Swampy conditions formed the ninth round of eighteen in the 2015 MXGP campaign as Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre rode to his second win in a row at Maggiora for the Grand Prix of Italy. 36,000 fans elected to ignore the heavy rain showers Sunday morning and travelled to the upgraded and renovated site that was staging the Italian stop on the schedule for the third year in succession. Maggiora actually represented the second trip to Italy for MXGP in 2015 and was the second of three home events for the works team based in Parma. Febvre was again superlative to go 1-6 for the top step of the podium and in the first moto the Frenchman headed a YZ450F 1-2-3 with David Philippaerts and Jeremy Van Horebeek filling the top three.
The Maggiora hard-pack was in place on Saturday as the forecasted rain did not arrive until late afternoon and riders observed that the fast course was relatively straightforward thanks to hardened soil and lack of ruts and berms.
The climate on Sunday was extreme. Thunderstorms and periods of torrential rain threatened to washout the Grand Prix and MX2 warm-up was red-flagged as was the second EMX300 moto. The monsoon eased off by mid-morning and humid temperatures started a drying process on the sodden terrain but dark clouds continued to blow over. Yamaha’s 60th anniversary celebrations coincided with the launch of the 2016 production machinery at Maggiora and the Grand Prix stars revelled in the novelty of wearing the iconic yellow ‘bumble-bee’ livery.
Romain Febvre was nothing short of supreme. The French GP winner slotted in behind Philippaerts as the Italian earned the first moto holeshot and made his move into the lead on the second lap. From there ‘461’ attacked a slick and difficult surface to forge a margin of almost twenty-five seconds over his brand-mate. Antonio Cairoli held third position for a while but his left arm injury meant that Jeremy Van Horebeek was able to pressurise the world champion and soon breached the top three. Three yellow YZ450Fs ran in the first three positions for a picture-perfect scenario.
By the time of the second moto the Italian skies began to look ominous but the circuit remained mercifully dry. Febvre’s race was dramatic. He almost collided with Shaun Simpson on an uphill drag and crashed on the other side of the slope on the opening lap. With his handlebars bent and a broken front brake Febvre was still able to commence an impressive charge back to sixth place to make sure of his triumph by three points over Kevin Strijbos. Philippaerts had his hands full battling for fourth position with the likes of Simpson, Ken De Dycker and the closing Febvre. For fifteen of the seventeen laps the 2008 World Champion had a memorable podium place secured and with his every move cheered by the Italian public. Strijbos’ rally to win the moto on the final circulation bumped DP – who was seventh in the race – to fourth overall but it was still his best finish for three years in the premier class.
Jeremy Van Horebeek was hit by Evgeny Bobryshev on the first corner and had to restart from last position. The Belgian rode really well to cut through the pack and reach ninth place, which fixed him fifth overall for the day.
Febvre’s astounding run of form and results has lifted the MXGP rookie into contention for the championship. He is third in the standings and just 38 points away from the red plate after a gain of 12 over Max Nagl this weekend. Philippaerts is twelfth and Van Horebeek sits in ninth.
Yamaha’s MXGP crew will now travel north and enter the popular Talkessel facility at Teutschenthal, close to the city of Halle, for the Grand Prix of Germany next weekend.
Romain Febvre
1st and 6th for 1st overall. Championship Position: 3rd
“I’m really happy to win my second GP in a row and it is great for the team and for Yamaha on their 60th anniversary. It was definitely nice. The first moto was pretty good. I made a good start and was second but after two or three laps I was in the lead. It was pretty easy to be at the front. In the second moto the start was not so good and it was hard to pass. With Simpson we came together on a jump and I had to change the line quickly and made a mistake. I had a huge crash; so I was happy already with this GP that I could come away uninjured. I was able to keep pushing for the GP victory. My handlebar was very bent and it was hard on the right hand corners to put my leg out. I had no front brake so you can imagine how difficult the downhill was on this track. After the crash the main focus was to still win the GP so I kept pushing until the end and it paid off.”
David Philippaerts
2nd and 7th for 4th overall. Championship Position: 12th
“There were more lines on the track today and it was much better. The rain helped. I had a really good first moto. The holeshot, and when Febvre was behind me I had to slow down a bit because I could not go that speed but I felt good and was very happy with second place. My start in the second moto was good but not like the first. I had some pressure and I knew I was close to the podium. We just missed it, but I’m happy because the fans enjoyed the job we did. I hope we can keep up this form in the next races.”
Jeremy Van Horebeek
3rd and 9th for 5th overall. Championship Position: 9th
“More bad luck and it is a pity because today I could have easily been on the podium. I had an awesome start in the second moto and Bobryshev went straight into me. My handlebar was in his rear wheel. It was bent, the clutch too. I rode an awesome race afterwards to come from the back. I needed another five minutes in the moto! We are heading in a good direction and everyone can see this. I feel good and the results are coming back. Fifth overall is not too bad and we will keep working. Together with the team we made a great step this weekend and we had some new things on the bike and they are pushing to help me as much as possible. I’m really thankful. I will be soon on the box, that’s for sure.”
Erik Eggens, MX Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe
“It has been a great Grand Prix. We had a really nice event with the 2016 model presentation and the 60th anniversary special and then the results were there also. Maxime did the job in EMX, the Kemea guys made some progress in MX2 while Valentin was a bit unlucky and then Romain takes his second win in MXGP. I thought the first moto was amazing to watch; you cannot ask for more than three yellow bikes in the first three. Each of the guys had really nice stories as well. Jeremy gets back into podium contention, David runs second at his home GP and with the public going crazy and Romain disappears with that huge lead. Like I said, it was a great day.”