, which he rode to fourth.
Team HRC's Gautier Paulin made the best of a bad day to finish fifth overall. He is still second in the championship 33 points clear of his teammate Bobryshev.
As for the locals, TM Racing Factory Team's Davide Guarneri finished up in twelfth overall while DP19 Yamaha Racing's David Philippaerts put an end to his weekend after a first corner crash flared up his previous injuries.
MX2
Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki's Max Anstie was once again in a league of his own. The Brit overcame some adversity, clutch issues and a small crash in race one, to dominate both races for his third perfect weekend and grand prix overall. As a result, the number 99 has leap frogged from seventh in the championship to third.
It was far from a perfect weekend for Honda Gariboldi's Tim Gajser but fair play to the young Slovenian who managed to bounce back nicely from a rough day of qualifying to tie in points with the championship leader Pauls Jonass.
The saying ‘consistency wins championships' is on repeat in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Pauls Jonass' head and it is working to his benefit. The young Latvian, who is trained and mentored by the ten-time FIM Motocross World Champion Stefan Everts, put in another solid performance this weekend for third overall and has maintained his four point lead in the championship.
Kemea Yamaha Yamalube's Benoit Paturel wrapped up fourth. As the reserve rider for Team France, the young Frenchman has been out training with Romain Febvre and Gautier Paulin in the two-week break. Evidently, riding with the two fastest MXGP riders in the world has done him a world of good and the results are already starting to appear.
Meanwhile it was another tough day in the office for Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube's Valentin Guillod who was more of a gymnast this weekend as he cartwheeled his way around the track. Despite eating it way too many times, the Swiss rider still managed to round out the top five.
Italian Marchetti Racing Team KTM's Ivo Monticelli finished seventeenth.
