Romain Febvre on getting back to winning ways

Romain Febvre of Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP moved second in the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship standings with his first GP win of the season on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa.

Having already headed ever session on Saturday Febvre was looking at the perfect weekend as he also dominated Warm-up and KX450-SR power again saw the Frenchman holeshot by a clear bike-length in the first GP moto. The midday heat was claustrophobic and the Kawasaki leader was content initially to simply keep his closest chaser at arm’s length before emphasizing his outstanding pace at half-distance to gradually move six seconds clear until a fateful moment on the thirteenth of seventeen laps when he momentarily lost traction on a slick downhill landing and slithered to the ground. The incident cost twelve seconds, but he rejoined the race still second and quickly regained his composure to bring it home just three seconds shy of the winner. Victory was never in doubt in race two after yet another clear holeshot as the Green leader coolly built an ever-greater lead over the rest of the field and was nine seconds clear at one stage before rolling through the final few turns to clinch an overwhelming moto win and secure his sixteenth career GP victory, his first since 2021. The fifty-seven points championship haul from the weekend has also advanced the Frenchman to second in the series with nine GPs remaining.

Romain Febvre: “It was important to finally win again, both for me and for the team and we’ve done the job this weekend; I was fastest every session and I feel my speed was really good. We had a start-test day this week; I did ninety-eight starts and three clear holeshots this weekend show that we found some good solutions. Now it’s up to me to carry on like this. The second moto was mine all-the-way but it was my own mistake in the first moto. I was under no pressure, leading by several seconds and I was opening the gap. I felt I could take my time but it’s a little off-camber at that part of the track and I just went on the edge of the line; I opened the gas too early and I slid through one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. I was leading but it’s never over until the end; it was my mistake. I’m just a little disappointed because it should have been a perfect 1-1 weekend; we took back a few points, and I’m now second in the series, but it could have been even more.”

Mitch Evans confirmed the performance of the KX450-SR by joining his teammate in the top-three off the start of race one. He periodically surrendered places through the early laps to rivals who have been racing at the sharp end all summer but still looked secure in seventh after twenty minutes before the heat started to take its toll and his lap-times, in common with most of the field, increased significantly and he was pushed back to ninth at the finish. A solid opening lap to race two found the Australian eighth and he found a consistent rhythm to take over his eventual seventh on the eleventh of seventeen laps for eighth overall on the day. The solid scoreline sees him move up to eighteenth in the series standings despite missing the opening four rounds and further significant advances are on the cards in coming weeks with just thirty-one points to twelfth.

Mitch Evans: “My start was really good in moto one but I just struggled a little in the heat towards the end. I had a better feeling physically in race two and could make a couple of good passes for seventh. We keep making steps every week so that’s good.”

Antti Pyrhönen, KRT team manager: “The victory was well-deserved for Romain; he has been so close many times this year and now he finally he got it. The track was very unpredictable and it was important to keep in on two wheels in the second moto. This was not just just a win for Romain but for the whole team; all of the crew have been working so hard for this and it was great that they could all enjoy this victory.”

Highlights MXGP of Sumbawa-Indonesia 2023

The tenth round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship marked the first round of the double header in Indonesia in the stunning venue of Sumbawa – Samota for the MNC MXGP of Sumbawa – Indonesia.

In MXGP it was Romain Febvre who came out victorious for the first time in the season in front of Red Plate holder Jorge Prado and Jeremy Seewer.

Roczen Toughts

Fast Thoughts: Ken Roczen

Motoonline Post: Dylan Wills

Progressive Ecstar Suzuki rider on High Point 450MX appearance.

Two-time Pro Motocross champion Ken Roczen made a last-minute decision to line-up behind the gates at the fourth round of the 2023 season at High Point. The number 94 showed the speed to win races, qualifying fastest heading into the motos, and to the delight of fans around the world, put up a fight to Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) by giving the teenager his first real challenge in the premier class. Eventually, Roczen ended the round with a 7-2 scorecard, which was enough to secure second overall for the round. The Progressive Ecstar Suzuki rider features in this week’s Fast Thoughts interview.

Image: Octopi Media.

Kenny, 7-2 for second overall on the day…

I went down there, we had a good battle, the track was a brutal one to come back to for the first one. We got into a bunch of lappers, and I tried to pop out of the rut and kind of tucked the front end and went down. Then I was stuck in a rut and couldn’t find neutral, and when I did find neutral, every time I would kick it, it would pop back out. So definitely on the struggle bus there, but I really just came here to kind of give the fans what they wanted to see. I’m happy that I did that today. Obviously, Jett’s been on one lately and he was able to get the job done again today. But I was able to lead some laps and put up a little bit of a fight. The track was something else. There’s so much to talk about, I only did two days of motocross this week, I did some motos on Monday and we tested half a day on Wednesday and that was it, so for that, showing up, and then this track was a muddy mess out there, I think we had an amazing day with Progressive Ectsar Suzuki. Yeah, we were E-Z Upping it right next to them. It was an awesome day, especially ripping the holeshot in the second one. I had some good laps in the beginning, but then I think I had some shitty lines. Once Jett passed me I kind of copied his lines a little bit and that helped me.

Running the hybrid rear tire…

I personally have never really liked the scoop tire. I like to rail ruts and lean the bike over, I don’t like the scoop, it feels too tall in the rear and the carcass feels stiff. I don’t feel the bike turns as well. So, I tend to lean toward the cut tire, and we made some changes for the second one. But obviously, the scoop tire for the start, when it’s deep and muddy if you don’t have it, it can really get you. I really don’t understand today, when it was such a muddy mess, the past rounds, the last three rounds they groomed the whole start straight, then the one time they really needed it today, they didn’t. I don’t understand what the reasoning was behind that because I think it would have been a lot safer if they took the dozer, pushed some of the mud off and tilled it a bit. Because of the ruts, they were gnarly coming out of there, and a lot of sawdust, just a big deep muddy mess, it was interesting.

You’re approach to this weekend seeing as you’re not in the championship…

Um, not really. When I decide to do something, when the gate drops, I want to do good. I don’t want to look like an idiot out there. And like Adam [Cianciarulo] said, on a track like this, if you lose focus even a little bit, I mean, I felt like I made a lot of mistakes that I usually don’t, but this track was very difficult to ride mistake-free. There was no cruising around or just having fun, you know? I wanna do good when I’m out there. Like I said, this was a short-notice situation, but the good thing is I can pick and choose, and I wanted to do this, first and foremost as a fun thing, I had a few weeks off and I had the itch. But when the gate drops, I want to do good and I want to have fun. That’s kind of been my mindset all season, as well. I wanted to go out there, have fun, and be into what I’m doing. I’ve kept that coming into this one as well.

Plans for the weekend off and future outdoor races…

For the upcoming weekend off, I just bought a beach house, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m probably going to go surfing and put my toes in the sand, but I’m looking forward to finding my next level with working out. That’s kind of become a little bit of my hobby, I’m loving that part of my life, working out and riding. I’m excited about what’s to come here in the future, I’d like to do some more outdoor races as well. Do some supercross, do some motocross, kind of play it by ear.

Gajser Back to MXGP at Loket

Tim Gajser To Return At Loket!

Ben RumboldJune 21, 20230

In a press conference at his Tiga243land track in Slovenia, reigning MXGP champion Tim Gajser announced  that he will return to the World Motocross Championship at the MXGP of the Czech Republic on July 15-16. The #243 has missed the entire 2023 season up to this point due to a broken femur he sustained in the pre-season crash at the Pietramurata track in Trentino, Italy in February and has been in rehabilitation since that moment. Now though, after receiving the green light from his doctor, he will race at Loket, where a lot of Slovenians should be able to make the trip north to see their returning hero in action.

That race is still just over three weeks away, giving Gajser a bit more time to prepare himself for the rigours of MXGP duty, while the rest of the team support Fernandez as he looks to step on the podium again and continue his chase for third place in the 2023 world championship standings.

Meanwhile, Team HRC’s Ruben Fernandez travels to Indonesia this week as he gets ready to race the first of the double-header in the Asian country. First up is the return to the island Sumbawa, which provided an excellent venue at its debuting event last year. That is then followed by a new round on Lombok, on July 1-2, an island that has successfully hosted MotoGP for the last few years.

On a trip that normally consists of three flights, these races aren’t easy to get to, but the hugely enthusiastic and vocal local population make up for that, bringing great energy and making everyone in the paddock feel truly welcome. Fernandez took advantage of that last year when he went three-four for third overall, in what was his second MXGP podium of his career. Given the fact he’s riding a lot better this time around, and coming off the back of his third podium of the season in Germany last time out, hopes are high that he can make it number four at the incredible Sumbawa facility.

Obviously I’m extremely excited to have a date set for my return, to give me something to focus on a prepare for specifically and I feel that Loket is a good track, that I’ll have a lot of support at. I’ve been on the bike a number of weeks now and everything has gone well, the doctor has checked and confirmed this and given me the all-clear to return to racing. I have just over three weeks to make sure I am where I need to be, but just having that date makes things a lot clearer. A big thank you to everyone for all the support and I can’t wait to meet up with my Team HRC colleagues, and the rest of the MXGP paddock soon.

Ruben Fernandez 

Last time in Sumbawa, I had a great time at what was a great GP. I got on the podium with two solid motos at the fantastic track they made there. I think everyone was shocked at how amazing the circuit was, with a big wide layout, and some massive jumps. The soil was this strange mixture, that was hard to setup right for, but I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to ride there again. It is a lot of travel to get there but I think it is good that we have two races in Indonesia this year and I am interested to see a bit more of the country.

Cherokee National Enduro

RJ Winning With Style

More Creativity from Works Connection

CHAIN GAUGE

 Honda, Yamaha, KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas and Kawasaki

                                                                       Retail $ 14.95

The Chain Gauge ensures that you are within spec in seconds thanks to a Minimum / Maximum measurement specific to your bikes Make / Model all in one essential tool.

• Easy way to ensure correct chain tension
• Prevents countershaft binding due to chain being too tight
• Prolongs chain life

• Ensures suspension is not binding
• Made from durable long-lasting acrylic
• Specific to each Make / Model
• Keychain included

Contact your retailer or visit worksconnection.com

“Getting the proper chain tension is important to ensure your suspension reacts well on acceleration bumps. Too tight of tension can give you a harsh feeling shock. Too loose and you can risk a derailment. This WC Chain Gauge makes it easy for me to make sure I got the correct tension on my chain.” -Kris Keefer, Keefer Inc Testing

Highpoint 250 Highlights

Highpoint 450 Highlights

Lawrence Wins Again

Lawrence overcomes High Point adversity to extend streak

Spontaneous Roczen entry translates to second overall.

Image: Octopi Media.

History continues to unfold in the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship as Jett Lawrence turned the High Point National into proof that he can overcome significant competition and crashes on a rain-affected track and still leave with his perfect win record intact.

The Team Honda HRC sensation’s day is reflected on the official results as 1-1 moto scores, but that far from tells the story of the daylong headache Ken Roczen provided in his one-off outdoors appearance with Progressive Insurance Ecstar Suzuki.

Additionally, heavy rain in the days leading into the Pennsylvania event heightened the difficulty of the High Point Raceway track, perhaps contibuting to the heavy crash Lawrence suffered while leading the opening 450MX moto.

At that point, Roczen and Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha representative Garrett Marchbanks got by, but Lawrence caught and passed both to extend his season record to 7-0 — though he gave up the distinction of leading every lap of the year.

Struggling to change his line while approaching a lapper on the muddy track late in the first moto, Roczen hit the ground and lost considerable time as he worked to kickstart his machine while on a hill. Marchbanks’ second-place start and strong moto paid off as Roczen dropped from the front and the ClubMX rider returned to the second position. Marchbanks finished there, 26.205s back from Lawrence.

Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) was next, followed by two Kawasaki KX450 bikes: the Monster Energy Kawasaki-prepared ride for Adam Cianciarulo and Ty Masterpool’s privateer entry, which was smoking in the closing minutes after a fall.

Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) reached sixth after an unideal start and led Roczen, Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM), Derek Drake (BarX Suzuki), and Romain Pape in completing the top 10.

Looking to exit the season’s fourth round with his perfect record intact, Lawrence faced another severe challenge en route to his eighth moto victory of 2023 in the day’s concluding moto.

Roczen led early with Cianciarulo trailing him and Lawrence working to quickly catch both. Lawrence cut into Roczen’s lead until the 11th of the race’s 16 laps, at which point he returned his No. 18 Honda CRF450R to its familiar position of first and closed out another 1-1 moto result.

Roczen settled for second in the moto and also was second overall after his seventh-place result in the opening moto. Ferrandis overcame Cianciarulo for third, but fell short of the overall podium with 6-3 moto scores. By finishing fourth in both High Point motos, Cianciarulo earned his first podium outdoors thus far in 2023.

Plessinger, Webb, Masterpool, Marchbanks, Grant Harlan, and Freddie Noren (Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki) comprised the bottom half of the top 10 in the event’s final moto.

Lawrence has amassed the maximum possible sum of 200 points through four rounds, and heads to the fifth event — the FMF Redbud National on Saturday, July 1 — with a 49-point advantage over former series champion Ferrandis. KTM’s Webb and Plessinger are third and fourth in the standings, 53 and 62 points back, respectively.