Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre brought his participation in the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship to a close by securing third overall in the MX2 class.
Continuing to deliver solid results in the highly competitive category, Febvre ended his MXGP of Leon (Mexico) in fourth overall. Entering the final round of the series in Mexico following his debut career victory just one week earlier in Brazil, the Husqvarna rider had high hopes of returning to the podium once again.
Finishing second overall in Saturday’s qualification race Febvre quickly gelled with the fast flowing circuit. Ending lap one of race one in sixth, the Frenchman set to work and steadily moved his way forward to cross the finish line in a well deserved third place. Intent on repeating his result the Husqvarna rider struggled to make progress in race two due to a bad start. Eventually he finished seventh to claim fourth overall in the GP.
For teammate Aleksandr Tonkov it was a weekend of mixed fortunes. Eighth in race one, the Husqvarna rider was involved in a collision on the opening lap of race two. Coming together with race leader Jordi Tixier the Russian caught his arm in the rear wheel of Tixier’s machine. Badly burning his shoulder in the process, Tonkov was forced to retire.
Romain Febvre: “I’m really happy to have secured third position in the MX2 championship. Today wasn’t my best of days. I’m not sure why because my qualification was really good. Mistakes cost me a chance of getting on the podium. But overall it’s great to end the year inside the top three. I’d like to thank the team and everyone involved for making it happen.”
Aleksandr Tonkov: “As bad as the crash was I’m lucky it wasn’t a lot worse. Tixier made a mistake and there was nothing I could do to avoid hitting him. It was a nasty crash and my arm got caught in his wheel, which burned my shoulder. Luckily nothing was broken but it was too painful to continue.”