Due to the injuries sustained at the MXGP of Turkey earlier this month, Romain Febvre has decided to withdraw from the twentieth and final round of the MXGP World Championship that will take place at the famed Imola road-racing circuit in Italy on the weekend of September 30th. As the injury has impacted his training and preparation for the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations where he was selected to represent the defending champions Team France along side Gautier Paulin and Monster Energy Yamalube Star Yamaha Factory Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis, Febvre has decided to withdraw in order to give his team the best opportunity at claiming their fifth consecutive MXoN title.

Febvre said: “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.”

Fellow Frenchman Marvin Musquin is the natural choice for a replacement but he is unlikely to want to agree after being snubbed as first pick, even though he won the US national at Red Bud this year.