If nothing is ever decided in advance, some scenarios are more favorable than others and it’s with a big points advantage that Romain Febvre will head to Darwin next weekend for the World Championship finale. This weekend, the French rider struck a major blow to Lucas Coenen’s quest for the world title. Fourth in China, Romain took full advantage of the struggles of his direct rival, who was in difficulty all weekend and only managed 12th overall. With 23 points scored in Shanghai, the Belgian lost another 21 to the Kawasaki rider. The result: Romain will line up at the final round in Australia with a comfortable 47-point lead.
“Today, it’s like a victory for me. Obviously, it’s a very good result for the championship. I’m super happy, the rest doesn’t matter and I don’t care about missing the podium this weekend,” said a satisfied Romain Febvre after the Grand Prix, despite finishing just off the podium. “In the first moto, I didn’t get a good start. I didn’t have a good opening lap either, and a few riders passed me, like Ruben Fernandez, Glenn Coldenhoff and others. I knew that in such heat I would spend a lot of energy trying to come back. I tried to be as consistent as possible, I didn’t want to push too hard at the beginning because I knew I’d hit a wall later in the race. I came back to fourth and honestly, I was happy with that result because I knew Lucas had finished behind me, and that’s all that matters to me right now.”
After clawing back 32 points on Lucas Coenen in Sweden, Romain Febvre gave a few away in the following two rounds, conceding 10 in the Netherlands and 5 in Turkey. That meant the Kawasaki rider came into the Chinese Grand Prix with a 26-point lead over his young Belgian rival. That margin grew to 30 after qualifying, then to 36 after the first moto. The second race was shaping up to be decisive: Lucas Coenen got a good start and looked ready to take control of the race before crashing in the second turn, remounting dead last.
“In the second moto, I got a good start,” explained Romain, who saw his main rival crash straight away. “I was alongside Tim in the first corner. Lucas came in fast from the inside, and in the second corner I was behind him. Then he went over the handlebars and went down. From there I knew he would have to make a big effort to come back. I just wanted to have a clean, solid race. In my head, I was thinking a lot… I was up front with Jeffrey and Tim. At the beginning I thought I’d hang on to their pace to pull a gap. But Ruben didn’t let me go. He was on me, and he was faster than me. I think he had better lines. I also made mistakes and he passed me. Honestly, I just thought: ‘whatever, go Ruben, go fight for the podium, I don’t care’ and I made sure to finish fourth again. For sure, I’ll go to Australia with a different mindset.”
In stifling heat above 30 degrees and oppressive humidity, the Chinese Grand Prix pushed riders’ bodies to the limit. Romain Febvre, fourth overall in Shanghai, didn’t hide how tough it was to ride in such conditions, on a demanding track that was ultimately not very well-suited to the 450s. Unanimously, the Shanghai GP was considered one of the toughest events of the season.
“In Shanghai, it’s really hot. Too hot,” concluded the French rider. “As Europeans, we’re not used to these conditions and it’s really hard for us, even just for one weekend. On the old track, we could carry a bit more rhythm. In Indonesia, the tracks were also more open, faster, and we got a bit more air because there weren’t as many stop-and-go corners. This track is a bit small, especially for the 450s. There are loads of corners and lots of stop-and-go. On Sunday there were a lot of ruts. Saturday was pretty good but with the rain it got worse. There were a lot of ruts and that slowed the pace even more. Like Jeffrey said, I think this was – again – one of the toughest Grands Prix of the season.”
Ten years after his first crown in the premier class, Romain Febvre is closer than ever to claiming a second MXGP world title. The scenario is simple: even if Lucas Coenen takes a triple win at the Australian finale, just 14 points would be enough for the Frenchman to be crowned. A goal well within reach, given he has averaged 49 points per Grand Prix this season.
