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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1534121
Febvre, de Wolf Shine in Sardegna Sand R acers took the Crossodromo Le Dune circuit in Riola Sardo on the island of Sardegna in Italy for round four of the FIM Moto - cross World Championship, April 5-6. Former winners used their veteran experience to shine in the sandy conditions, with Romain Febvre and Kay de Wolf claiming the weekend's overall victories. MXGP Race one of the MXGP divi - sion was all about Lucas Coenen. After starting second to Ducati's Jeremy Seewer, the Factory Red Bull KTM rider made his way to the lead on lap one. The Belgian rider is still a rookie in the 450cc class but looked comfortable up front and used his sand experi - ence to lead the entire first moto. A small tip-over on the final lap couldn't deter his efforts, as he'd opened up a 12-second gap to second place. A win in race one marked the first moto victory for Coenen. The two factory Fan - tics of Glenn Coldenhoff and Andrea Bonacorsi rounded out the podium, with Febvre and Tim Gajser taking fourth and fifth, respectively. Febvre and Gajser both suffered poor starts but fought their way through the field to finish inside the top five. Race two saw Seewer again take the holeshot while Coenen and Bonacorsi hit the deck in the first turn. Seewer led momentari - ly as Jeffrey Herlings made his way to the front. Herlings made his return to racing in Sardegna and only scored one point in the opening race. With a point to prove, he led the next three laps before eventually finishing sev - enth in the moto and 15th overall. JK Yamaha's Isak Gifting took over the lead from Herlings but was quickly hunted down by the championship duo of Febvre and Gajser. Febvre eventually made the pass for the lead on lap seven, and the two career rivals battled it out for the second half of the moto. The race was still up for grabs going into the final turn, but Febvre held on for the win, just six- tenths clear of Gajser. A 4-1 score marked Febvre's 50th career race win and earned him the overall, with Coldenhoff's 2-3 putting him second. Gajser rounded out the podium in third with 5-2 scores but still leads Febvre in the cham - pionship by 34 points. "To win is always nice, I won't complain," Febvre said. "I didn't even know when my last win was. I just try to stay consistent and avoid mistakes, especially this early in the season. Starting WIND IN THE P34 Romain Febvre used 4-1 finishes to take the overall win at the MXGP of Sardegna.