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MXGP, MXGP OF LATVIA - Kegums, LATVIA, 4 juni 2023

Podium again for Romain Febvre in Latvia

Romain Febvre of Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP raced to his fourth podium of the season in the Latvian round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at Kegums.

The KRT leader got an excellent jump out of the gate in the first moto but as the pack dived into turn one a couple of riders alongside him collided and, suffering a momentary loss of momentum as they bounced into him, he emerged outside the top ten. Reacting ferociously he had already pulled back to eighth by the completion of the opening lap and then spent several laps in an intense struggle for positions against rivals determined to defend at all costs. On the thirteenth of seventeen laps he made sixth his own with a clever pass and immediately sped clear. Posting his personal fastest laps of the race on a clear track he slashed the four second gap to fifth but the chequered flag came out before he could mount an attack. Acknowledging the importance of making quick moves as rain at the start of race two added visibility difficulties to the rugged nature of the track he responded quickly after gating fourth to move past both of the championship leaders during the first four laps with two exhilarating moves and immediately raced clear. A second moto win of the season looked possible as he maintained his cushion but he had to surrender the lead three laps from the end as some of his favoured lines deteriorated in the conditions. A third consecutive podium in GPs in which he has started remained secure and the Frenchman has now consolidated his third place in the series standings heading to the midway stage of the championship next weekend in Germany.
 
Romain Febvre: " I made a good start out of the gate and along the straight but two riders touched alongside me and it was a mess with many people crashing; I managed to stay up but I was in the pack. My speed was good when I had a clear track but it was quite difficult to pass on this track. It was really muddy for race two but I like that; I had good lines and when I took the lead I could make a gap and keep it even when Jeffrey came to second. There were a couple of spots where I was faster and a couple where he was and I thought I could keep it, but I couldn't jump everything at the end and he caught me. I tried to stay with him but he is the best at the moment so in the end I had to accept second. It's a pity I couldn't hold on for another win but my speed is good."
 
KRT teammate Mitch Evans was out of luck at turn one of the first moto as a collision to his inside pushed the Australian almost to the track perimeter through the turn and he faced a long haul from twenty-first at the first timing split. But he persisted to the end, his final pass for seventeenth coming just three laps from the finish. Race two saw Mitch find a better run through turn one and from thirteen on lap one he continued to push, taking over his eventual eleventh place on lap eight of sixteen to clinch eleventh overall on the day.
 
Mitch Evans: "This track has never been my favorite but we made another step forward during the week and that showed in the results. Now I just need to get back into race fitness and make up for the bike time I missed at the start of the year. Now I'm looking forward to Germany; I really like that track and it's more my style."