MXGP #110 October 2022

EDITORIAL

David Luongo CEO of Infront Moto Racing

What a month! We’ve just come back from the fantastic Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in RedBud – USA, which will for sure remain in the memory of all the motocross fans After 11 years of waiting period, the American fans were able to celebrate again U S riders after their strong victory on one of the most beautiful tracks of the USA for the most awaited OffRoad event of the year

Once again, the weather brought some drama, but the conditions were much better than in 2018 The crowd showed up and the venue was fully packed by motocross lovers for the 4 days of show

As usual the Monster Energy FIM MXoN is unpredictable, and after the ballot on Friday to determine the gate pick on Saturday, it was still difficult to really have a favorite But USA put together 6 strong results; Tomac, Sexton and Cooper were on top of their game in front of a fantastic public, who was

WE REALLY FELT THIS WEEKEND AS A REAL CELEBRATION OF MOTOCROSS AND FOR ALL OF US, WHO LOVE DEEPLY THIS SPORT, IT WAS A FANTASTIC FEELING!

already present on the track for the Team and rider parade on Friday Team USA deserved their victory

Australia and France were also favorite and can be proud of their results Here we have our top 3, which is already giving us a lot of excitement for the comeback of the event on French soil in 2023, on the terrific circuit of Ernee! Jett Lawrence won the Carmichael Award as the best youngest

rider of the MXoN It is very rewarding for us to see the talent and the speed of Jett and Hunter Lawrence, as both of them went through the European Championship some years ago! Mitch Evans, who just announced his signature with Kawasaki Factory Team for next year, is also a fantastic rider for the MXGP Australian fans! Maxime Reneaux made also history by winning the MXGP class for his first ever participation to the event!

I would like to thank Amy and Tim Richie for their fantastic work as organizers Like in 2018, their team collaborated in a perfect way with Infront Moto Racing staff and together we delivered a first-class event Then, I would like also to thank Carrie and Davey Coombs from MX Sport for their support Since years, we exchange on how to improve and increase our collaboration in putting together great races in the U S and every year we are making new steps in this direction The American Motorcycling

Talking about next year already, this week we have released the provisional calendar for 2023, and it looks very strong Infront Moto Racing will continue its efforts to establish MXGP as a global championship to touch new fans and to open new markets around the world As a very strong base, the European classic Grand Prix will be present with Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Latvia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Great Britain, Finland and Sweden, and we are very happy to see the comeback of The Netherland that was missing last year After the very popular Grand Prix

in Sumbawa, the FIM World Championship will continue to build its strong presence in Indonesia with a second race in Lombok The Argentinian fans will cheer for the best riders in the world for the opening round of the season and Türkiye will continue to host the GP in Afyonkarahisar There are still 3 GP to be announced and we will communicate on the venue in the upcoming weeks

Finally, I would like to thank all our partners, who were next to us during the last challenging years and who are still with us now, that

the world is opening again The FIM, which is always collaboration and supportive, all the organizers that put together with us a great championship, all the riders, teams, manufacturers for these great championships from EMX to MXGP! The media, TV and press and photographers who cover the season and give a great coverage to the MXGP, and last but not least I would like to thank all our fans and the motocross enthusiasts that enjoyed again the racing live, onsite and lived the Grand Prix with us this season!

I wish you a great off-season!

COOLSHOTS

COOLSHOTS

COOLSHOTS

2023 season awaits you

season you !

EARLY BIRD PROMO

BUY

FOXHOLESHOT

WINNERS AT MXON!

THE 2022 EDITION OF THE MONSTER ENERGY FIM MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS HAS CONCLUDED AND ONCE AGAIN, THE EVENT WAS NOTHING SHORT OF INCREDIBLE WITH INTENSE RACES AND AMAZING FAN SUPPORT WHICH CREATED A UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE THAT THE MONSTER ENERGY FIM MXON IS SO WELL KNOWN FOR.

While the focus for the top teams was the Chamberlain Trophy and the chance to stand on the top step of the podium – there was one other award in particular that gave them a shot at getting that –that is the Fox Holeshot Award!

Starts are always a fundamental part of any race strategy but even more so at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, as each team fight for every possible advantage in the hope of scoring the least number of points And with many riders joining us for the race weekend from all corners of the world, it gave the opportunity for somebody new to have a shot at winning the Fox Holeshot competition – but as we witnessed in RedBud, the FIM

Motocross World Championship riders were the ones to dominate the starts picking up all three of the Fox Holeshots

In the first race (MXGP/MX2) it was Team Belgium’s Jago Geerts who was the first rider to reach the first corner and claim the first Fox Holeshot of the day Geerts rode a very strong race to finish second behind American Eli Tomac

In race two (MX2/Open) the cheque went to Team Italy’s Mattia Guadagnini who led the rest of the field for a total of six laps, before Australia’s Jett Lawrence took over and won the race Guadagnini placed third scoring good points for his nation

The third and final heat of the day (Open/MXGP) saw the final

Fox Holeshot land in the hands of Team France’s Maxime Renaux who also went on to win and helped Team France onto the second step of the podium Renaux was also the overall class winner in MXGP with a solid 3-1 result

The winners of the Fox Holeshot Prize not only got the advantage of getting out front in the races but were also awarded with a prize cheque of 1,000€ each!

You can watch the Fox Holeshot clips from the 2022 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations HERE!

RACINGCATCHUP

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

THE 2022 FIM MOTOCROSS SEASON IS OFFICIALLY OVER FOR ANOTHER YEAR AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE IT THAN WITH THE BIGGEST RACE OF THE YEAR; THE MONSTER ENERGY FIM MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS. WHILST ‘MXON 74’ WAS MEMORABLE AS THE ONE WHERE ITALY WON ON HOME SOIL AT MANTOVA, THE 75TH EDITION WILL BE REMEMBERED AS THE ONE WHERE LIFE WAS FINALLY BACK TO HOW IT WAS PRE-COVID, AND WITH THE EVENT HEADING BACK TO AMERICA FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2018, ALL EYES WERE ON THE HOME TEAM AS THEY LOOKED TO LIFT THE CHAMBERLAIN TROPHY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN A DECADE.

When the curtain came down on the FIM Motocross World Championship season in Turkey at the beginning of September, all gossip and attention immediately turned to the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations which was now just three weeks away Not since 2019 had the key board warriors and paddock chatter been so loud ahead of the biggest race on the motocross calendar, and no matter where you went, it seemed as if everybody had booked their ticket long in advance in order to witness this fantastic spectacle

But why so eager? Simple! When the MXoN was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, last year’s edition in Italy was rather muted compared to all previous ‘Nations’ events due to crowd restriction orders which were still in force, and with all restrictions now

lifted, there was no doubt that RedBud was going to be an epic, and not to be missed And it didn’t disappoint!

Italy arrived as the defending cham pions complete with the semi-retired/ retired Antonio Cairoli who was in town for his Last Dance, his final opportunity to race with the #1 plate; the first time he’d done so since 2006 as the defending MX2 World Champi on Behind last year’s winners though, there were plenty of teams waiting in the wings, eager to lift the Peter Cham berlain Trophy But who exactly is Peter Chamberlain?

The sport of motocross dates back to the 1920’s with its origins traced back to Surrey, in England although back then it was officially known as ‘scram bling’ The sport gained popularity during the 1930’s and after the end of World War II, the FIM promoted racing to an international level with the introduction of what the MXoN was previously known as - The Motocross des Nations The first instalment was

in 1947 at Wassenar, just north of The Hague in the Netherlands and won by Great Britain Belgium won it the following year (1948) on home turf at Spa in Belgium, but when Great Britain hosted the event and won it in 1949 at Brands Hatch, the original trophy was retained by Team Great Britain for keeps

Then, Peter Chamberlain was the FIM/ CMS Vice President and as there was no longer a trophy or a cup to race for, the sport’s Governing body in the UK, known as The ACU, created what is now known as the Chamberlain Trophy, which came into existence in 1950 However, this was only named after Peter Chamberlain passed away in 1954, but it goes without saying that this man was hugely passionate about ‘scrambling’ and worked tirelessly be hind the scenes to keep the Motocross des Nations very much at the forefront of the sport of motocross

Back to Business

For many, travelling has been restrict ed since 2020 and so the opportunity to make the trip of all trips to the USA for this historic event was a must, and

let’s face it, the MXoN is just as much about the fans as it is the racers and teams that line up behind the gate If you have been to watch the MXoN in person then you know exactly what we mean, but if not, then make sure you add it to the very top of your ‘To Do’ list The atmosphere is electric and this becomes more evident on Friday afternoon at the Rider’s Parade The teams are driven a short distance along the start straight in front of the travel ling fans on the back of RAM pick-up trucks, and the noise from the roar of the crowd, the air horns and chainless chainsaws is breath taking The fans love it, and so to do the riders, and over the past few years this has become a real highlight of the event

Prior to the parade though, the seri ousness of the event commences with the first Official Press Conference with Infront Moto Racing, the FIM and the local organiser welcoming us to the event This is then followed by ‘The Ballot’ which determines the gate picks for the teams ahead of the qualifica tion races How it works is simple There are two glass boxes, one to the left and one to the right In the box to the left are a number of balls which are sealed and contain the names of the countries To the right, more balls

which contain numbers The first ball pulled from the left was revealed as Morocco, and the corresponding number on this occa sion was #1, meaning that Morocco had first gate pick for the qualifying races on Saturday

The next team pulled from the box was Germany, and their gate was 12, and of the favoured teams, The Netherlands (4), France (30), Great Britain (17), Belgium (11), Spain (18), Italy (6), Australia (23), USA (15) and Switzerland (2) This is perhaps the busiest time in the Media Centre as almost all the riders and teams are present to witness the draw And yes, there are plenty of ‘ooooh’s and aaaahs’ during the draw as well

At around 14:00 was the Official Riders and Team Press Conference, which is the chance to meet some of the favoured teams For this the teams were split into three groups Group 1 saw defending cham pions Italy, The Netherlands, Great Britain and France Group 2 was the host nation Team USA, Belgium, Switzerland and Aus tralia, whilst Group 3 concluded with Spain, FIM Europe and FIM Latin America This is a great opportunity to hear what the riders and team Managers have to say ahead of the weekend as well grab a quick team photo as well The day rounds out with the Riders Parade

If it’s more of a hectic vibe that you’re after, then there was really only one place you needed to be, and on Friday evening it was the Pit Bike of Nations, Day 1, for the Quali fying races and the crazy scenes at the bot tom end of the circuit Not sure the Pit Bike of Nations really needs much of an explana tion really, but if you need one, it’s basically the same as the MXoN but with riders and teams competing on pit bikes Qualifying rounds on Friday were followed by the final on Saturday evening, so if you like to party, like watching pit bikes and generally like to be entertained, then the ‘PBoN’ is probably your happy place

Blessed by the Weather God’s When we were at RedBud in 2018, it’s fair to say that the Weather God’s were not on our side but coming into MXoN 75, it’s clear they were working with us as opposed to against us Well, more so than not With storms brewing on the horizon, the track crew made the final preparations to the circuit in dry conditions and this pattern re mained the same throughout the whole of Saturday’s track sessions, which if nothing else, helped to preserve the circuit ahead of

the main races on Sunday Again, if you’ve never witnessed a MXoN up close and per sonal from the side of the track, then maybe you are not familiar with how the running order works and who is on track and when So, another quick explanation:

The MXoN is represented by countries, in this year’s case, that number was 33, with each country sending three riders, or one rider per class: MXGP, MX2 and OPEN The Free Practice sessions on Saturday are 40 minutes long and whilst there is timing, this is only a reference for the riders and teams to judge where they are at compared to the competition

The first FP session was for the MXGP riders only, followed the MX2 riders and finally the OPEN category With the gate picks already decided from the Ballot on Friday, there is no need for any timed qualifying sessions Instead, the Qualifying Races are run in the same order as the FP sessions, with MXGP, MX2 and OPEN each racing for 20 minutes + 2 Laps Of the 33 teams that entered, only 19 will transfer directly to the main races on Sunday, with the 20th and final team having to qualify via the B-Final on Sunday morning

So, how does the scoring work in order to know who has qualified?

In MXGP, races are scored with 25 points for 1st, 22 for 2nd, 20 for 3rd etc, etc, but with the MXoN, it’s much simpler, with 1 point for 1st, 2 points for 2nd, 3 points for 3rd and so on, and so on, and it goes without saying that the lowest points scored wins To qual ify, each team relies on its two best scores, with the highest (worst) team score being dropped So, if Team USA win the MXGP and MX2 Qualifying races, their job is done because 2 points is the best score you can achieve, and even if the third rider on the team wins the OPEN class, that score would not count

In a Nutshell

With weather and track conditions abso lutely prime for Saturday, the Qualifying Races went off without a hitch … almost! For the host nation, Team USA qualified on Pole Position having obtained 3 points when Justin COOPER (MX2) won and both Eli TOMAC (MXGP) and Chase SEXTON (OPEN) placed 2nd With one of the 2nd places dropped, Team USA finished with 3 points

France qualified 2nd with 4 points: Dylan FERRANDIS (OPEN) 1st, Marvin MUSQUIN

(MX2) 3rd and Maxime RENAUX (MXGP)

7th, and rounding out the top three was Australia with Hunter LAWRENCE (MX2) 2nd, Jett LAWRENCE (OPEN) 3rd and Mitch EVANS (MXGP) 4th Spain placed 4th with Belgium 5th

There were some noteworthy perfor mances here too, especially Jago Geerts who raced a 450cc for the first time and won the MXGP race ahead of Eli Tomac, as well as Guillem Farres of Spain who was 4th in MX2 and Jett Lawrence, another rider moving up from 250cc to 450cc who placed 3rd in the OPEN race

Not so lucky though were Estonia, and whilst the team qualified 13th with a score of 21 points - Harry Kullas (6) and Ta nel Leok (15) - overall, their Nations was effectively over as the third rider Jor gen-Matthias Talviku crashed in the MX2 Free Practice and suffered a broken femur With just two riders, they could no longer feature in the overall classification

Taking the 19th and final automatic qualifying spot was the Republic of South Africa, who finished with 32 points (1319-21) However, they tied with Venezuela who also scored 32 points (9-23-33), but with Venezuela’s highest score being 33rd compared to 21st of RSA, this meant RSA went through by virtue of the lowest throw away score All we needed now was a B-Final, and this is usually epic

Last chance Saloon

Making it through to the B-Final this year were Venezuela, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand and Lithuania among others, the surprise team here perhaps being Japan, since their MX2 rider Jo Shimoda was the second best 250cc rider in the 2022 US outdoor national championship series

For this race, all three riders line up for their country, with the best two scores counting, and once again the lowest score wins and takes the last qualifying spot behind the gate For a while it looked as though Venezuela would qualify convinc ingly but the last few laps turned out to be anything but, as New Zealand began to close in The young MX2 rider from NZ, Brodie Connolly was holding his nerve out front until a few laps to go, when he made a mistake and dropped to 2nd as Lorenzo Locurcio moved by for Vene zuela As this was happening, Locurcio’s team mate Anthony Rodriguez started to slip back down the order from 3rd, and

when the chequered flag fell, he eventual ly placed 7th whilst New Zealand’s Josiah Natzke fought through to 6th, and just as we saw from the qualifying races on Saturday, we once again had a tie, only this time the nod went to Venezuela (1-7-22) with New Zealand missing out with 2-6-35 Elation for Venezuela, heartbreak for New Zealand Oh, and by the way, did we mention that a huge rainstorm swept through the area on Saturday night and turned the track into a quagmire? Well, it did, leaving track conditions massively different to what we witnessed on Saturday

With the B-Final out of the way, the track crew started to work immediately to get the circuit back to as close to normal as was possible, and you know what? They did a pretty amazing job as well

The Main Event Race 1 - MXGP + MX2

Despite the hard efforts from the track crew, the circuit still proved to be quite challeng ing for the first race of the day, and even though conditions improved by the end of the race where the track was gradually be ginning to open up, the racing itself, upon reflection, was quite processional Belgium’s Jago Geerts grabbed the first FOX Holeshot of the day, but by turn two had been quickly passed by America’s Eli Tomac Maxime Renaux of France and Switzerland’s Jeremy Seewer emerged 3rd and 4th ahead of Aus tralia’s Mitch Evans, Jorge Prado (Spain) and Antonio Cairoli (Italy) Hunter Lawrence (Australia) and Justin Cooper (USA) were the first of the MX2 riders in 8th and 9th, but with passing at a minimum, that is how the first nine riders remained Kay De Wolf (NL) advanced from 12th to 10th De Wolf’s team mate Glenn Coldenhoff suffered from a poor start, and worked from 30th to 13th, with one of the most impressive rides of the race Similarly, Simon Längenfelder (Ger many) was equally impressive, going from 20th to 18th, back to 26th before placing 17th at the flag Both riders maybe not receiving the credit they deserved After 15 laps of racing, Eli Tomac took the win, his first in this MXoN competition in 4 attempts (7 moto’s), with Geerts 2nd for another im pressive ride, and one that certainly did not go unnoticed by the industry

Classification after Race One

1 USA (10) - 2 Australia (13) - 3 Bel gium (14) - 4 France (17) - 5 Italy (22)

Race 2 - MX2 + OPEN

With less than one hour between races,

the clock was ticking for the MX2 riders to prepare for their second and final race of the day, especially when washing the bike getting it prepped and into the wait ing zone on time is more of a stress for the mechanics than for anybody else Another brief downpour whilst the riders were in the waiting zone dampened the track a bit more than it already was, but fortunately, the rain held off for the race itself With most of the MX2 riders taking the inside gates, it was going to be interesting to see who would lead through the first turn Also taking prior ity up the inside were Mattia Guadagnini (Italy) and Tommy Searle (Great Britain) When the gates dropped, Guadagnini held a tight line through turn 1 as Jett Lawrence, starting from gate 23, swept across the rest of the pack who were already on the brakes As the Australian settled into the turn, he was clipped from behind by Searle, who was left at the bottom of the carnage that ensued Guadagnini took the FOX Holeshot with Chase Sexton (USA) and Jett Law rence rounding out the opening lap in 2nd and 3rd Dylan Ferrandis (France) was also caught in the first turn pile up and was one of the last to get away, and what’s impres sive here is, by the end of the first official lap, he was already up to 14th By the half way mark, he had passed Calvin Vlaanderen (NL) for 6th, such was his pace However, Ruben Fernandez (Spain) proved to be one pass too far, as the Frenchman’s attempt ended with the #15 clipping the Honda rider at the end of the waves, resulting in Ferrandis going down He still placed 6th for what was quite possibly the ride of the day

We say quite possibly, as up front, there were two other candidates vying for that title; Guadagnini and Jett Lawrence ‘Guada’ held the lead for the first 5 laps from the American, Sexton, but that changed on lap 6 when Sexton swept around the outside of the Italian and into the lead A few corners later though, Guadagnini returned the pass to lead again, but neither the Italian nor Sexton could read what was about to happen next Watching their every move for the first 6 laps was Jett Lawrence, but on lap 7, the young Aussie forced his way past Sexton into 2nd, before cutting to the inside of Guadagnini towards the end of the lap Suddenly, we had a new leader and it was Lawrence for Australia But where was his wingman, Hunter? After starting 5th behind Justin Cooper (USA), Hunter attempted to barge the American out of the way on the opening lap at the top of the second uphill ‘Coop’ was forced off-line and off-track as Hunter Lawrence went down, and from

there, it was an up and down race for the MX2 rider for Australia, eventually going from 13th to 14th before collecting 10th at the flag Hindsight would have told him to see out the first lap and take it from there perhaps, but once a racer, always a racer, right? As for Cooper, the American took 4th at the flag and was the first MX2 rider, and his 9-4 were the lowest MX2 scores, netting him the individual MX2 Class win Impressive stuff for a rider that had the worst luck at his first MXoN in 2019 at Assen in Holland

Jett Lawrence went on to claim the winhis first time on a 450cc - and after getting the better of Guadagnini with 6 laps to go, Sexton took 2nd from the Italian, who placed 3rd, possibly against all expecta tions Ruben Fernandez, in his first MXoN, took 5th ahead of Ferrandis One of the other notable performances came from Tommy Searle, who came from last to 17th, passing half the field in the process

Classification after Race 2

1 -USA (16) - 2 Australia (24) - 3 France (32) - 4 Italy (40) - 5 Belgium (41)

The Winner Takes It All Race 3 - MXGP + OPEN

Heading into the final race, Team USA were in the driving seat with an eight points advantage over Australia, and even if you took away the worst results after two races, the American’s still led by seven It would need to take something monu mental to deny them their first victory in 11 years!

This time the rain held out between moto’s and for the final race of the day we would have the best circuit conditions to go racing Maxime Renaux (France) snatched the FOX Holeshot but by turn 2, his team mate Ferrandis had taken over the lead for a French 1-2 with Sexton the lead American in 3rd and Prado and Evans rounding out the top five Going down at the second turn though was Belgium’s Jago Geerts, and he inadvertently took Tomac with him Tomac rounded out the opening lap in 11th with Geerts crossing the line 31st The Belgian eventually took 11th at the flag

Problems for Australia’s Mitch Evans on the opening lap saw him fall from 5th to 35th, so all of a sudden, Australia needed to keep ‘Jettson’ out of trouble; the young Aussie sensation did just that to round out

the opening lap in 6th

Just as he did in his first race, Ferrandis put his electrifying speed to good use and by lap three had opened up almost four seconds over Renaux, until he fell on lap 4, and when he remounted found himself in 6th

With Renaux the new leader and Sexton 2nd, Tomac found himself occupying a comfortable 7th, but all eyes were on Jett Lawrence who had advanced past Ferran dis (who fell), Seewer and Prado, and was now up to 3rd with a clear track ahead of him Four laps later he was past Sexton and into 2nd and set his sights on Renaux for the lead With a handful of laps remaining though, Lawrence was forced to go gog gle-less as the rain started to fall once more and barring any mistakes from Renaux, the win would belong to the Frenchman

When the flag fell after fifteen laps, Renaux took the win from Lawrence and as Sexton crossed the line in 3rd it was all over! Team USA had re-claimed the Peter Chamber lain Trophy for the first time in 11 years and for the 23rd time in the history of the event The chants of U-S-A - U-S-A - U-S-A echoed around RedBud and it wasn’t long before the crowd converged onto the start straight to witness history in the making Remember, a lot of the fans watching had never witnessed an American victory at the ‘Nations’, and so to do so here, at home in America was something to savour By the time Tomac crossed the line in 6th, the celebrations had already begun

Of course, it goes without saying that the podium ceremony was a noisy affair, the Star Spangled Banner was sung loudly and proudly as Team USA were on top of the world again For Chase Sexton, this was his first Motocross of Nations; he grew up two and a half hours away from RedBud in Illi nois and to claim the win on his debut was something special Just ask Justin Cooper and Eli Tomac; both would attest to the fact that ‘these things don’t come along often!’

For Cooper, it was redemption for what happened in Assen in 2019 After blitzing the MX2 qualifying race on Saturday on his MXoN debut, he crashed with his team mate Jason Anderson on the opening lap of race one, which left him with a broken hand There was no way he was going to let this one pass him by

And as for Tomac, this was his fourth Motocross of Nations His first was 2013 in

Germany where he finished 2-16 to help his team to 2nd overall The following year in Latvia Team USA were 3rd overall, this time Eli went 6-3 In 2018, the last time we visited the USA and RedBud, Team USA didn’t make the podium and so this one maybe meant more to Tomac than it did his team mates, especially as this will more than likely be his last MXoN due to a contract that sees him race supercross only in 2023 And let’s not forget Roger DeCoster, the team manager who has guided Team USA to every single one of its 23 MXoN victories Incredible

Rounding out the podium were France and Australia and on paper, leading into this year’s event, these were perhaps the three strongest teams and the ones that deserved to be on the box in RedBud

Prior to the event many felt that Team USA had to win this year, no matter what They had the strongest team with the top two 450cc riders in the country and Justin Cooper as the best American 250cc rider Eleven years is a long time between drinks and to go twelve years without a win was almost unthinkable For the Motocross of Nations to retain its charm as the biggest and best motocross race on the calendar, Team USA needed to win purely because we need to see them in France in 2023 and to see them riding with the #1 #2 #3 on the front of their motorcycles will only add to the hype and the interest in this event So, congratulations to Team USA on the win and we look forward to seeing you next year when we do it all again at Ernee in France

Classification - 2022 MXoN

1 Team USA (16) - 2 France (23) - 3 Aus tralia (26) - 4 Italy (49) - 5 Belgium (50)

6 Spain (51) 7 The Netherlands (62) - 8 Germany (71) - 9 Switzerland (90) - 10 Great Britain (98)

Class Winners

Maxime RENAUX (3-1 MXGP)

Justin COOPER (9-4 MX2)

Jett LAWRENCE (1-2 OPEN)

Ricky Carmichael Award

Jett Lawrence

Fox Holeshots

Race 1 - Jago Geerts, Belgium

Race 2 - Mattia Guadagnini, Italy

Race 3 - Maxime Renaux, France

Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena Insights

MONSTERGIRLS

MONSTERGIRLS

TEAM OFTHEMONTH

USATITLEBACK ON TOP!

IT’S BEEN A LONG JOURNEY BACK TO THE TOP FOR TEAM USA, WHO AFTER 11 LONG YEARS HAVE MANAGED TO END THEIR WINLESS DRY SPELL WITH ELI TOMAC, JUSTIN COOPER AND CHASE SEXTON GIVING THEIR HOME CROWD A DREAM END TO THE 75TH MONSTER ENERGY FIM MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS IN REDBUD – BY PUTTING TEAM USA BACK ON THE TOP STEP!

When it comes to the history of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, the Americans are no doubt the most successful nation Since the unique team event launched in 1947, Team USA has won the event a total of 23 times, compared to Great Britain who have won 16 times, Belgium 15 and rounding out the top five is Sweden with 7 and France with 6 victories

A lot of pressure rode on the shoulders of the three riders representing the American flag this year, as everyone knew USA could not afford another loss, especially on home soil

In 2018, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations took place in RedBud, which much like this year, saw your typical ‘mud fest’ that we have come to know and expect from the Monster Energy FIM MXoN! That time around USA failed to mount the podium and were beaten on home soil for the very first time, while France took their sixth victory, which they were also looking to replicate this season too… but we all know how that worked out in the end!

2022 was the fifth time that America had the privilege of hosting the event as the US first hosted the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in 1987 at Unadilla with Bob Hannah, Ricky Johnson and Jeff Ward contributing to USA’s 13-

year winning streak that ran between 1981 and 1993

Team USA’s Success…

Team USA’s success at the Motocross of Nations started in 1981 with Donnie Hansen, Danny LaPorte, Johnny O’Mara and Chuck Sun leading the team to victory in Bielstein, Belgium for the very first time! For the following 12 years, the Americans were unmatched as they dominated up until 1994, when Great Britain took back the Chamberlain Trophy USA missed out on the top step again in 1995, but in 1996 Jeff Emig, Steven Lamson and Jeremy McGrath put American flag back on top!

Another victory followed a few years later in 2000 and again in 2005, where Ricky Carmichael, Kevin Windham and Ivan Tedesco began USA’s next winning streak! The nation won the following six

events, the last one being in Saint Jean d’Angely in 2011 with Ryan Dungey, Blake Baggett and Ryan Villopoto

And then began the 11-year dry spell for Team USA, as the nation failed to win an event since 2011 – but of course that all changed this year in RedBud!

Coming back to RedBud & Team Selection

When RedBud was announced as the host of the 75th Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in Mantova, many fans and riders rejoiced in having the chance to return to one of America’s most legendary tracks and finally getting to race over the Atlantic for the first time in years The COVID-19 pandemic added to the excitement of the event, as it gave a glimmer of hope that things were beginning to get back to normality

Hopes were high for this season and as Eli Tomac

explained during Friday’s team’s press conference it was a “redemption round” for the Americans who were solely focused on winning on home turf

For Tomac it was also personal There is no doubt that Tomac has had his best season yet this year winning both the Supercross and outdoor championships, so naturally the last one was to finally get the Monster Energy FIM MXoN win under his belt to round out the perfect season But there was also more to the story, as Tomac was part of the squad in 2018 that was beaten by France, so there was also that motivation to redeem himself and put the US flag back on the top

In terms of the squad selection, Tomac was the most experienced having previously represented Team USA in 2013, 2014 and 2018, so for him it was his fourth Motocross of Nations The other two riders, Justin Cooper and Chase Sexton were a little less experienced and probably relied on guidance from Tomac, the team captain, in the approach to the biggest offroad event of the year

There was some criticism in Roger De Coster’s decision to pick Justin Cooper over Cristian Craig, but Cooper rose to the occasion and delivered a strong result which was key to getting the team on the top step It wasn’t Cooper’s first rodeo either, as he represented the team back in 2019 in Assen While the weekend started great for the American who won his qualifying heat, a collision in the race with his teammate Jason Anderson resulted in a hand injury and proved to be costly for the overall result Maybe it’s fair to speculate that redemption was also on the mind of Cooper who was motivated to prove the naysayers wrong

The third and final team member was Chase Sexton

who made his debut at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations It was a big moment for the young American who not only made his first appearance at the biggest offroad event during his birthday weekend, but also rode on a track that he grew up close to – making the race even more special

Looking back on it, there was clearly a lot riding on the shoulders of the riders personally as they all focused on the common goal of getting USA back on top

The organisers Amy and Tim Ritchie, along with their crew, did an outstanding job with the prep, not only leading up to the event, but especially during the race weekend, as once again, we were all dealt with very challenging weather conditions

While many joked and reminisced on the 2018 edition and the downpour that resulted in a total mud-fest, everyone hoped that nothing like it would happen again, and the World Championship riders would finally get to enjoy RedBud at its best – of course sometimes not all of the stars align

The Racing Day one of racing started on a good note, with perfect weather and immaculate track conditions

Qualifying was very successful for Team USA with Justin Cooper winning in MX2, while Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton both finished second in the MXGP and Open qualifying heats, ending the day with a team total of three points to top the charts ahead of France and Australia – the other two main contenders

With a strong qualifying result, the team looked confident for the races – that was until the overnight rain had fallen, with more also during the day which put into question whether Cooper, Tomac and Sexton could

deliver the same results on very different track conditions

The first gate drop of the combined MXGP and MX2 race saw Tomac dominate as he led the race from start to finish making it his very first race victory at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations! Cooper finished further down in ninth but was the best scoring rider in MX2

Race two, the focus shifted onto Sexton and Cooper who were the Open and MX2 representatives that time around Sexton had a very strong race battling with Italy’s Mattia Guadagnini and Australia’s Jett Lawrence He eventually fought his way into second after some changes between the top three, while Cooper rode a smart and solid race in fourth to deliver two very strong results for Team USA

The final and third race was the most intense, as historically at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations is when the drama starts, and things can change very quickly for the teams in terms of the medal scoring positions All that pressure rode on the shoulders of Tomac and Sexton that time around As the gate dropped for race three, Sexton managed to get away well with Team France’s Maxime Renaux and Dylan Ferrandis, challenging both of them for the top spot Meanwhile Tomac had a lot more work on his hands after getting stuck behind Team Belgium’s Jago Geerts who crashed right in front of him Tomac had to fight back from the back and managed to make some impressive passes to climb back to sixth place, while Sexton brought it home in third with the squad delivering another top result for the team

As the chequered flag fell, there was no denying in who the winners were, as Sexton and Tomac celebrated with the team just as they crossed the Monster

Energy finish line USA were declared the winners of the 75th edition with 16 points, while Team France’s Maxime Renaux, Marvin Musquin and Dylan Ferrandis ended up with the silver medals on 23 points and Australia’s Mitch Evans, Hunter and Jett Lawrence celebrating their third-place finish with 26 points

The podium

The podium ceremony is always the highlight of the racing weekend and the fans in RedBud really delivered on setting the bar for events to come in terms of the incredible atmosphere and support shown for the teams that mounted the podium There’s no denying that the loudest cheers were heard for Team USA as thousands of fans ran across from all corners of the track to the start area in order to get a glimpse of the squad lifting the Chamberlain Trophy for the first time in 11 years

A sea of red, white and blue as well as chants of “USA, USA, USA!” filled the RedBud racetrack as Team USA were officially declared the champions of the world!

Following the race celebrations everyone headed to the media centre for the official press conference and medal ceremony where De Coster, Tomac, Cooper and Sexton finally got to share their emotions from the day

Roger De Coster: “I have to congratulate these three guys a lot and say thanks for letting me be part of this with them With Justin Cooper, a lot of people doubted the choice, but he really came through and we are really thankful for his ride And of course, our two big guys here [Tomac and Sexton], everyone expected it from them and they proved that we did the right thing Thank you to all three of you and all the people that support us!”

Eli Tomac: “That’s what it was, it felt like a redemption from the team here and I just first off, I want to say how proud I am of my teammates, Chase, Justin

This is truly a team event and there’s no race like this Yesterday started great for us for the qualifying heats and then obviously the rain this morning This really levelled the playing field but we came through strong in these muddy conditions 11 years is a long time, so I’m just proud of my teammates and everyone who is part of Team USA, this is very special for us”

Justin Cooper: “I had a lot of pressure First with how it went here last time but also how it went for me in 2019, it was kind of weighing in the back of my mind, and it was quite a stressful day for me With the rain coming down, I really tried to get my focus down and try to do what I did yesterday Overall, it was a fund day and the conditions definitely made it a little tougher because it

was really hard to ride I have to give it up to my teammates, they did awesome, and I just tried to do my best after that first race to put myself in a better position out of the gate, get close to the top five, which I was able to accomplish, to put the team in a good position and take the weight off for the last race for these guys Everything went to plan and I’m really pumped!”

Chase Sexton: “It was my first time race this race… This summer I had a lot of pressure, but this race is something that I can’t even explain I got barely any sleep last night and waking up with rain was not something I wanted, just because of how it went in 2018 I was just super happy about today Starts were good, but man that third race, it was a long time out there, I

was reading the pit board and just didn’t want to make any mistakes and do anything stupid I just wanted to get to the finish line Just super proud of this team It was a great day for us and for me getting my first win on my first time, I won’t take it for granted

Next year the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations heads to Ernèe, France, a familiar venue for the riders and it will be interesting to see whether Team USA can defend their crown or whether somebody else will beat them to it and steal that Chamberlain Trophy… of course that is all in the future but for now we can all enjoy the incredible effort from Team USA to win the 75th Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations which has been a memorable one

SPECIALFEATURE

FEATURE

THIS YEAR, THE FIM JUNIOR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNED TO THE FAMOUS LAVANKO TRACK IN THE CITY OF VANTAA IN FINLAND. VANTAA IS NOT NEW TO THE WORLD OF MOTOCROSS, HAVING HOSTED THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BACK IN 1963 WHICH WAS THEN WON BY TORSTEN HALLMAN, THE 4-TIME WORLD CHAMPION AND THE FOUNDER OF THOR MX CLOTHING.

This year, Talavera de la Reina in Spain had the privilege of hosting the event that made its return for the first time since 2019 It was not the first time Talavera de la Reina hosted a major event, as the track is very well known in the paddock The hard pack Spanish venue made its first appearance onto the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar back in 1994, with the most recent Grand Prix taking place in 2016

It was a big weekend that saw riders from all over Europe and the world, gather for one weekend of racing, in the hopes of putting their nation on the top step! A total of 20 national teams competing, including 9 in the MXoEN class and 11 in the WMXoEN category

Last time, in 2019, the event was hosted in Gdansk, Poland, where Team Italy ended up on the top step once again, while in the women’s division it was Team Netherlands who were victorious for the very first time This time around, Italy and Netherlands were among the top favourites, as well as home heroes Spain!

The Motocross of European Nations is composed of 3 classes, 250cc, 125cc and 85cc, and each team has four riders: one 250cc rider, one 125cc rider, and two 85cc riders In the women’s category, each team has two riders The teams race on Saturday in the qualifying races to determine the start grid, and on Sunday is when the scores are taken and the team will the least number of points is crowned the winner

TEAM PRESENTATION

The Motocross of European Nations kicked off on Friday with the teams’ presentation to the crowd The opening ceremony took place in Talavera de la Reina, where the MXoEN and WMXoEN teams were presented to an enthusiastic crowd of fans and supporters

The ceremony began with the official welcome message video of the event and was followed by

an introduction and speeches from special guests Monserrat Muro City of Talavera de la Reina Deputy Mayor, Sergio Gutierrez City of Talavera de la Reina Sport Deputy, Andrea Giovanni Barbieri Chairman of the FIM Europe Motocross Commission, Peter Goris Jury President, Tomáš Pavlovčík FIM Europe race director, Jonathan Villa FMNR Jury member and Patricia Maskarova Infront Moto Racing MXoEN general manager

The crowd was then presented with the best moments from the previous MXoEN event which was the perfect build-up for this year’s edition and got everyone excited to see who will be champions in 2022!

The evening was then concluded with family photos and a special performance from the Society DS Dance Studio

QUALIFYING DAY

Before the start of qualifying, as per MXoEN and MXoN tradition, the ballot to determine the starting grid for the qualifying heats took place in the Media Centre in Talavera de la Reina Team Spain drew first position in the MXoEN category while in the WMXoEN it was Team Norway who took to the gird first!

Then it was time to focus on qualifying The qualifying heats are crucial for the teams aiming to secure the best possible position on the grid for the main races, where points will be counted, and a winner will be determined

In the EMX125/EMX250 qualifying, Team Italy’s Valerio Lata took the holeshot as Team Slovenia’s Jan Pancar pushed the leader Pancar applied the pressure and remained close as did Team France’s QuentinMarc Prugnieres and Team Spain’s Gerard Congost

On lap four, Pancar made a mistake and dropped back to fourth which allowed Prugnieres through into second, with the Frenchman then catching and passing Lata too The top four riders remained close, but it was Prugnieres who won the qualifying heat ahead of Pancar who managed

to find an opportunity to pass Lata, with Congost finishing fourth and Anton Nordström Graaf of Team Sweden rounding out the top five

In the EMX85 qualifying heat, Team Italy’s Filippo Mantovani and Nicolo Alvisi started strong The duo battled each other for much of the race, with Mantovani taking the victory and finishing 3 379 seconds ahead of his fellow countryman Placing third was Amaury Maindru of Team France, followed by Mano Faure also of Team France, while fifth was Casper Lindmark from Team Sweden

The WMXoEN qualifying heat, it was Team Netherlands’ Lynn Valk who took a good start with Team Denmark’s Sara Andersen just behind her Local hero, Daniela Guillen of Team Spain start in around fifth and was pushing hard to get close to the leaders

By the third lap, Guillen managed to find her way into second after passing Andersen, and the focused on Valk just in front of her At the halfway stage of the race, Guillen was able to get herself into first, which is where she finished the race Valk was second, Anderson third, Jordan Jarvis of Team USA and Martine Hughes of Team Norway rounded out the top five in the group

THE RACING

With the qualifying action concluded, it is time to look ahead to the main races and the beautiful setting of the Talavera de la Reina track, mixed with beautiful Spanish weather made for the perfect recipe in order for everyone to enjoy a great and competitive day of racing!

As is tradition at the MXoEN, the morning of the race began with an opening ceremony with speeches given by José Ramón Garcia Vice President of FIM Europe, Jesús Bermúdez President of Motoclub Talavera and Patricia Maskarova Infront Moto Racing’s MXoEN general manager who also handed a special plaque to Mr Jesús Bermúdez as a thanks for organising such a fantastic event

At the end of the opening ceremony, the national anthem of Spain was played before everyone shifted their focus onto the racing

EMX125/EMX250 RACES

In the first EMX125/EMX250 race the holeshot went to Team Italy’s Valerio Lata who was the leading rider for the first three laps of the race Team Slovenia’s Jan Pancar briefly led before being pushed back as Team France’s Quentin-Marc Prugnieres took over first place as Team Spain’s Gerard Congost moved into second

Lata dropped back to fourth and then eventually did not finish the race due to a bike problem, while Prugnieres went on to win ahead of Pancar, who fought back to second, while Congost and Anton Nordström Graaf of Team Sweden rounded out the top five

In race two, it was Congost who took the holeshot ahead of Lata and Pancar, while Prugnieres started in fourth Congost led for six laps before being passed by Pancar, and then four laps later, the Spaniard was also passed by Prugnieres, as Lata dropped down the order to fifth where he eventually finished

Pancar won the race ahead of Prugnieres, Congost and Nordström Graaf while Lata rounded out the top five in the group

EMX85

In EMX85 race one, the holeshot went to Team France’s Amaury Maindru with Team Italy’s Filippo Mantovani following closely behind in second Team France’s Mano Faure started third, with Team Italy’s Nicolo Alvisi in fourth just behind

A lap later, Alvisi passed Faure to move into third all while Mantovani was able to take over the lead from Maindru, but only for a lap, as the Frenchman got himself back into the lead by the fifth lap and maintained first until the end of the race By lap seven, Alvisi managed to get around Mantovani for second, but just three laps later was passed back by his fellow countryman In the end, Maindru was the winner

ahead of Mantovani, Alvisi, Faure and Juan Izaguirre of Tram Spain

In race two, the holeshot went to Faure, as Mantovani and Maindru pushed the Frenchman from behind The top three opened up a nice gap to the rest of the field, as they focused on the battle among each other

By lap five, we saw a change for the lead as Mantovani was able to take control of the race, but the trio continued to battle for much of the race

With two laps to go, Mantovani looked well in control, though Maindru was keen on pushing for the win from third on the final lap, though was not successful In the end, Mantovani was the winner ahead of Faure and Maindru, while Viktor Leppälä of Team Finland and Enzo Badenas of Team Spain were in the top five

Strong results from Prugnieres, Faure and Maindru put Team France on the top of the nation’s classifications as the French squad were crowned the 2022 champions with 19 points, ahead of Team Italy who were forced to settle for second with 34 points and home heroes Team Spain rounding out the podium and taking home third also with 34 points!

MXoEN Overall Nations Top 5

France 19pts

Italy 34pts

Spain 34pts

Slovenia 63pts

Bulgaria 72pts

Women’s Motocross of European Nations

But that was not all in terms of racing, as the Women’s Motocross of European Nations title had to be decided!

In WMXoEN race one, it was Team Spain’s Gabriela Seisdedos and

Daniela Guillen who got off to a strong start, with Seisdedos taking the holeshot Team Netherland’s Lynn Valk was nestled in between the pair, before Guillen found her opportunity to get by both and take over the lead by the second lap

After starting in the mid-field, Team Denmark’s Sara Andersen worked her way up the order and on lap six was in third behind Valk But Guillen was in control around 12 521 seconds ahead of Valk who remained second

In the end, Guillen took the race win ahead of Valk, Andersen, Team USA’s Jamie Astudillo and Malou Jakobsen of Team Denmark

In the second race, it was Andersen who took the holeshot that time

around with Valk, Guillen and Seisdedos just behind Within the first two laps, the top three pulled away from the rest of the field, as Guillen passed Valk on lap three

By lap six, Andersen began to fade which worked to Guillen’s advantage and just three laps later the Spaniard was able to pass for the lead Guillen won the second race, taking a perfect 1-1 score for Team Spain, while Andersen crossed the line in second, putting Team Denmark on the third step of the podium, while third was Valk for Netherlands as the finished second overall on the podium and failed to defend their title this time

Team Spain’s Daniela Guillen and Gabriela Seisdedos celebrated big with their team and local fans as

crossed the line as the 2022 Women’s Motocross of European Nations Champions!

Overall Nations Top 5

Spain 8pts

Netherlands 10pts

Denmark 12pts

USA 19pts

Norway 21 pts

out all of the best moments

the event with our highlights

Click HERE to watch

SECTIONNAME HALLOFFAME

TITLE

FREDERIC VIALLE

FATHER OF OUR DOUBLE MX2 WORLD CHAMPION, IN THE 90’S AND DURING TEN SEASONS FREDERIC VIALLE WAS ONE REGULAR CONTENDER OF THE 125CC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, WHERE HE SCORED SEVERAL MOTOS AND GP WINS. HE ALSO RACED SOME US SUPERCROSS ROUNDS, WHERE HIS SON TOM WILL NOW CONTINUE HIS SUCCESSFUL CAREER.

Born on 27th October 1973 in Avignon, Frederic Vialle had always motorcycles around him when he was a kid, as his uncle was racing Motocross at a regional level, while his father was more passionate by trial He was a competitor but also an organiser and Fred was always with him when he went working to prepare the layout of an event Finally Fred got a little Italjet and did his first race at La Voulte, not far from home, where he finished very far from the leaders!

Fred was eleven years old when he did his first real Motocross race on a 85cc; it was a regional event, and he finish nearly last Then race after race he improved his results, and he created the buzz when he won a main event during a French Supercross round; he was only fifteen years old, racing on a private Suzuki with his father as mechanic! Thanks to that result he got a deal with Kawasaki France and entered the European championship in 1990, and one year later he became a Grand Prix rider scoring points in several rounds with two moto podiums

to finish fifteenth of the series Racing both Motocross and Supercross, he finished runner up in both French series and from that moment he would always race MX and SX until the end of his career In 1993 he enjoyed his first GP race win during the French GP, at a period when the riders raced three motos per round

Hard worker but not really talented, Fred entered the top ten of the World Championship four years after racing his first GP, and the 1994 season was a good one He had the opportunity to race a few US Supercross events in winter time, and surprised everyone when he led the main event in Seattle during ten laps! Seventh in the 125cc classification, he ended the season on the podium with the French team at the Motocross of Nations in Roggenburg, and in 1995 he confirmed all his potential in Supercross with another French title

Moving to Yamaha in 1996, he was with Paul Malin the main rival of Sébastien Tortelli, who won the title that year; with a moto win in Bellpuig (Spain) and with six GP podiums, he did his best season and finished third in the standings only seven points behind Paul With Tortelli moving in the 250cc class in 1997, he became the main opponent of the Italian squad (Chiodi, Puzar, Federici), and with a first GP win during his home GP at Pernes les Fontaines he was a real title contender during a few rounds However, with three DNF’s at mid season he lost a lot of points even if he won four other motos and two GP’s in the second part of the series But he lost his last chances with five other DNF’s… Always racing Supercross during his career, he clinched his third national title in 1997 and missed an opportunity to move racing full time in the US Twenty-five years later, his son did it!

1996-97 were his best seasons, as he had up and down results in 1998; moving to the 250cc class in the Champ KTM team, he came back on a 125cc in 1999 and ended his pro GP career in 2000, a few days after the birth of his first son, Tom He continued to race the French series during a few more seasons, and then started to share all his experience with Tom The rest, you know!

Text and Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

1988: C2nd in the French 80cc championship

1990: 11th in the 125 European Championship (Kawasaki)

1991: 15th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki) 2nd in the 125 French Motocross and Supercross Championship

1992: 14th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki)

2nd in the 125 French Motocross Championship

1993: 11th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki)

125 French Supercross Champion

1994: 7th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki)

3rd at the Motocross of Nations with Team France 2nd in the 125 French Motocross and Supercross Championship

1995: 9th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki)

250 French Supercross Champion

1996: 3rd in the 125 World Championship (Yamaha) 2nd in the 125 French Motocross Championship

1997: 4th in the 125 World Championship (Yamaha). Win 3 GP’s

125 French Supercross Champion

1998: 12th in the 125 World Championship (Yamaha).

1999: 41st in the 250 World Championship (KTM)

2000: 44th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki)

2nd in the 125 French Motocross Championship 3rd in the 250 French Supercross Championship

1 Team USA receive a warm welcome at the Team Presentation to the crowd in RedBud!

Ryan Villopoto enjoying the MXoN action in RedBud

Jeremy Seewer taking the time to take selfies with the American fans

Ricky Carmichael met fans in the VIP Diamond and Platinum hospitalities during the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations weekend!

Andrea Dovizioso came to watch his very first Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations

FMX megastar Axel Hoghes caught up with Lisa Leyland LIVE on MXGP-TV

7 Ricky Johnson presented special ‘MXoN watches’ to the overall winners in each category!

8 Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo presented Jett Lawrence with the Ricky Carmichael awarded for the best overall result to the youngest rider

9 Team USA showing off their medals and their champions rings!

10 Rally driver Nani Roma enjoying the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations atmosphere in RedBud

11 Full house! The opening ceremony in RedBud featured special guests such as Jeff Stanton and Broc Glover, organizer Amy Ritchie along with Dave Gowland from Monster Energy, Infront Moto Racing’s CEO David Luongo, FIM President Jorge Viegas, FIM Board Member and AMA President Rob Dingman, Brad Paquette State Representative for Michigan’s 78th District, Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey and Tim Walberg, United States Congressman on the podium!

SPECIALFEATURE

AFTER WINNING THE FIM 125CC MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1992, GREG ALBERTYN WASTED NO TIME IN MOVING UP TO THE 250CC CATEGORY, WHICH WAS NOW VERY MUCH DEEMED AS THE PREMIER CLASS, AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN PRETTY MUCH HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. WHEN ALL WAS SAID AND DONE, ‘ALBEE’ TOOK THE SERIES BY STORM CLINCHING THE TITLE WITH A ROUND REMAINING, AND IT’S GREG’S 1993 HONDA CR250 THAT WE WILL FEATURE IN THIS ISSUE OF MXGP MAGAZINE.

During his title winning campaign of 1992, Greg Albertyn had already made up his mind that if he won the title that year then he would waste no time in hanging around in the eighth-litre category, instead preferring to challenge himself against the very best in the world at that time Of course, During his title winning campaign of 1992, Greg Albertyn had already made up his mind that if he won the title that year then he would waste no time in hanging around in the eighthlitre category, instead preferring to challenge himself against the very best in the world at that time Of course, that meant moving up to the highly competitive 250cc class The only stumbling block

might have been team owner Jan de Groot’s reluctance to share that same ambition, since the tall Dutch engine tuning specialist was always considered as someone who preferred the 125cc class

With the final GP of 1992 taking place at Suzuka, Japan, Albertyn’s persuasion was infectious and before the team returned to Europe, the support package for Albee’s 250 campaign had pretty much been agreed Jan, Greg and mechanic Ian Harrison were about to embark on their next chapter

The starting point of Albee’s JHK Honda was the production 1993 CR250 Honda, but it wouldn’t be long before a HRC kit found its way to Holland The kit comprised of a cylinder, cylinder head,

GREG ALBERTYN 1993 HONDA CR250

HRC piston and HRC analogue ignition for the race bikes, as well as a factory clutch cover made from magnesium, with the 5-speed gearbox also being provided by HRC, but whilst riding the production bike back home in South Africa during the winter, it became apparent there was a problem that kept rearing its ugly head, as Harrison recalls:

‘In October (’92) we went back to South Africa and basically rode there through the winter I remember we had a lot of crank problems; we were breaking the crank, the pin ’ It was clear a solution needed to found, and eventually, Honda chipped in by supplying a factory crank, which solved the problem, immediately

Harrison and Jan were put at ease, especially as it arrived just in time for the first GP of the season in Italy

The rest of the bike remained pretty standard; the chassis, swingarm, linkage, sub-frame, airbox and brakes were all stock items, and if the front forks and rear shock were ‘kit’ items from Showa, the forks remained housed in stock triple clamps However, the race fuel was provided by Elf, the carburettor was a 38mm Keihin and even the carb was standard, it did not slip the attention from engine guru de Groot

‘Jan used to do a little bit of tweaking to the carb; I don’t remember exactly what he did but a lot of it was just buffing and polishing,’ said ‘H’ But these were the small margins, or marginal gains as we like to call them that made a tuner like de Groot stand out from the rest His attention to detail was second to none

Exhaust pipe and silencers were provided by SPES / Slechten, this relationship a continuation of the 125 title-winning season One of

the cooler items though was the HRC clutch cover, which allowed Harrison to change to power valve spring far easier than the production bike allowed:

‘The HRC clutch cover allowed you to change the power valve spring externally so you could set up the power valve, the way it opened, a little bit differently But, I can’t remember exactly which spring we used though The clutch cover was magnesium and you didn’t have to take the whole cover off to adjust the power valve You just took two 6mm bolts out and it was right there,’ was Harrison’s recollection of that particular factory part

As far as performance, according to Harrison, bike and rider were perfectly matched:

‘Greg loved it right away, I think we were using Bridgestone Tyres and it was just one of those years where everything was good Every time he rode it, it seemed like he was happy and we never really messed with anything The biggest problem we had was the crank, but once we got those factory cranks,

it put that to bed and from there we were smooth sailing, all the way through It was really, really easy for him And he just fit that bike; maybe kind of like Jeremy McGrath They just really loved it and adapted to it It was a great bike

The most impressive thing about the power delivery was that it was really crisp off the bottom, and the transition from bottom to mid was nice and strong, but not to where you would lose the rear end But it was strong, and pulled impressively well with an awesome overrev Greg’s own comments were, that ‘this thing revs to the moon!’

Dream Team, Dream Season

Just as he did in 1992, Albee came away from the first round of the ’93 series in Italy with the overall win and the points lead, beating former 125cc champ Stefan Everts and defending champion Donny Schmit in the process, his 4-1-1 leaving us in no doubt that Albee was the real deal, in what according to Harrison, was quite possibly his most impressive ride of the season:

‘That first GP, you go in with low expectations; you’re not quite sure how you’re going to fit in with all these big guys of the sport - it was stacked! It was a mountain of guys in that class that year And then to come out with the win was just unreal The first race (when he placed 4th) I remember he came back to me and he said, “I could have won that race,” but the adjustment screw of the front brake lever was touching the throttle housing so he couldn’t use the front brake properly, so we just slid it down a little bit and then sure enough, he did win the next two races ’

Not surprisingly, Greg also has fond memories of the opening GP at Castiglione del Lago:

‘Going to the 250 class, there was no expectations and all the ‘experts’ were saying there was no way I could win the championship Italy was for me an eye-opener, and

made me realize I could really win the championship

‘The first moto my front brake was not working and I ended up fourth I told Ian that if he fixed my front brake, I believed I could win Next two moto’s I won, and for me that was a turning point as I knew there was no reason why I couldn’t win the championship; I had the speed, the bike and the fitness etc ’

Two weeks later in Jerez, Spain, he was at it again, winning two more moto’s on his way to the top step He then won again in the sand of Valkenswaard, Holland, eclipsing Stefan Everts for the overall; Albee went 4-1-1 to Everts’ 2-1-2 and was starting to take control of the title race These two rounds also remain firmly fixed in Albee’s mind:

‘I always enjoyed racing in Spain at Jerez; that track and atmosphere was great, and I always enjoyed beating the Dutch and Belgians in their own backyard in the sand It was a real thrill as they were such sand specialists ’

After 5 rounds and 14 moto’s, Albee had only placed outside of the top three on two occasions, both of those being 4th place finishes, so when he failed to score in race two at Beaucaire in France in May - where it snowed - he still maintained a 35 point advantage over 2nd placed Everts, who had now leapfrogged Schmit Race 3 in France was cancelled to the adverse conditions It was a pretty crazy weekend, as Ian Harrison recalls:

‘Didn’t it snow there? I think they had to cancel it because no-one could even see the track anymore, and I think Greg went off the side of the mountain; he slipped off the side of that mountain there and struggled to get back on Greg wasn’t hurt or anything but he just couldn’t manage to get back on the track because it was so slippery I think they cut the second race short, like maybe after 15 minutes or something Because it was snowing! But it was just a blow losing the points at that race ’

There was a slight wobble in Hungary two weeks later at round six where his 3-5-0 saw him lose 34 points to Schmit (1-1-1) and 15 to Everts, but despite this, his lead remained intact with a 14-point margin over the American, Schmit

Back on Track

Kapsovar, Hungary was the kick up the backside Albee needed, because after that ‘off day’, the Honda ace went on a rampage, and from the next six rounds (18 moto’s), he only finished outside the top three on two occasions; in the final race in Lommel after winning the first two races, and a 6th place in the first race at Budds Creek, USA, when a rock flicked up and broke his finger

‘I DNF’d the third race in Lommel because I was convinced that my shock had blown as I was pogosticking all over the show It ended up not being blown, but it sure was not working right I almost grenaded myself a few times,’ was how Albee remembered his race three exit in Belgium However, during those 18 moto’s, there were 10 race wins and six 2nd places! Greg Albertyn was now pretty much unstoppable

When he returned from the USA the series headed to Sweden, the GP where almost all of the riders boycotted due to safety reasons, a decision that was taken by the riders on Sunday morning after the Warm Up session On the Saturday of that weekend though, Albee was fortunate to walk away unscathed after his handlebars snapped in a rhythm section, something which Harrison remembers well:

‘In practice, he broke the ‘bars with his legs They were thinking about cancelling the Time Practice, so we told him to go do a lap just in case, and in the whoop section he landed in a hole and he went forward and the ‘bars hit him in his thighs and basically snapped one side of the handlebar off And then when I went to go pick up the bike, the other side snapped off as well ’

After the Swedish no-go, there were just two rounds remaining in Finland and Japan, and Albee had his first opportunity to wrap the title up at the penultimate round The first race he placed 10th and when he took 3rd in race two, Albee crossed the line as world champion, his lead now unassailable, and to top it off, he then went out and won the final race of the weekend

When Greg Albertyn crossed the line as world champion, he became only the fifth rider in history to win back-to-back titles in two different categories, and the third rider to do so for Honda after Eric Geboers (250cc in 1987 and 500cc in ’88) and Jean-Michel Bayle (125cc in 1988 and 250cc in ’89) It was also Honda’s eighteenth world championship success in all classes but only the fourth in the 250cc class

Only six riders in history have won back-to-back titles in two different classes; Tim Gajser would win MX2 and MXGP in 2015 / ’16, more than twenty years later, also for Honda He also made history by becoming the first rider to win a world title by more than 100 points, beating Stefan Everts by 101 Impressive

Many would argue that 1993 was perhaps the best season of his career, something that is not lost on the man himself:

‘There was so much hype and expectation for that year because the 250 class was made the premier class for the GPs, and I would say the ‘93 season was the best season in my career That Honda was so freaking good and so easy to ride If I was more mature I could have won with more points and have probably almost no DNF‘s ’

During the course of the campaign, Albee raced to eleven podiums, winning six grand prix He placed 2nd on three occasions and 3rd overall twice, and won 17 races along the way He also took ten 2nd places and four 3rd place finishes

Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

QUESTIONS

TOTHEEDITOR

❝ I really like the outfits that Tim Gajser wore this season, I would like to be able to buy some of them, where can I find them online? Camille: ❞

Hi Camille, Indeed, you can find them all on the website of our partner Fox Racing, by clicking on this link: https://foxracing.co.uk/men/ moto/collections/new-arrivals/ Thanks MXGP ❝ How can I see old 2012 races of Antonio Cairoli? Janis ❞

Hi Janis, you will find all the old races of Antonio Cairoli on the MXGP-TV website by clicking on this link and by buying an “archive pass” here: https://www.mxgp-tv.com/ payments;packId=P822607031

Regards MXGP

❝ Hey MXGP, where can I find the latest issue of the magazine?

Bernard

❞

Dear Bernard, you can check out the latest issue of MXGP Magazine HERE: https://issuu.com/mxgpmag Best Regards MXGP ❝

Hi would like to know if theWWhere will the motocross of nations take place next year?

Jean

Hello Jean :

In 2023 the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations will take place in France at Ernée track, like in 2015, where team France won!

Thanks MXGP

❝

I saw that there were race summaries in Italian after each race weekend, will you do it next year too? Federico ❞

Hi Federico, yes of course. You can find all our News Highlights in Italian on our youtube channel! Thanks MXGP