Frenchman Romain Febvre says his pace is returning after making his Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing debut at Sardinia’s opening round of the 2020 International Italian Motocross Championship, marking the first race since breaking his femur in August last year.

Febvre, who donned his new number three for the first time, rode to 14th in the opening MX1 moto before finishing 11th in the Superfinal, which was ultimately won by reigning world champion Tim Gajser (Team HRC).

“It’s a great feeling to be back racing after such a long break,” said Febvre. “I knew coming here that I am still working on my speed but that’s normal at this stage of the season.

“Physically I was okay though I suffered some arm-pump in the first race and then in the second one it was carnage at the first corner – I made a small mistake during the race but my speed was coming back all day.

“I know what I have to work on and since the beginning of this month I can train every day on the bike so we’ll stay here in Sardinia for a few days before heading to our final warm-up race.”

Febvre will be on-track again at the Lacapelle Marival in France next month.

St. Louis winner Ken Roczen says his whoop speed needed to be stronger if he wanted to claim victory at Anaheim 2, the Team Honda HRC rider earning the 450SX points lead with a runner-up result.

The German ace led the opening stages of the 24-lap affair, however relinquished the lead to eventual winner Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki), admitting he lost all his time in the whoops.

The section caused dramas for a number of riders throughout the night, Roczen indicating he took multiple approaches in an effort challenge Tomac before settling for second.

“I hooked up really good and got my first holeshot of the year, so that was nice,” Roczen stated. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work on my starts, so it’s been paying off. For me to be able to win tonight, I had to be a lot better in the whoops. I was just struggling there the entire race, so that didn’t help me out – I feel like I lost all my time there.

“I was trying to skim them, then went to jumping them, which was horrible too; I lost a lot of ground so went back to skimming and just was all over the place and that was where Eli [Tomac] made up a lot of time and closed in on me.

“We definitely have some work to do but don’t want to get too crazy. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing. We’re in a good spot right now and we just have to keep it up. First last weekend and second this weekend, plus the red plate is really great. I’m really happy.”

Roczen leads Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) by three points in the standings ahead of Glendale’s fourth round of Monster Energy Supercross this Saturday night.

Fan-favourite Toby Price faced a road book malfunction during the opening stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally, the reigning champion striking luck to follow Red Bull KTM teammate Matthias Walkner for the remainder of the route.

Despite the setback, which Price believes debris jammed the rollers of his scrolling road book, he was still able to post the fastest time to top the opening day.

Acknowledging the result looked strong on paper, the two-time Dakar winner admits it was quite a challenging day to start his title defence.

“I had a really good day today up until about 140 kilometres where my road book started to play up a bit,” said Price. “Something had got in there and jammed the rollers and so I was left without a road book for a while.

“Luckily, I caught Matthias after he lost a little time and I was able to stay with him towards the finish. My result looks good on paper, but it turned out to be quite a tricky day. I’m also opening the stage tomorrow, so hopefully that’ll go well, too.”

Racing resumes on Monday for stage two, where riders will take on 393 kilometres, the stage including a short 26-kilometre liaison and a timed special of 367 kilometres.

Yamaha Motor Australia has strengthened its partnership with the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), extending its position as naming rights sponsor for the 2020 season.

The partnership now enters its 15th consecutive year, where the Yamaha brand has assisted in raising the level of the AORC series that has produced multiple ISDE winning riders.

“Motorcycling Australia is very pleased that Yamaha Motor Australia has again for a record 15 years cemented its support of the Yamaha AORC,” said Motorcycling Australia off-road events manager Matthew Falvo.

“Together we are growing the sport of off-road racing and 2020 will see a number of new categories introduced to further tap into Australia’s junior talent. Yamaha Motor Australia dedication to the sport will give confidence to teams and riders that when it comes to off-road racing there is only one road off-road – Yamaha AORC.”

Yamaha Motor Australia motorsport manager Ray Howard added: “Yamaha Motor Australia are pleased to continue our substantial and positive relationships with Motorcycling Australia and the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship in 2020.

“2019 was a sensational season and we believe with improvements to the 2020 calendar with new classes and adding Tasmania to the championship there will be even greater progress and improved development of off-road racing in Australia.

“We look forward to continue working closely with MA and local clubs throughout Australia to further develop the championship that has proven to be a fertile ground for producing international standard riders.”

The 2020 AORC season kicks off on 22-23 February at Toowoomba in Queensland.