Defending world MXGP champion, Romain Febvre strengthened his hold on third place in the points standings as the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship approaches the halfway stage in the series with fifth overall at Montevarchi in central Italy, last weekend.

Pascal Haudiquert story and image

"We had to use the hard track tyre today and we just couldn't get the starts. I came back really well through the pack but I'm a little frustrated because this is my type of track and I am sure I could have won the GP if I had started with the other guys. It's always easier to pass at the end of the motos when the other guys drop the pace but I lost too much time at the beginning. We could change line in almost every turn in the first moto but with the rain during the interval the inside was muddy for race two so there were less lines to pass."

The Frenchman gated well in the first moto but was stood up at turn one when he was bumped by another rider and lost momentum through the rising turn to leave the corner nearly last. A stunning opening lap saw the Frenchman scythe his way through the pack to tenth but he then faced a frustrating race searching for a way round a stubborn local rider.

Once he found a way past after ten minutes he continued to make headway to take over his eventual sixth on the penultimate lap. Poor drive out of the gate proved costly in race two but he rode a clever first turn to emerge tenth. By lap two he was eighth but was then again confronted with a "wide" rival; he eventually launched into seventh five laps from the close and made two further sweet passes to finish fifth in moto for fifth overall. Scoring more points over the weekend than his closest chaser in the series standings he has consolidated his bronze medal ambitions.

On the Saturday in Italy, Febvre posted fastest lap in Timed Practice and gated well but the surface of the rising one-hundred-and-eighty-degree first turn was extremely unpredictable after heavy watering to combat the claustrophobic heat and he found himself outside the first ten heading to turn two. Febvre, after hectic opening laps, made terrific progress once the race pattern settled, passing a host of top riders including the series points-leader on his way to fifth.

"My start was pretty good but the first turn was really muddy on the inside and I slid sideways coming out of the corner. That cost me a lot of positions; I think I was twelfth the first time past the finish line and the race was not easy from there. But I had really good speed and was enjoying it; I passed a lot of good guys to come back to fifth."

In the previous round in Latvia, Febvre strengthened his third-placed ranking in the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship standings after mounting the podium in the Latvian GP at Kegums.

"It was a consistent weekend with decent starts. I was second for twenty minutes in the first moto but they were pushing hard behind me and were finding fresh lines so they were able take advantage when I made a couple of small mistakes and I had to be satisfied with fourth. I felt much better physically for race two and I could take the holeshot too; they passed me straight away on the first lap but I could run their pace. I even closed down Lucas with two laps to go but in the end I was satisfied to secure the podium and good points for the championship."

The Frenchman secured second at the start of race one with a decisive drive past the pit box to turn two and held the placing comfortably for twenty minutes until he was pushed back to fourth in successive turns.

After sweeping to his third holeshot of the season in race two the Kawasaki ace was relegated to third through the next few turns but could maintain the pace of the two riders ahead of him; moving back into second on lap eleven he slashed the deficit to the leader to less than a second in the closing stages before running out of time to mount a challenge for victory. 4-2 motos delivered third overall and he has consolidated his third place in the series standings, pulling back eighteen points to second over the weekend.

Febvre how heads to Portugal, where he will try and get a little closer to Coenen and Herlings in the championship fight. It will be hard, as both have shown good speed at the Agueda circuit. Febvre did finish second last year with 2-2 results, so here is hoping for the likeable Frenchman.