The fast and spectacular circuit of Matterley Basin was the scene of the Grand Prix of Great Britain and the maiden MXGP chequered flag for Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre. The seventh round of eighteen on the 2015 MXGP slate was a busy one with 35,000 spectators filing in through the entrances at the popular venue in southern England. Febvre walked the podium for the second meeting in a row and sprinted to the front of the premier class to win the second moto.
Febvre immediately felt at home around the wide English course, enjoying the freedom to pick lines and attack the long jumps that stepped the layout up and down the slopes in the ‘Basin’. Even a poor start in the Qualification Heat could not dent his progress and he repeatedly set the fastest lap on a trawl back to the top five.
On Sunday the weather conditions started bright but light rain fell during the second MXGP sprint. The opening MXGP moto was stopped before mid-race distance due to a crash by Italian Davide Guarneri. After a ten minute spell to prepare for a full re-run, still Febvre didn’t get away from the line with the leaders and used almost all of the second half of the moto to try and pass Todd Waters, which he achieved with two circulations to go to capture seventh. The second moto was much better and even though the inclement weather complicated demands of the track Febvre rode superbly on his YZ450FM to pick off his peers one-by-one and hit the front with seven of the seventeen laps ahead. ‘461’ pulled away from Clement Desalle and then managed his cushion to the flag; his 7-1 proving good enough for the third step of the podium and follows hard upon his first trophy taken in Spain a fortnight ago.
Jeremy Van Horebeek was welcomed back into the fold after missing five weeks of action due to a broken bone in his left foot. The Belgian had been active on his YZ450FM for only a week but felt strong enough to attempt his first Grand Prix since round four in Italy.
The Belgian was hard-hit by the first moto re-run. Already struggling for race fitness the extra fifteen minutes at pace meant a tough day of work for the 2014 MXGP Championship runner-up. Van Horebeek’s starts were not poor however and he set about running his own steady speed to pick up an encouraging tenth and ninth positions for ninth overall.
DP19 Yamaha Racing’s David Philippaerts was searching for feeling around the Matterley mud on Saturday and made some changes to his set-up to find more traction and speed on Sunday. The Italian set a speed just outside the pace of the top ten and his 12-15 on the day was enough for thirteenth overall.
Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube will head across the English Channel and through France this week to arrive at Villars sout Ecot. The hillside circuit will entertain MXGP for the first time this century and the French fixture will take place on May 31st.
Romain Febvre – 7th and 1st for 3rd overall, Championship position: 5th
“I’m really happy and it is an amazing feeling to win a moto. When I crossed the finish line I didn’t think I was on the podium again and it was another great feeling. I struggled a bit with my start in the first moto and was behind Waters for a long time. It was so difficult to pass but I managed it with two laps to go and I set my fastest time then because I was free. Seventh was not so good and I was looking for better; I thought my speed was better than that. The second race was more like it and I passed all the guys to win. The rain made the track sketchy in some places because it was really hard and slippery. I decided to slow down a little bit in the last few laps so to not make a mistake.”
Jeremy Van Horebeek – 10th and 9th for 9th overall, Championship position: 13th
“I feel tired! I’m happy to be back but it’s tough. We had a red flag in the first moto and it was fifteen minutes in. To come back from injury usually you need all your energy in those first races. It was not too bad today and my starts were decent. I fought for what I got and I had some speed out there. I was out for five weeks and have only been on the bike for a week so I’m happy. My foot didn’t hurt this weekend so it means I’m healed-up. I will work to get back as soon as possible but I’m happy with what I did.”
David Philippaerts – 12th and 15th for 13th overall, Championship position: 14th
“Not a great weekend. We were searching for a solution with the bike to give me a bit more speed but I think it was more about the rider! Those guys were very fast today and I just tried to run at the best speed I could. Not good results but we will keep working to get back into the top ten.”