ROMAIN FEBVRE – CONFIDENCE AND MOMENTUM

Kawasaki factory rider Romain Febvre is building momentum as he heads to Portugal this weekend for the Grand Prix at the beautiful Agueda circuit. The Frenchman understands that he has to start winning Grand Prix’s and getting close in the championship points list to series leader Jorge Prado, but he felt that in Trentino, at the last round of the series, he was very much the man of the moment for most of the weekend.

Winning the Saturday qualification race and the opening race of the Sunday show. It all went wrong though, when he slipped over while trying to pass Prado in the final race of the weekend. That crash in race two was frustrating, but the positive from Trentino was the fact Febvre knows he can now beat Prado.

“I was disappointed about the crash,” Febvre said. “Of course. I just tried to pass him and somehow, I made a mistake, on my own, so, this is my own fault. To get a win again, like on Saturday, in the qualifying race, then the first race on Sunday, to pass Prado, which was good for me. You know, it was the first time Prado started first and got passed and then he dropped back, so, I think we found a way to beat him. It is good for the rest of the championship, because its just the beginning (of the championship). It is good to find some negative points on him, where we can beat him, so I am very excited for the rest of the rounds.”

Because of those two races wins in Italy a couple of weeks ago, the Kawasaki rider has picked up a lot of confidence, and you just know with that confidence comes more aggression and more motivation to show the Spaniard that he is capable of doing it again.

“I mean, the good thing is now I was able to win a race in Trentino and if I didn’t crash, I could have won the Grand Prix. It is just good to get back to winning, a moto or a Grand Prix and that brings confidence in what I am doing and then we can also see that we are getting closer or better than Prado. It is good for the confidence. To win a GP, is becoming more and more special, because there are four of us and sometimes even more who can win.”

So, the goal this weekend is to win, and propel himself up the MXGP championship points table, slowly building even more confidence and momentum and eventually, try and do what he did in 2023, by winning multiple GPs in a row. Portugal is a good place to start for Febvre.

“Yes, I have done well there (in Portugal), I always like that track. Last year I think I was on the podium and won the first race. Sure, I am excited to go there and then also Spain. Spain would be a big race for Prado, because it is his home race or something like this. My goal is to beat him there, because last time we went to Spain, he was really good there. He was faster than us, but to beat him at Lugo would be a good thing for me and that is my goal.”

Whatever happens in Agueda this weekend, the momentum built in Trentino can only give him more belief that those GP wins will follow soon and if that happens, we all know, he could make a real charge towards series leader Prado and second placed man Tim Gajser.

Photo Credit : Pascal Haudiquert