2017 will be only the third season for Romain Febvre in the MXGP class and the 2015 World Champion is expected to be part of a hefty list of athletes within a realistic shout of the forthcoming title dispute across nineteen Grands Prix. For his third term on the Monster Energy Yamaha YZ450FM the recently-turned 25 year old has been working with Michele Rinaldi’s crew on the engine configuration of the factory machine to regain that edge of competitiveness.

It has meant addressing power delivery that at times appeared difficult for the Frenchman to conquer during 2016. ‘We made some changes in 2015 and then again for 2016 but I think the other teams and manufacturers also made a big step; especially for the starts,’ he explains. ‘We worked in that direction and had more power but it meant the bike was a bit harder for me to ride, whereas it suited Jeremy [Van Horebeek]’s style a bit more. The team gave me something to try and I think we have the solution. We’ve also done work on the suspension that I think will help.’

‘Now I have something that is like my old bike but stronger. We’ll see where we are after the first couple of races,’ he added.

Febvre is currently in Sardinia in the midst of pre-season testing and in the run-up to the opening round of the three-date Italian Championship that will kick off on the island’s principal sand track Riola Sardo at the end of the month. As with most of his rivals ‘461’ has also been working on his start process with a copy of the new metal mesh that will lie behind every Grand Prix gate in 2017. The first examination of how the change will affect the MXGP collective will be seen at the opening date at Losail, Qatar on February 25-26 but Febvre knows that few will have an comprehensive grasp on the range of race conditions to come.

‘I think it will be a good thing and level the field,’ he offered. ‘Behind the gate was an area that we struggled a bit so for sure it will be a change. So far with the sand tyre and the smaller profile we’re pretty happy but we need to see in other conditions and, for example, how the hard pack tyre will work in the damp or in higher humidity.’

Photos by Ray Archer