The bad luck for Leon came through the high attrition of the entry lists. Whole teams were missing either through injury or budget concerns or both. The wisdom of closing a Eurocentric FIM World Championship overseas has to be questioned again, particularly when the ethos and structure of MXGP is unlikely to alter and refer to past practices of open entry and funding. Then again it is impossible to predict what would have occurred in Mexico if things had gone differently this season. Instead of the premier class falling to the blossoming talents of the rookie Febvre, Leon could have hosted a three way title dice between Clement Desalle, Antonio Cairoli and Ryan Villopoto, for example.

Back on the track, the Youthstream maintenance crew nailed the level of preparation to create an enticing programme of second motos as blue skies arrived once more and the drying began. Firstly Covington grew in stature and confidence when he passed South African Calvin Vlaanderen for the lead in MX2 and started to construct a margin over Gajser and a pursuing trio of Yamahas with Standing Construct Yamaha pair Julien Lieber and Valentin Guillod, with Paturel behind them focused on nailing down his first top three overall result in his first MX2 term. Late in the race, Gajser was hunting Covington but the Kawasaki rider made a last push to deflect the charge. Gajser was clearly happier with the output from his Honda after admitting the altitude had left the Italian team searching for more from the CRF250RW engine for the rev-happy Slovenian, but was unable to close up to Covington’s rear wheel.

As for Gajer’s championship rival Jonass, things went bad and then worse. Early, Jonass’ slip and fall from the point of a holeshot was a repeat of his faux pas from Assen and the Dutch Grand Prix two weeks previously. The KTM man’s pace to recover from last to sixth was phenomenal and he was looming into Gajser’s shadow when he got the large double around the back of the circuit spectacularly wrong. “I rode at 102 percent and that 2 percent caused me to crash,” he said. “I lost my footing in a rut. I was so lucky.” Chad Reed’s infamous Millville dismount was well and truly beaten in terms of the distance that Jonass flew.

With a bent and broken 250SX-F Jonass—miraculously unhurt—pulled into the pits, lost two laps to repairs but then managed to return to the fray and move from sixteenth to thirteenth and keep some spark to his hopes for a maiden season title. The gap is now 18 points with just 50 to play for this weekend at Glen Helen. Covington meanwhile—first moto overall and moto win trophy in hand—became the sixth victor in MX2 this year and the third to sample a first view from the top step of the box. “I am beyond stoked,” he said. “I did not know I had the overall win until I was walking up to the podium and I asked where I should stand. It is an amazing feeling and something I have not had in a long time.”

The evolving terrain helped produce the goods in the second MXGP moto that served up a riveting battle behind Febvre between Bobryshev, Paulin, Yamaha’s Jeremy Van Horebeek, Rockstar Suzuki’s Glenn Coldenhoff (who had crashed out of the lead early in the first moto to make Febvre’s job easier), a distant Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna’s Max Nagl and the presence of British Champion Simpson who passed all of the above to go 2-2 and celebrate a third podium finish from the last four rounds. “I was just thinking ahead,” the Scot said of some close but measured overtaking. “Motocross is about using your brain and not just about riding wide-open over waves and jumps. As a rider you should be able to select the lines you want and that's what I was doing. I was looking for the best grip on the track. I really enjoyed it.”

Febvre was gone and his Motocross of Nations teammate, Paulin, looped out of the dispute for third place with Bobryshev. The HRC pair are still close in the championship chase for the number two plate. Paulin shades it by just 27 points as the Russian took part in his fourth podium ceremony of the year.