Top six finishes for Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube pair Jeremy Van Horebeek and Romain Febvre signified a steady and promising start to the 2015 FIM MXGP Motocross World Championship at the Grand Prix of Qatar Saturday evening. Riding their YZ450FMs ‘JVH’ negotiated a tricky racing surface to repeat his 2014 results and score fifth overall while new team-mate Romain Febvre was a very creditable sixth on his team/class debut.
For the third year in a row the Losail circuit switched on their powerful and permanent lighting system (420 units) to illuminate the sole night event on the Grand Prix trail. What the meeting lacked in spectator numbers it made up for with a spectacular and fast layout for what has become a traditional season-opener.
A wet terrain – to contain dust in breezy conditions – greeted the riders on Friday but the track dried and became a challenging array of bumps and ruts for the crucial motos on Saturday night. The wind also eased in the desert setting and conditions were ideal for the first races of the year.
Jeremy Van Horebeek had rapid speed but a little insecurity over his rhythm and pace on Friday. The Belgian – who grabbed a top five overall at Qatar in 2014 for what was his Yamaha debut – could not make the best of starts in each race and exercised caution by circulating largely by himself and aiming for consistency with his lap-times. His performance out of the gate was better in the second sprint and enabled a comfortable repeat of his fifth place.
MXGP rookie and new star Yamaha athlete Romain Febvre was in attacking and aggressive form from the first laps in Qatar. The Frenchman took a positive sixth position in Friday’s qualification moto for what was his first MXGP sprint on the YZ450FM. On Saturday, and at the moment of truth, he was effective, impressive and largely fault-free. He reached seventh place quite early in Moto1 but then struggled to pass Shaun Simpson and followed the Scot for a long stretch of the race. Eventually he profited from his rival’s mistake and reached sixth place. In the second sprint Febvre was again hovering the mid top-ten places and had the opportunity to follow and then pass AMA Champion Ryan Villopoto to win seventh position.
DP19 Yamaha Racing’s David Philippaerts was fifteenth overall after scoring tenth place in the first race but having to retire through a problem with his wheel in the second. The Italian had a crash on Friday and also needed to fine tune a new WP suspension setting but was happy with his speed and potential for the Saturday evening motos. The former world champion pushed his way into the top ten and was content with his work at the first time of asking but was then disappointed to have to cut his participation short at the end of the night.
The overall ranking in Qatar formed the initial positions in the MXGP standings with the first of three overseas events now chalked off the schedule. Yamaha’s MXGP elite will now box up the equipment, spares and dismantled factory machinery for the trip further east and the third Grand Prix of Thailand.
Jeremy van Horebeek
“It was the first GP and I was not really relaxed and I struggled to find a good setting because the track was really sketchy. I don’t like it at all. The design is very nice but there are many deep, square bumps. I struggled also with the starts and they were the key this weekend. I think I have the speed; it is not like the guys are pulling away from me. I was better in the second moto and the gap to the others stayed the same from the first lap. I could see the others ahead. I think I changed what could have been a bad weekend into a good one because I wasn’t comfortable out there. So, the same as last year and I will be ready to pull the trigger next week.”
Romain Febvre
“It was a pretty good first GP except that my starts were not that great. I was tenth on the first corner of the first race but I made some moves to seventh. I was stuck behind Shaun Simpson and it was really difficult to pass him. He made a mistake with three or four laps to go and I could get by. The result was good because the track was difficult with many sharp bumps. The grip varied and it was difficult to get a feeling with the bike. My start was worse in the second moto and I made a mistake by coming short on a double jump and almost crashed. I was really lucky. I was behind Villopoto for many laps and passed him. I think I used too much energy with Villopoto, which meant that I had nothing left to chase Strijbos. Anyway sixth overall with the new team, new bike, new class is positive and I’m happy.”
David Philippaerts
“We had one good moto after a bad start. In the second I had a good lap-time – a 1min 51 – which was one of the best for me today. I passed three riders in one lap but half way through the moto we broke the rear wheel on a jump landing. I had to stop because it was the second wheel we broke this weekend. I’m happy to get into the top ten because I think the level this year is very difficult. My speed was good and I’m faster than last year here…but the wheel was a shame. I think many other riders had the same problem. We have to focus for Thailand and Argentina now and keep that top ten position.”