With another disastrous year for Kawasaki USA despite Chase Sexton win at A2, it is Romain Febvre who is again flying the flag for Kawasaki successfully on the world stage.
Febvre ran at the sharp end all weekend to take second overall and led moto two for a long time on Sunday until Herlings eventually made the pass with three laps to go. But with the number one plate and his new Shot gear, Febvre looked the part on his green machine and he rode free from the weight of defending his world title.
Febvre has lost no hunger, in fact, he may be riding with less pressure now he has finally got that second world title a decade after his first. Do not count him out in 2026, he will be there all year long and as we have seen over the last few years, his sand skills are fantastic. As a result he has no real weaknesses, except the fact he is not that happy with his bike yet and feels he has more to give!
Febvre said: “I can be happy about the podium because honestly I don’t feel myself yet on the bike. We need to figure it out this week and get a better set-up and while I can still fight for the victory I still do not feel comfortable. We need to adjust a few things and then I can get there.”
Credit too to teammate Pauls Jonass who was very fast all weekend but a first lap crash made the overall result (5-13 for 10th overall) not as good as the riding. Jonass sometimes doesn’t get the credit he deserves for his speed but he is a former MX2 world champ and when he is fully fit the Latvian can mix it up at the front for sure.
It is clear whatever the MXGP factory team are doing, they can make the bike work and Kawasaki Japan should be very appreciative of the job the whole team and what Febvre in particular is doing giving them a number one plate to run right at the time the US side is having huge problems.
