Motocross Of Nations Qualifying Update
Cycle News Staff | September 27, 2014
Belgium stake claim after first day of MX of Nations. Photos courtesy MXGP
Team Belgium might have faced injury problems and have changed two of the three riders that won the 2013 Motocross of Nations Chamberlain trophy last summer in Germany but the champions were not easily dislodged under sunny skies in Latvia today. The 68th edition of this historic tournament got underway in the shallow sand of Kegums and Rockstar Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos won the MX Open qualification heat while Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek was second in the MXGP class. Standing Construct KTM’s Julien Lieber suffered a DNF due to a blown engine in MX2 and this was the only blot on the copybook. As the Flemish could drop one score their 1-2 meant Pole Position (and thus first and 21st picks in the gate) for the three motos tomorrow.
In front of a busy attendance the flat and fast track was home to victories also for Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin in MXGP and Red Bull KTM’s Tony Cairoli; running in the MX2 division for the first time since 2007. Paulin’s confident stride ahead of Van Horebeek, Team USA’ Ryan Dungey and Germany’s Max Nagl meant France were able to seal second spot on the day and this was also thanks to Dylan Ferrandis fourth place in MX2—on his Nations debut—and Steven Frossard recovering to fifth in MX Open.
Team Great Britain’s Shaun Simpson, Tommy Searle and Dean Wilson showed steady consistency with three top five finishes to place third, and confirm that the Brits are looking good for their best podium shot this century.
A day of drama for Team USA. The trio of Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey, GEICO Honda Eli Tomac and Star Racing Yamaha Jeremy Martin are looking for the country’s first win since 2011 and were hampered in their attempts at Kegums. Martin crashed heavily while fighting for the top five in MX2 and is carrying a suspected broken toe. The 2014 250 MX Champion might need a pain-killing injection to obtain one decent result that the team needs to count from their six scores tomorrow towards the final tally. Dungey struggled to pass the surprising figure of Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna’s Alex Tonkov for Russia steering the works FC350 in MXGP and was then overtaken by Paulin and Van Horebeek. Only a tangle between the Belgian and Tonkov—causing the latter to crash—allowed Dungey through to the top three. In MX Open Eli Tomac was taken down on the exit of the tight, right first-turn (surely a vital factor for Sunday’s motos) and recovered from near-last to eighth position. This result enabled the Americans to take the same ranking for Sunday although it was tense times for the Roger DeCoster-led squad as they faced the prospect of qualification through the B-Final at one stage.
Australia’s Chad Reed also went down early in the MXGP moto while Rockstar Suzuki’s Glenn Coldenhoff posted a strong second in MX2 to help the Dutch to a surprising fifth in the final standings on Sunday.
From Saturday’s activities in this 68th edition the tussle for the large Chamberlain cup is likely to fall between four countries with France, Belgium, USA and Great Britain leading the way although some of the unexpected occurrences at Kegums proves that a one-day-wonder like the Nations can easily throw up some intrigue.