Sunshine and showers bring RAM qualifying race wins for Romain Febvre and Lucas Coenen in France.

After a sunny morning on the Saturday of the Monster Energy MXGP of France, thunderstorms and heavy rain hit the hillsides of St. Jean d’Angely, making the previously perfect racing surface decidedly wetter for the afternoon’s RAM Qualifying Races!

There were concerns for the local favourites during the Practice sessions, as Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre came up short on a big uphill triple jump and hurt his thumb. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 star Thibault Benistant suffered a crash on a downhill and was treated for concussion, meaning he will sadly miss tomorrow’s races. We wish him well in his recovery.

Romain’s Kawasaki Racing Team stable-mate Jeremy Seewer showed some great speed in the practice sessions, setting the fastest time in both Free and Time Practice, with Jeffrey Herlings in second for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing ahead of World Championship leader Jorge Prado, who put an early fast one in for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing.

Despite the pain from his thumb, Febvre lined up hoping that the conditions would help him tough to get some points. However, as the sun came out to shine over the French hillsides, it also shone on their star rider as he avoided three separate crashes to dive past his teammate Seewer in the second corner! The crowd roared for their former World Champion, as Tim Gajser was forced briefly off-track with his Team HRC Honda just after the first turn!

It was briefly a Kawasaki 1-2, but Prado nipped past the Swiss rider into second place on the opening lap. Mattia Guadagnini had got up to a fine fourth for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, but crashed on an uphill jump and would finish 15th.

Gajser put on a majestic charge to get up to fifth by the end of the first full lap, and by the end of lap three he was flying past Seewer for third! Two laps later he caught Prado, who ran wide in the corner after the finish line, allowing the Slovenian through!  The reigning Champion would drop to fourth behind Seewer two laps later, and that was how they finished!

Kevin Horgmo put in a season-best finish of fifth for Team Ship-to-Cycle Honda Motoblouz SR, lifting himself past his teammate Valentin Guillod into ninth in the Championship!  Jeffrey Herlings had worked his way up to seventh, but dropped to tenth on the final lap, putting him now 58 points off the top!

The loudly hailed victory for Febvre was his second RAM Qualifying Race win of the year and puts him just 28 points behind the leaders of the Championship.  And that’s not a typing error, we have joint Championship leaders as Gajser’s second position puts him level with Prado on 305 points going into tomorrow’s Monster Energy MXGP of France!

Romain Febvre: “This morning, I injured my thumb and I was way off because I had too much pain. But when it started raining, I thought that it was my chance to be in the points at least. I actually took a very good start and passed first in the second turn so then it was the case of ‘let’s ride and see where I am’. I managed to pull away and I don’t know how I managed to do that as I nearly pulled off today to ride tomorrow. I’m speechless! I think I’m quite strong in the end and it made the difference.”

MXGP – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification:  1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 24:56.195; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:06.656; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:14.755; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:44.402; 5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +0:45.597; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:49.634; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:02.116; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +1:05.095; 9. Ben Watson (GBR, Beta), +1:08.094; 10. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +1:16.739

MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 305 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 305 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 277 p.; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 247 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 217 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 201 p.; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 196 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 179 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 121 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 120 p.

In Free Practice it was the brothers at the top, with Sacha Coenen fastest for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, ahead of Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Lucas Coenen. <