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june 12, 2017 - Yamaha Racing

Febvre & Tonus Showcase Their Potential in Russia

Febvre & Tonus Showcase Their Potential in RussiaRace

Torrential rain plagued the tenth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship which took place only a stone throw away from stunning shores of the Black Sea, in Orlyonok, Russia. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing's Romain Febvre and Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP's Arnaud Tonus showcased their speed and ability throughout the weekend. Tonus hit a career milestone with his incredible win in the Qualifying Race yesterday - it was the first of his career, while Febvre almost won the final race of the day, but had that achievement whipped away when he connected with a rider that was 1-Lap down. Febvre wrapped up the #mxgp of Russia in sixth overall, 3-points clear of Tonus in seventh.

The #mxgp season is moving at an unrelenting pace, and good results are becoming more and more important. A good finish in today's conditions - with Mother Nature throwing a spanner in the works when she hammered the rolling hills of Orlyonok with rain - was going to be a challenge. The track was in complete contrast to the fast-paced, dry and flowing clay circuit of yesterday, in fact it had deteriorated so much that there was a massive 35-seconds difference in the lap-times. The fastest lap in the Qualifying Race yesterday was a 1:40.127 set by Antonio Cairoli, while the fastest lap in Race 2 today was a 2:13.616 set by Romain Febvre.

Romain Febvre was a beast onboard his YZ450FM during the first few laps of the opening race - he was the second fastest rider in the race less than 0.200 slower than Cairoli. The feisty Frenchman carved his was from fifteenth place up into fourth before losing the front end on a slippery corner. His goggles were filled with water, and his brake lever, clutch lever and grips were caked in mud to the point he pulled into pit-lane to have everything cleared. The stop dropped him back to fifteenth place and cost him more than 1-minute, but his determination saw him claw his way back up to tenth.

Renowned for his mud skills with one of his most memorable grand prix wins being at the 2015 #mxgp of Italy in the mud of Maggiora, Febvre took the holeshot and pulled a lead to the tune of 10-seconds. He was the fastest rider on track, a whopping 2.2 seconds faster than the eventual race and GP winner, Clement Desalle.

With two-laps to go, the French ace connected with the Race 1 winner Jeffrey Herlings, who was 1-Lap down. It was a frustrating and unlucky end to the day for the twenty-five-year-old who needed that psychological boost. Fortunately, he was still able to finish second place which was good enough for sixth overall.

Equally as frustrated with the overall result, Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP's Arnaud Tonus can still head back home to Switzerland with some positives. Yesterday, he was one of the only riders capable of remaining error-free on the hard and slick sunbaked clay of Orlyonok. The Swiss sensation was running a sizzling hot pace as he took his YZ450F to pole in the #mxgp class for the first time in his career.

A completely different track today after being battered by rain required an entirely different skill-set. Nevertheless, he was fast enough to finish inside the Top 5 but set fire to his chances when he lost traction upon entry into the waves - early on in the race - and spun out. He recovered for ninth. In the final race of the day, he got off to a good start and put in some solid laps to finish fourth and seventh overall.

The Wilvo Yamaha Official #mxgp team will be out in full-force at the next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship with Shaun Simpson expected to make his return. On the flipside, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing's Jeremy Van Horebeek won't be on the gate at that round, which will take place in Ottobiano, Italy on the weekend of June 25th. The Belgian dislocated and broke the index finger of his right hand at the start of the Qualifying Race yesterday. More on his injury and expected return will be announced when available.


 

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