RULING THE WORLD

The Yamaha champion, who rapidly grew in confidence and stature in 2015 to eventually pummel the field with fifteen moto wins from thirty-six and eight overall victories from eighteen including fifteen podiums, talks about his life-changing term in this brand new video (below) recorded days and hours before MXGP fires afresh.  

“I can remember taking the red plate in Germany [round ten] and it was the midpoint of the season…then I felt that it could be my year,” he reflects. “I had to stay focused because I knew I had the speed and the confidence. In MXGP it is way-easier to be focused on what you want when you know you have the package and speed to make it happen.”

“For sure I learned a lot and the two key factors to win a championship is to keep consistent and win a few races,” he divulges. “My strategy after a few GPs was that if I felt I could win then I would. I was looking at my feeling on the track and the bike. I think you have to be like this. There were some weekends where I was not the best – like Lommel [Belgium] where I pushed and made mistakes – where I had to tell myself ‘take third’. When you are racing it is difficult to tell yourself to accept third, fifth, eighth or whatever but it is what I could do last year and I hope I can do it again this year.”

Febvre has had to grow and mature quickly. He now has to assume a new position as pack leader and again set the reference at the front of the world. Yamaha Team Owner Michele Rinaldi has said that the Frenchman reminds him of an ‘old school’ racer: an athlete with a simplified and dedicated approach, able to displace any form of distraction.   

“I try to be a perfectionist – too much - and even when it is perhaps not the best time to expect perfection I still want it,” Febvre muses when asked about his approach to his profession. “I don`t complain about the bike because I know it is good and I feel comfortable but I am very critical of myself. It is not easy and it is something that can force a mistake in a race or the championship story. I need to control myself better.”