On Track Off Road No.184

and the odd bright spot until he
hit his head again and broke a
rib forcing #461 to sit out the
final Grand Prix and the Motocross
of Nations in the USA.
With some uncharacteristic
bravado the 27 year old told
us exclusively that “overall
this is the best winter I’ve had.
I feel I’m in a great position
with a really good shot of going
for the title.” This would
be common pre-season speak
for many riders but Febvre has
made changes by working with
former world champion Jacky
Vimond (and thus training and
riding frequently with brandmate
Ben Watson) and also
morphing his training regime.
“A lot about technique on
the bike, that has been one
of the main points and when
I’ve trained alone in the last
few years this was not really
something I was looking at
too much,” he admits. “Another
thing is my one-lap speed.
I’ve been doing more interval
training to help with that. In
the past I’d do long motos for
fitness and would forget about
putting raw speed first. I’m
still doing those motos but
in a different way and that’s
been the biggest change.”
“AS WITH MANY, FEBVRE IS
LOOKING TO FIGHT THE KTM
MENACE…AND HE’S DO-
ING THAT BY NOT THINKING
ABOUT THEM AT ALL...”
speed was much better and
just a few mistakes held me
back – which I think is normal
as it’s been five months since
my last raced.”
Febvre, now five years with
Yamaha, is one of the fastest
riders in MXGP but is also
renowned for being something
of a loner and very
self-reliant and independent.
The new bond with Vimond
and collaboration with Watson
(“we’ve been training together
a lot and I think it is something
we’ll continue through
the season as well. It helps
that he’s in a different class;
we still push each other but it
doesn’t get negative or overly
competitive on the track”) are
signs that an elite-level racer
is not prepared to have race
results dictated to him on a
weekly basis.
6 QUESTIONS FOR 2019 MXGP
As with many, Febvre is looking
to fight the KTM menace…
and he’s doing that by not
thinking about them at all.
“I’m focussing a lot more
on myself in 2019 and that’s
been part of the mental side
of the job with Jacky,” he
reveals. “It’s part of racing as
well. Last year I was perhaps
too worried about certain
other riders and now I don’t
really care what they are doing.
It’s a much more different
approach for me, and we
saw in the first few pre-season
events that it’s working: my
Tim Gajser, a debutant MXGP
World Champion like Febvre,
has a similar tale of injury
woe (2017 lost to at least
two separate crashes and
2018 wrecked by the horrific
Mantova jawbone smash in
pre-season). Include Gautier
Paulin’s return to Yamaha (the
bike with which he won on
his MXGP wild-card debut in
2011) and some interesting
combinations with satellite
KTMs (the ‘Max’s’: Anstie and
Nagl) and there should be a
slightly more colourful aspect
to MXGP podiums.