AMA Pro Racing announced today the selection of the 2001 Chevy Trucks Motocross des Nations team on the AMA website. Riders will include Ryan Hughes, Ricky Carmichael and Travis Pastrana, last year’s winning trio. The team will once again be managed by Team Suzuki’s Roger DeCoster, along with AMA Pro Racing’s Motocross Manager Duke Finch.
There had been some discussion of replacing Hughes with either Tim Ferry or Kevin Windham, but in the end, officials decided to stick with what worked so well in 2001. It is not yet known for sure which brand of motorcycle will be campaigned by Carmichael, who is a member of Chevy Trucks Kawasaki, but who is expected to switch to Team Honda for 2002. Also, there has been some concern with the fact that Hughes’ Honda CRF450R has not yet been extensively tested with the unleaded fuel that is required for FIM competition.
This year’s Motocross des Nations will be held September 29-30 in Namur, Belgium. Riders from all over the world will represent their countries at this historic event, which has been called the Olympics of motocross.
The three-member team is the same three that won the coveted Chamberlain Trophy last year in St. Jean d’Angely, France. Keeping the team together was a logical choice, says Finch. “These three guys are the ones that brought the trophy back home last year. They are all excited to go back again, and they deserve the opportunity to defend their title.”
Team USA has a long history of dominating the Motocross des Nations, including an amazing streak of wins that began in 1981 with riders Chuck Sun, Johnny O’Mara, Danny LaPorte and Donnie Hansen. American dominance continued for 13 consecutive years until 1994, when the team finished second. Team USA won again in Jerez, Spain in 1996, but did not dominate the event again until last year when the powerhouse team of Hughes, Carmichael and Pastrana put the USA on top of the world.
Chevy Trucks will again be a supporter of Team USA and has been joined by other corporate sponsors, including Scott USA, Speedstick and Racer X Illustrated magazine. Fans can support Team USA by purchasing the 2001 Motocross des Nations T-shirt or a Scott USA special-edition hologram goggle at the AMA Pro Racing website, www.amaproracing.com. Racer X Illustrated will again be offering a commemorative Team USA des Nations decal on its www.mxdesnations.com website, and is donating all proceeds to Team USA. In addition, there will be auctions of autographed T-shirts and rider gear at each of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship events coordinated by Moto Tees and the National Promoters Group.
For more information on the 2001 Motocross des Nations and Team USA, log onto www.amaproracing.com or a check out www.mxdesnations.com for more history on the Motocross des Nations.
