Motocross
The FIM Motocross World Championship MXGPs have been a mixed bag for Husqvarna this season, and it was more of the same at the GP of Italy, round 10 of the series, in Maggiora, Italy, as crashes robbed factory team riders of better results.
In the MX2 category, Romain Febvre was the top finisher for Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, racing to 6-6 moto finishes to place sixth overall. The Frenchman had the pace to race for a podium result in each moto. He was running third for most of the first moto before a crash just before the white flag lap dropped him to sixth place. He was up to fifth place in moto two before another mistake dropped him to seventh. Febvre recovered to finish sixth.
“It was an okay weekend for me,” Febvre said. “I felt like I had the speed to finish on the podium, but a couple of crashes cost me a top three result. In both races I was in the hunt for a strong finish but mistakes hurt my chances and I slipped back to sixth. It’s disappointing. I’ll try to turn things around next weekend in Germany.”
Entering the day with a fever and sick stomach, Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Aleksandr Tonkov struggled for energy in Italy, but the Russian toughed it out and finished fifth in moto one. Tonkov battled gamely in moto two, hoping for a similar result, and he managed to run as high has seventh early in the moto before fading back into the pack and finishing 13th.
“It was a day of two halves for me,” Tonkov said. “Race one was great. My start was okay, but I quickly made up a lot of places and fought my way into fifth. I have a weird fever at the moment, and in the second race I just didn’t have the energy to fight for a top-five result. After about 10 minutes I was done. It’s frustrating to be sick like that because I know I had the speed to run top five again.”
The GP of Italy was a real disaster for Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray, who races in the premier MX1 class. Rattray crashed numerous times in moto one and could only muster a 12th-place finish. Things went from bad to worse on the opening lap of moto two, when a big crash ended his weekend early.
“I think I spent more time crashing this weekend than I did riding my bike,” said Rattray, who rides for the factory-backed Husqvarna team owned by Formula 1 auto racing star Kimi Räikkönen. “I don’t really know what happened. I crashed in practice, I crashed in qualification and then crashed in both races. And the last one in race two hurt. I was finished after that and had to stop.”
The FIM Motocross World Championship continues with round 11 at Teutschenthal, Germany, June 22.
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