Covington earns first career moto win and first overall win in MX2; Febvre captures seventh MXGP win of the season.
Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Thomas Covington will now have more reason to celebrate than ever when he hits home soil at Southern California’s Glen Helen Raceway for the FIM Motocross World Championship season finale next weekend because he will be doing so as the series most recent MX2 winner.
At the MXGP of Leon in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, Covington did a better job than most of surviving the atrociously muddy conditions brought about by heavy rains at the Parque Metropolitano de Leon, to finish fourth in moto one and then charge to his first career moto win in moto two to land his first overall win in Grand Prix motocross racing and the first for an American rider since Zach Osborne won the Irish GP in 2008.
“I am beyond stoked,” Covington said afterward. “I didn’t even know I had the overall win until I walked up to the podium and I had to ask where I should stand. It is an amazing feeling.”
While the Mexican round only featured a light turnout of 16 riders for the MX2 class, the championship heavy hitters were all on hand, and the top two title combatants struggled mightily in the Mexican mud. Series points leader Tim Gajser didn’t have the best start to the day. The red plate holder crashed his Gariboldi Honda hard in moto one, but he recovered to finish fifth while main title rival Rauls Jonass scored an important win in front of Max Anstie, Benoit Paturel and Covington.
However, Jonass’ day took a turn for the worse in moto two when he crashed in the first turn and was subsequently run over by Paturel. Jonass remounted at the back of the pack, only to completely unload in spectacular fashion over a double jump one lap later. Jonass hit the ground hard but appeared to be uninjured as he fished his battered Red Bull KTM out of the weeds alongside the track. He was able to get going again, and he returned to the pits for repairs.
Covington got out front of the field early in the moto, and he stayed there for the entire distance as Gasjer was content to ride around in second place, knowing that Jonass and Anstie were both running outside the top 10. Gasjer’s second-place finish in moto two gave him second overall and moved him out to an 18-point lead over Jonass with just the Monster Energy MXGP of the USA remaining. Kemea Yamaha Yamalube’s Paturel claimed his first career MX2 podium finish, third overall, via 3-5 moto finishes.
The MXGP class was simply more Romain Febvre as he recently crowned 2015 FIM MXGP World Champion celebrated his seventh Grand Prix victory of the year via another clean sweep of both motos. Febvre got off the line second, behind Suzuki’s Glenn Coldenhoff in moto one, but plowed through the muddy conditions to take the lead and the win ahead of Hitachi Construction Revo KTM’s Shaun Simpson and Team HRC Honda’s Evgeny Bobryshev. Febvre got off to another great start in moto two, running second behind Team HRC Honda’s Gautier Paulin. Febvre overtook Paulin on lap two and then pulled away to an easy win. Simpson came through to second, securing second overall, and Bobryshev ran third again, netting third overall.
“I am so happy to win both motos here,” Febvre said. “I felt good all weekend on this track even if this morning when it was really muddy. I enjoyed it. We are already working for next year because the championship is already won. We can try different things and even if they are not working then it is not so bad; for sure this weekend it worked very well.”
2015 FIM Motocross World Championship
MXGP of Leon
Parque Metropolitano de Leon
Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico
Results: September 13, 2015 (Round 17 of 18)
MX2 Overall
1. Thomas Covington (USA)-Kaw/4-1
2. Tim Gajser (SLO)-Hon/5-3
3. Benoit Paturel (FRA)-Yam/3-5
4. Pauls Jonass (LAT)-KTM/1-13
5. Max Anstie (GBR)-Kaw/2-11
6. Valentin Guillod (SUI)-Yam/10-4
7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED)-KTM/7-6
8. Harri Kullas (FIN)-Hus/6-8
9. Julien Lieber (BEL)-Yam/14-3
10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI)-Suz/8-7
2015 FIM MX2 Championship Series Points Standings (After 17 of 18 rounds)
1. Tim Gajser-556
2. Pauls Jonass-53
3. Max Anstie-506
4. Valentin Guillod-475
5. Jeremy Seewer-467
6. Jeffrey Herlings-423
7. Julien Lieber-418
8. Jordi Tixier-393
9. Benoit Paturel-356
10. Petar Petrov-304
MXGP Overall
1. Romain Febvre (FRA)-Yam/1-1
2. Shaun Simpson (GBR)-KTM/2-2
3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS)-Hon/3-3
4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL)-Yam/7-4
5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED)-Suz/5-5
6. Gautier Paulin (FRA)-Hon/4-9
7. Max Nagl (GER)-Hus/8-6
8. Dean Ferris (AUS)-Hus/6-10
9. Tyla Rattray (RSA)-Kaw/10-7
10. Jose Butron (ESP)-KTM/9-8
2015 FIM MX2 Championship Series Points Standings (After 17 of 18 rounds)
1. Romain Febvre-688
2. Gautier Paulin-566
3. Evgeny Bobryshev-539
4. Shaun Simpson-481
5. Maximilian Nagl-442
6. Jeremy Van Horebeek-426
7. Antonio Cairoli-416
8. Glenn Coldenhoff-393
9. Todd Waters-344
10. Clement Desalle-331
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