The exclusion of Marvin Musquin from Team France (again) resulted in more of a meltdown than Chad Reed missing out on his spot on Team Australia. However, the tables have turned. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory’s Romain Febvre has withdrawn from the final round of the MXGP World Championship and the MXON where he was racing for Team France. Febvre has been battling to recover from injuries suffered at the MXGP of Turkey and has decided to end his season early and withdraw from Team France to give them the best chance at a fifth consecutive title.
“I feel better, but not every day. The crash in Turkey was not a small one, it was a big impact and it is taking some time to heal. I have decided to not compete in Imola and at the ‘Nations which is a shame. I am not normally somebody who quits easily, I will always do everything to ride, but this time I feel I cannot. I am honestly quite disappointed but the championship is more or less over for me. I wanted to be top-three, so if I finish fifth or sixth, it really does not make a difference to me. It is not where I want to be. Then for the ‘Nations, I feel that I am not ready and if I miss so much time and riding on the bike then I will struggle to be prepared enough to fight for the win, which is what I expect from myself. It’s a difficult time, but I need to take some time to heal up fully to be ready for 2019.”
So, will Musquin ride? There is an obvious tension between Marvin and the French selectors, but it seems that Musquin is by far the best choice to ride for the team. Stay tuned.