Febvre Sends French Fans into Frenzy at Monster Energy MXGP of France
Living up to its reputation for attracting the best and most animated fans in the world, the wild and lively atmosphere at the Monster Energy MXGP of France made for an epic weekend despite the ever-changing weather and the absence of the rider most fans had completely pegged for the win in MX2, Thibault Benistant.
The stormy French Grand Prix was nothing an umbrella couldn’t handle. This was evidenced by the thousands of fans that packed into the incredible Saint Jean d’Angely venue, ripe and ready to burst each other’s eardrums with the sound of air horns and other noise-making gadgets came gathering in droves for the Monster Energy Rig Riot and FMX shows.
On the track, the weekend got off to a rough start for the two fan favourites, Benistant and Romain Febvre. Benistant’s hopes of uncorking a bottle of bubbles in the land of champagne were cut short when he rag-dolled at the bottom of the steepest descent. In the heart-stopping moments that followed, the 198 was taken to the on-site medical centre, where he was miraculously cleared of all injuries. However, on a second check later finding out he had sustained a minor fracture to his C5 vertebra. The news came as an unlucky blow for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 rider who arrived in Saint Jean d’Angely sitting fourth in the MX2 Championship Standings.
Almost adding insult to injury, the fans were in danger of losing another home favourite when Febvre jarred his thumb so bad that he pulled out of the first practice session. However, after struggling through timed practice to start the qualifying race in 17th position, Febvre, against all odds, did the unthinkable. With rain heaving down on the spectacular Saint Jean venue on Saturday afternoon, Febvre pulled an insane holeshot and blitzed the field in brutal mud-lathered track conditions to clinch his second Qualifying Race win of the season.
The French Grand Prix on Sunday was a game of two halves with dry, tacky conditions making it hard for the flying green machine to push through the pain of an injured thumb in Race One. After another holeshot, the 'Kawi-man' held second until four laps to go but still put in a spirited ride to finish third. Perhaps Febvre did the rain dance ahead of Race Two because the heavens opened, saturating the Saint Jean d’Angely venue and turning it into another mud-bath. But the challenging conditions worked in favour of the fan favourite, who led all but the final lap.
While a brave performance awarded Febvre the provisional Grand Prix win and a special moment for the fans to sing the La Marseillaise at the top of their lungs, the Frenchman was later demoted to second overall. Despite the questionable penalties shaking up the overall classification, the gritty number 3 still made inroads in the title chase and has moved within 24 points of the reigning World Champion Jorge Prado and 29 points of the current championship leader, Gajser.
Capping off an exciting weekend for the die-hard French fans, MJC Yamaha’s 14-year-old star Mano Faure carved his way through two wet and treacherous races to secure his second podium finish of the season. As a result, the young-gun has moved within 7-points of the top three in the EMX125 Championship.
After a busy run of three Grands Prix in a row, two of which were brutal mudders, the MXGP paddock will now enjoy a much-deserved weekend off before travelling to the land best known for its beer and bratwurst for the eighth round of the series in Teutschenthal, Germany.
