RACING CATCH UP

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 keyboard 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 champions 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 Champion� Behind last year’s winners though, there were plenty of teams waiting in the wings, eager to lift the Peter Chamberlain 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 ‘scrambling’� 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 behind 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 restricted 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 travelling 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 seriousness 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 qualification 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 occasion 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 champions Italy, The Netherlands, Great Britain and France� Group 2 was the host nation Team USA, Belgium, Switzerland and Australia, 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 Qualifying races and the crazy scenes at the bottom end of the circuit� Not sure the Pit Bike of Nations really needs much of an explanation 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 remained 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 personal 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 qualify, 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 absolutely 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�

(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 performances 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 Tanel Leok (15) - overall, their Nations was effectively over as the third rider Jorgen-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 convincingly 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 Venezuela� 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 eventually 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 challenging for the first race of the day, and even though conditions improved by the end of the race where the track was gradually beginning 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 Australia’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 (Germany) 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 impressive ride, and one that certainly did not go unnoticed by the industry�

Classification after Race One 1� USA (10) - 2� Australia (13) - 3� Belgium (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 waiting 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 priority 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 Lawrence 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 impressive here is, by the end of the first official lap, he was already up to 14th� By the halfway 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 win - his 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 expectations� 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 monumental 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 Ferrandis (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 goggle-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 Chamberlain 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 Illinois 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�