USA conquers Motocross of Nations on home soil
Another thrilling Red Bull FIM Motocross of Nations took place in Thunder Valley and Team USA obtained an eventual win at their home track in front of a passionate crowd of 32000 weekend spectators. Second overall was Team Belgium, who improved his last year’s third position, and third was Team Germany making their podium comeback.
Team USA was in second position behind Germany when the third race started, but a superb performance of Ryan Dungey and Andrew Short brought USA their 21st victory, their sixth in a row. Steve Ramon, Clement Desalle and Jeremy Van Horebeek handed Belgium a second final position.
Team Germany, who was leading the Nations point standings after race two, had a bitter sweet ending completing the podium in the Thunder Valley track.
Great Britain finished fourth overall just one point behind Germany and Italy completed the top five. France was struck by bad luck as Marvin Musquin dnf’d twice due to mechanical problems, dropping the team down to seventh.
– RACE 1 (MX1 & MX2)
Race one started with a surprising holeshot of Barragan, but the Spaniard could not stand the pressure of his pursuers and he finally finished fourth. American Dungey got the lead already in lap two and dominated until the end, while his team mate Canard was involved tangle with Osborne just after the start as both went down at turn one – Canard ending an eventual twelfth.
Italian Cairoli went on the track committed to beat American Dungey, but he could only finish second almost six seconds behind the American after an early chase. Australian Metcalfe did a consistent race and finished third ahead of Barragan.
Paulin completed the top five, while his team mate Musquin could not finish the race due to a mechanical problem on his KTM machine.
Roczen was blocked by Canard and Osborne, whom he found on the ground in front of him when taking turn one. Though he worked his way up to finish in a solid sixth position. Belgian Ramon finish seventh, followed by British Wilson and Portuguese Gonçalves.
Race 1 top ten: 1. Ryan Dungey (USA, Suzuki), 35:56.436; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:05.598; 3. Brett Metcalfe (AUS, Honda), +0:22.000; 4. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:25.704; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:32.917; 6. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:39.361; 7. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:43.201; 8. Dean Wilson (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:47.329; 9. Rui Gonçalves (POR, KTM), +1:15.068; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +1:22.218;
Nations top ten: USA, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Italy, Spain, Estonia, Latvia, Portugal, New Zealand.
– RACE 2 (OPEN & MX2)
American Short opened the second race with an incredible start taking the holeshot and leading the heat until he made a mistake. After a crash Short dropped back to position 25th but committed himself to do his beat for USA and took an eventual 13th.
16 year old Roczen, who received the Ricky Carmichael Award for being the youngest best placed rider in the Nations, took advantage of Short’s mistake and led the race until he was overtaken by Townley –on the bigger machine- in lap five. The New Zealander managed to keep the lead until the end of the heat and finished six seconds after Puerto Rican Regal.
Roczen was finally third followed by Belgian Desalle, who would become the overall winner of the Open class by the end of the day. Nagl and Wilson finished fifth and sixth respectively, while American Canard, who started 15th after a bad start, managed to end in seventh position.
Brit Anderson was eighth, while Italian Monni and Belgian Van Horebeek completed the top ten.
Again French Musquin had a mechanical problem and did not finish the race.
Race 2 top ten: 1. Ben Townley (NZL, Honda), 36:11.627; 2. Kyle Regal (PUR, Honda), +0:06.246; 3. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:07.235; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:30.171; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:37.809; 6. Dean Wilson (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:41.751; 7. Trey Canard (USA, Honda), +0:56.298; 8. Brad Anderson (GBR, Honda), +0:58.070; 9. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), +1:20.316; 10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:25.010;
Nations top ten: Germany, USA, Belgium, Italy, Great Britain, Australia, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal.
– RACE 3 (MX1 & OPEN)
Race three started with Germany at the front of the Nations point standings, USA second and Belgium third, all the countries being really tight in points. Americans Dungey and Short gave their best for their country in the last heat and they actually dominated the race, starting with Short first and Dungey second then swapping position to see the Suzuki rider victorious.
Belgian Desalle finished third ahead of Italian Cairoli, who had to race all the way through from an initial 14th position,
and Australian Metcalfe completed the top five.
Other Belgian Ramon contributed to his country’s final second position by finishing seventh in the third heat, followed by French Boog and Swiss Tonus. Paulin did not have a good start and could only finish ninth and Australian Marmont completed the top ten.
Race two winner Townley had a mechanical failure while he was second and could not finish the heat.
Eventually Team USA moved up to the top of the podium, exploiting also the crash of Germany’s Nagl who did not finish the race. Belgium clinched the runner up position while Germany came back onto the podium courtesy in third, even though the trio’s hopes for victory came to a bitter end in the final heat.
Dungey (USA) took the individual MX1 victory, Roczen (Germany) won the MX2 as well as the Ricky Carmichael Award and Desalle (Belgium) won the Open class.
Race 3 top ten: 1. Ryan Dungey (USA, Suzuki), 36:41.709; 2. Andrew Short (USA, Honda), +0:10.230; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:17.577; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:22.593; 5. Brett Metcalfe (AUS, Honda), +0:27.187; 6. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:29.778; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:31.946; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), +0:33.135; 9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:58.530; 10. Jay Marmont (AUS, Yamaha), +1:05.494;
Nations top ten: USA, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, France, New Zealand, Portugal, Puerto Rico.
German Ken Roczen had a great outing at only his second participation at the Red Bull FIM Motocross of Nations as this year the 16 year old was the youngest rider to line up at the gate in the three races and even took the individual victory in the MX2 class. This stunning performance adds to the records of this young great talent, currently the youngest ever Grand Prix winner since his maiden win in 2009.
Missing out the award last year as he was five months older than eventual RC MXoN Award winner Herlings, this year Roczen took the honours and did it in style.
Ending the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship with a bitter second to Musquin due to several mechanical failures, Roczen was determined to put on a great show at the Red Bull FIM Motocross of Nations and so he did.
Representing Germany in the MX2 class, the youngster almost won yesterday’s qualifying heat losing a two way battle with American Canard. Though Roczen made up for that in today’s races.
In race one he starred a strong recovery after yesterday’s rival Canard crashed in front of him –together with Osborne- and blocked the way through turn one. Roczen moved from the tail of the group to an eventual sixth, even moving past fellow Suzuki rider and multiple World Champion Ramon on the bigger machine.
In race two instead Roczen had victory ambitions when he took the lead at lap two. Unfortunately the 16 year old could not resist 450cc mounted Townley’s attacks and dropped down to second, then to third after Regal came through. The eventual third place of Roczen was Germany’s best individual result of the whole day, helping the team to lead the classification after the second moto and to take the eventual podium.
In 2011 Roczen and his longtime sponsor Teka will both move to KTM and contest the World MX2 Championship with high ambitions.
— Rockstar Makita Suzuki
Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey capped a phenomenal season on the conquering RM-Z450 by leading Team USA to a comprehensive 21st victory and sixth consecutive success at the 64th Motocross of Nations on Sunday.
The 20 year old added a second winning cap for his country after a maiden triumph in Italy last year by going 1-1 in the two motos at Thunder Valley in Denver and rounded off 2010 in which he scooped AMA Motocross and Supercross titles. The biggest event on the motocross calendar was attended by 32,000 spectators and was a major accomplishment for RM-Z technology with teams USA, Belgium and Germany filling the podium and from the nine riders on the rostrum five steered the formidable yellow motorcycles.
Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1 were able to witness an excellent outing from their two factory riders, only two weeks after taking first and second positions at the Grand Prix of Italy. 2010 World Championship runner-up Clement Desalle won the MX Open class after results of 3rd and 4th while Belgian Champion Steve Ramon was 4th overall in the MX1 division. Both assisted their country to second place in the final listing of the 20 countries in the A-Final. For Desalle it was the second trophy at the Motocross of Nations after his debut in 2009 and an incredible ninth out of nine appearances for Ramon.
Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2’s Ken Roczen was one of the stars of the show and briefly led the second moto ahead of the 450s on his fuel injected RM-Z250. The German’s score of 3rd and 6th was the basis for Germany taking their first podium for 30 years. The 16 year old, in his final outing for Suzuki after a 13-year association, was also the grateful recipient of the Ricky Carmichael trophy award to the youngest competitor. Team-mate Arnaud Tonus assisted Team Switzerland to 11th overall and his ride to eighth in the final moto that saw MX1 and MX Open riders together (meaning the teenager was one of the only campaigners on a 250) was a resilient performance.
Germany counted on the efforts of Marcus Schiffer, riding an RM-Z450 for the Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 crew, who was eighth overall in MX1.
The grippy terrain of the hillside track housed many jumps including some spectacular step-ups, triples and even a quad that the 450cc bikes were able to regularly clear. The pockets of fans from around the world mingled with a hefty partisan attendance. Dungey was naturally the number one draw and he defeated World Champion Tony Cairoli in the first race and then beat compatriot Andrew Short in the last outing. Desalle was also strong and 3rd in Moto3 was his finest moment of the day. Roczen was superlative to capture 6th in his first race despite feeling sick coming into the meeting. He was held up by a crash between Zach Osborne and Trey Canard on the first corner but fought back to finish as top MX2 rider. He then passed Ben Townley and Short to front the second race but was overpowered by the New Zealander and American Kyle Regal to assume 3rd.
For the factory Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1 team the 2010 campaign has come to an end with two top five (2nd and 5th) positions in the FIM Motocross World Championship and a Belgian title secured. There will be but a brief respite for the Belgian crew with testing for 2011 due to begin in October in Italy.
Ryan Dungey: “This weekend was quite amazing. The track was rougher and better than yesterday. I felt the pressure from Cairoli in the beginning but the line choice increased as the race went on. This is right at the top considering what I have won this year. Everything must go right to win at this event. It is hard to put into words but it’s like the experience of a lifetime. I felt like we really stuck together as a team and that helped a lot. We never quit and always kept pushing. I want to thank the team and everyone behind us.”
Ken Roczen: “Today I rode two good races and felt awesome. My start was not great in the first moto but my speed was OK and I felt that I rode well. Leading that second moto was something unreal and the whole experience is definitely a highlight. I’m really happy to have ridden for Germany and to be on the podium also to compete against some riders we have only seen on the TV!”
Clement Desalle: “I finished second in the World Championship, second at Unadilla here and now second again; it is boring to always be second! Still this is good result and we did a good job with the team. I have been struggling since the crash at Lierop and couldn’t train since the beginning of the month. I felt better on the bike today though compared to Italy two weeks ago.”
Steve Ramon: “I’m happy to be up here with the team but also a bit disappointed with my riding today. There was a chance of being able to win but I was not at the same level as I have been in the last two weeks. It was tough out there and I was fighting the track a little bit. I would like to thank the team because we did a good job anyway. I think this was my ninth Nations and I have always been on the podium.”
Arnaud Tonus: “It has been a cool day; the only low-point was a crash on the first corner of the first moto which meant that I have to push to come back. I was not so good and struggled to get a rhythm. I was 16th and not happy so I focussed hard for the next race and that was much better. I rode the whole distance with Boog and it was a good battle. I pushed really hard but was losing out to the 450 on the hill. Anyway, eighth was good and helped the team.”
— Teka Suzuki Europe
Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2’s Ken Roczen helped Team Germany to second position overall in qualification for the 64th Motocross of Nations in front of a packed crowd at Thunder Valley, Denver by taking second position in an exciting MX2 Heat race.
The sixteen year old duelled for the full 20 minute and 2 laps with AMA National 250 Champion Trey Canard and the 2010 MX2 World Championship runner-up almost snatched victory but lost the front end of his powerful RM-Z250 in a turn on the final circulation; gifting the chequered flag to the American.
High temperatures and relentless sunshine hammered the hilly and jumpy hard-pack track just outside of Denver, one mile above sea level and close to the famous Red Rocks amphitheatre. Roczen was the star performer for Suzuki in the first day of the prestigious and historical annual event that also saw team-mate Arnaud Tonus in action for Switzerland and Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1’s Clement Desalle and Steve Ramon for Belgium. Each of the 30-entered countries were fielding their fastest three riders in three divisions; MX1, MX2 and MX Open (either 250cc or 450cc motorcycles).
Tonus faced an uphill task riding his RM-Z250 against the bigger bikes for Switzerland in the MX Open class but was consistently quick for seventh in the Heat race and posted the best finish for the Swiss select (who ranked 11th at the end of the day). Desalle finished fifth in the same outing that took place under a dipping sun but had to recover from a first-corner crash that left him near the rear of the pack. The 2010 world championship runner-up took the second best rank for Belgium, who were the fourth highest nation at the end of the afternoon. Ramon was sixth in the MX1 sprint that was the first race of the day and of the event. The Belgian suffered broken goggles on the opening lap and also still needs to refine the set-up of his factory RM-Z450WS.
Tomorrow will see three 30 minute and 2 lap motos in which the MX1 class will race with MX2, then MX2 with MX Open and then MX Open with MX1. The Nation with the lowest score (with 1st taking 1 point, 2nd 2 points and so on until the end of the classification for each race) will walk away with the Peter Chamberlain trophy.
Ken Roczen: “It was a great race and I really enjoyed it. I could see some places in which I was a bit quicker than Trey but he was really fast and we kept together. You needed a good eye to find an overtaking chance. On that last lap I just came out of the rut and hit a bump and couldn’t save the bike. It was a shame but I’m not disappointed; just really looking forward to tomorrow.”
Clement Desalle: “I lost the rear wheel and spun round, Boog hit me and I went down. From there I just tried to recover some positions. It was weird with the sunshine; not easy to see the bumps and the shadows seemed to change every lap! We have a decent enough position for tomorrow.”
Steve Ramon: “I like the track, there is a lot of grip and it is fun to ride. My speed was good but we need to change a setting on the bike to get a bit more power at this altitude. I also had a problem with my tear-offs on the second lap and the lens cracked on my goggles.”
— KTM
Team USA celebrated its 21st MXoN victory in Denver on Sunday with Team Belgium and Team Germany with KTM’s Max Nagl, picking up the minor places
The KTM factory riders had mixed fortunes at the Motocross of Nations in Thunder Creek in Colorado at the weekend, with Germany’s Max Nagl emerging the top rider of the group, helping to push Team Germany onto the podium in third overall.
Max Nagl: It was amazing to be on the podium and its the first time for us since 1985 and that’s a long time. The last years have been really tough but now we had three top riders. I was quite happy with my riding. The speed was there and I had the same lap times as the big guys. I had a crash in the second moto and I hurt my hip but I’m happy that I wasn’t injured although for sure it will be sore for the next couple of days.
Strong showing from Tony Cairoli
Tony Cairoli, riding the 350 SX-F also put on a good show for Italy and helped to propel the team to fifth overall behind the winners USA, Belgium in second place, Germany and Britain. Tony, like many of the Europeans had some difficultly adjusting to the altitude (1800 meters), which for an asthma sufferer was not easy. He looked in top form in the first moto and made a hard challenge on the USA’s number one rider Ryan Dungey, coming in in second place to make a valuable effort for Team Azzuri. It was clear after the first moto that Team USA was in the running to take the overall victory even though there would be challenges by Germany, Belgium and Australia.
Tony Cairoli: “it was an okay weekend for me. I had a good start but I wasn’t feeling so good with the altitude and it wasn’t good for my asthma. But I finished second behind Ryan and it would have been possible to win the moto but I made a small mistake going over a jump and I hurt my wrist and back then I didn’t have such a good start in the second moto and I was back at 15th and had to fight back again into fourth place. Overall for Italy it was better than last year to be fifth. Also the federation (Italian) called me back just last week to race here. I had not been training as much as I am used to so my condition was not as good as it could be.”
Musquin remains positive despite mixed fortunes
Marvin Musquin, who had to swallow the disappointment of two DNFs and was very disappointed for the French team who were expected to be among the top teams, was stoic about the weekend, saying it was a learning experience and that he is still very much looking forward to racing in the USA in the 2011 season, especially with the newly appointed, KTM team boss for North America, the legendary Roger DeCoster
Marvin Musquin: It was a bad weekend for me and the French team. I wasn’t good on Saturday but I was better in the warm-up. I was happy at the beginning of the first moto. I was good and my speed was good but then I had some problems with the bike. I need to really learn about the injection bike and I am excited to begin testing and working the Roger DeCoster and the guys in the team. I am happy about coming here to ride.”
Goncalves helps Portugal to best ever MXoN result
Rui Goncalves KTM’s factor rider from Portugal also managed to help put his team in overall ninth place, which wyas so far their best performance in the MXoN. Rui Goncalves: I finished in the top ten in the first race and I had a good start in the second but then I got hit on my shoulder by a big rock. I lost the feeling in my shoulder and from then on it was very tough. I couldn’t really push hard.”
KTM rider Jake Nichols also made a contribution to vaulting Britain into fourth placed overall in the MXoN.
The MXoN lived up to its reputation as being one of the toughest and most challenging of events, but one that is imbued with the kind of spirit that results in it being known as the Olympics of Motocross. The format is a simple three race series: MX1 vs. MX2; MX2 vs Open and MX1 vs Open. Teams are allowed to drop their worst score, points are allocated according to the finishing order and the team with the least number of points is the winner.
KTM congratulates the three top national teams for 2011: USA, Belgium and Germany and looks forward to the “Nations” returning to Europe in 2011.
— Yamaha Monster Energy
Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team’s Gautier Paulin enjoyed a decent first competitive outing on the works YZ450FM by finishing 5th overall in the MX1 category with results of 5th and 9th in the two motos run in sweltering conditions at the rough and hard-pack Thunder Valley, Lakewood, Colorado for the 64th Motocross of Nations.
The Frenchman, who captured four MX2-GP podiums from the final six rounds of the FIM world championship on the YZ250FM had only one week to test and set-up the YZ450FM with the innovative rear-slanted fuel injected 450cc motor and was able to lead his country against the world’s best in the MX1 class of the annual event.
Clear skies and temperatures in the mid-30s created tough racing circumstances for the riders who also had to cope with the thinner air of the venue 1600m above sea level. Paulin was on the pace immediately across the fast and jumpy circuit that involved a mix of hard-pack and rutted turns. He took third place in the qualification heat on Saturday and then set the fastest time almost two seconds ahead of AMA National MX champion Ryan Dungey in Sunday morning’s warm-up.
Race-day involved three motos with MX1 competing with MX2, MX2 and MX Open and then MX Open with the MX1 riders in the gate. From the six results recorded by the three riders representing the twenty countries on the line the five best counted towards the final score.
Paulin circulated in fifth place just adrift of the rear wheel of Jonathan Barragan in the first moto and while France’s chances of success were ruined by back luck for MX2 world champion Marvin Musquin Paulin continued to push. A bad start and two mistakes in the second outing for the Yamaha ace saw him sprint up from outside the top twenty to secure 9th and mean that France classified 7th overall.
Other Yamaha stars in Colorado were Bike it Cosworth Yamaha’s Zach Osborne (the American representing Puerto Rico), Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi’s Harri Kullas (Finland) and Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team’s Alessandro Lupino (Italy) all on YZ250F machinery.
Osborne, who turned 21 on Saturday, finished fifth in the MX2 category and could have perhaps done better than 15th and 14th if it wasn’t for a first corner crash in the first race and a slip in the second. Puerto Rico were a decent 10th. Kullas was 7th in the same class and crossed the line 19th both times of asking to mark Finland’s best two results. Lupino was just behind (8th) and with 20th and 25th from a gate of 40 riders was happy to help Italy achieve their goal of a final ranking in the top five with 5th. Team-mate and 3C Racing’s Manuel Monni scored 6th in the MX Open competition.
The 2010 international motocross season has now finished although Osborne stands an excellent chance of taking Yamaha’s first MX2 British Championship (and first title since 2001) next weekend at Hawkstone Park for the final round of eight in the UK series. Paulin will next be in action at the popular Bercy Supercross in Paris during November.
Gautier Paulin: “The team did a really great job and my bike was perfect today. I am a bit disappointed to finish fifth in the first moto because I felt that my real place should have been third or fourth; I was a bit tight on the bike. In the second moto I had a really bad start and then two small crashes which meant I had to fight back from 23rd to 9th. Together with Marvin we [France] were leading at one point in the first race but the conditions became difficult, and for me in the last part of the day the low sun made life pretty tough. Anyway it was not a bad way to finish the season and I want to thank the team so much for all they have done.”
Zach Osborne: “It was a decent weekend. I made some silly mistakes; on the first corner of the first moto and then another when I was eleventh or twelfth in the second. It was not the best showing today but I still have a lot to think about with the British Championship decider coming up next weekend. I’ll go back to Europe and then head home for a few weeks. It was a good experience being here and it was my favourite of the year so far.”
Harri Kullas: “It was hard against the 450s and I was asleep at the beginning of the first moto. I pushed back to take nineteenth and had a small problem with the clutch. I made a silly mistake by reacting to Karro next to me at the start of the next moto and hit the gate. I fought back strongly on the first lap and followed Tonus for a while and had an OK race. I finished 19th twice and I’m a bit disappointed by that. I had 18th and 16th last year. I did my best and rode as fast as I could. I finished both races but it could have been better.”
Alessandro Lupino: “The first race was not bad. I started in thirtieth position and won ten places but in the second race I went straight into a rider who had crashed on the first corner. I was last and tried to push but had some stomach cramps. We finished in the top five which was our goal so I am happy. The event was really nice and it was wonderful to be here.”
— Saint Jean D’Angely to host 2011 Motocross of Nations
In a press conference today, FIM President Vito Ippolito, Youthstream President Giuseppe Luongo, Motoclub Angerien President Jean-Marie Boissonnot and FIM/CMS President Dr. Wolfgang Srb confirmed that Saint Jean D’Angely, France, will be the venue for the 2011 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.
Having hosted a French Grand Prix this year and several other times in the past, Saint Jean D’Angely has been a classic in the FIM Motocross World Championship and it has always hosted massive crowds from all over the world. France itself has also been a country which has contributed notoriously in the growth of the sport, regularly hosting Grand Prix events as well as Motocross of Nations – the last one in St. Jean was in 2000.
The plans for 2011 will see Saint Jean D’Angely first host a French MX1/MX2 Grand Prix to fine tune their facilities, and then guarantee an outstanding MXoN later in the year.
FIM President Vito Ippolito said: “We would like to announce the next FIM Motocross of Nations that will take place in St. Jean d’Angely, France, and here we have the event’s Organizer Jean Marie Boissonnot. We all look forward to this event as another great success for the sport.”
Youthstream President Giuseppe Luongo continued: “We are very glad to go back to France and especially to Saint Jean D’Angely, because it was actually the first venue which fully believed in our project and invested a lot to make our dream become a reality.”
Motoclub Angerien President Jean Marie Boissonnot added: “We know that we have a lot of things to do, but we are not scared at all. We know that we can count on the support of Youthstream, FIM and also the French Motorcycling Federation, so we are confident that we will have a good event in 2011 at Saint Jean D’Angely.”
Dr. Wolfgang Srb, FIM/CMS President, ended: “Saint Jean D’Angely is one of the traditional tracks in our calendar and the Grand Prix will help them fine tune the venue itself ahead of the year’s biggest event. I have to admit that we are all looking forward to the next FIM Motocross of Nations in France.”
— AMA
AMA Team USA has once again earned the title of World’s Greatest Motocross Nation. Thanks to a come-from-behind performance from riders Ryan Dungey, Andrew Short and Trey Canard, the team stood victorious at the 2010 Red Bull FIM Motocross of Nations at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colo., Sept. 25-26.
Heading into the third combined moto, which featured MX1- and Open-class riders Dungey and Short, AMA Team USA was second in points behind Germany. The U.S. riders, however, put on a dominating performance, finishing the moto 1-2 to snatch the win from the German team, which fell to third in the final points. The Belgium team of Steve Ramon, Jeremy Van Horebeek and Clement Desalle moved up to take second.
“As AMA Team USA knows more than any other, victory at the Motocross of Nations is always sweet,” said AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. “However, it’s just a bit sweeter when that win comes on home soil. The AMA congratulates riders Ryan Dungey, Andrew Short and Trey Canard, and team manager Roger DeCoster, for another stellar athletic, coaching and tuning performance on the world stage.”
AMA Team USA has now won the Motocross of Nations an unprecedented 21st time.
The Motocross of Nations features three-rider teams on a range of motocross machinery. In the 2010 event, Dungey raced the MX1 class, which features 450cc four-stroke machinery. Canard competed in the MX2 class, which features 250cc four-stroke motorcycles. Short raced the Open class.
In the first moto, which combined the MX1 and MX2 class, Dungey took the lead on the second lap and held on for the win. Canard, however, crashed soon after the start and had to battle back all race, finishing 12th. In the second moto — MX2 and Open — Short took the lead with a massive holeshot, only to crash and drop back to 25th. Canard finished seventh, while Short recovered to finish 13th.
The crashes put AMA Team USA behind the German team of Max Nagl, Ken Roczen, and Marcus Schiffer heading into the third moto, but Dungey and Short left no doubt by the end of the race. They out-rode the field to finish first and second and give AMA Team USA the win by 10 points over Belgium.
The Motocross of Nations is one of the most prestigious motocross races in the world. It features teams competing by nationality for a combined score to determine the overall championship-winning team. The event emerged in post-war Europe in 1947 and has run uninterrupted since that time. The United States is the all-time leader in Motocross of Nations overall victories with 21. Great Britain is second with 16.
