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MXGP, Mantova, MANTOVA, 4 Oktober 2020

Romain Febvre sixth in Italy

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre finished sixth in the eleventh round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at Mantova.

The Frenchman started the day hopefully as he swept through the opening turn second in race one but already suffered a setback on the first lap as the leader stalled directly in his path and dragged the Kawasaki to the ground. Rejoining the race ninth Febvre immediately set the fastest laps of the race as he swept back to fifth before half-distance and had high expectations of a podium finish until he slid off as he launched a challenge for fourth and had to be content with tenth place. He soon converted a fourth-placed start into third on the opening lap of race two and controlled that position until he was confused by signals and, thinking the race was over, eased off as he started the final lap; his immediate chaser took advantage of the momentary lapse and he had to be satisfied with fourth. The combined results gave him sixth overall on the day and he remains sixth in the championship points standings.
 
Romain Febvre: “It was a tough day; it’s difficult to accept such a day after winning the previous GP here on Wednesday. In the first race I had a good start but, when Prado stalled his engine on the first lap, I was so close that I hit him and crashed. It was impossible to avoid the crash. Then I was coming back behind Seewer; he was making some mistakes and was slower than me; there were not many places to pass on this track and unfortunately I crashed when I tried to pass him on the inside so I finished tenth. My second start was again good and I rode almost the entire the race in third but I was confused at the end; I thought the race was over when I crossed the finish line but there was still one lap to go and I surrendered one position. That was frustrating! There were some positive points today but overall I’m not really happy with my results. “
 
KRT teammate Clement Desalle held seventh place through the opening laps of race one before a fall demoted him to fifteenth but he recovered to twelfth at the finish. The Belgian held sixth place throughout most of the second moto after a stunning first lap charge to claim eighth overall in the GP and has moved forward to ninth in the series points standings.
 
Clement Desalle: “I have mixed feelings about this GP! I was unhappy with my first race; I was around eighth when I crashed and lost a couple of positions. I finished twelfth but I was not satisfied with my feeling for the track so we changed some settings for the second moto. My start was not fantastic but in the second corner I was already in the top ten and was in the top eight after one lap. The feeling was better and I came to sixth when Prado crashed; I wasn’t so far from the top five but then I lost a lot of time in the waves section on three consecutive laps and it was over to expect better than a sixth position. I’m happy to end this series of races at Mantova with a better feeling than I had on Wednesday"