Gautier Paulin led Team France to victory at the Motocross of Nations in Latvia. Photography courtesy MXGP
For just the second time in history, Team France took top honors in the Motocross of Nations and did so with strong performances by all three of its riders: Gautier Paulin, Dylan Ferrandis and Steven Frossard.
In Kegums, Latvia, September 28, the French trio finished every moto inside the top 10 and were led by top-man Paulin, who won both the MXGP/MX2 and MXGP/Open motos. Belgium’s Kevin Strijbos was the other moto winner; he topped the MX2/Open moto.
Team USA put in some good rides both Eli Tomac (6-3) and Ryan Dungey (2-11), but first-lap crashes that put them back in the field pretty much ruined their hopes for the overall team win. Plus, Jeremy Martin was riding with an injured foot. Martin went 11-13. The team still rallied for a third-place finish but probably would not have finished on the podium had Shaun Simpson not DNF’ed with a broken chain late in the final moto. Both USA and Great Britain finished with 33 points each, but the USA squad won out on the tiebreaker.
Team Belgium took runner-up honors, while Germany rounded out the top five.
Kegums, Latvia
September 28, 2014
Motocross of Nations
Results
Race 1 (MXGP+MX2)
1. Gautier Paulin (Kaw) France
2. Ryan Dungey (KTM) USA
3. Max Nagl (Hon) Germany
4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (Yam) Belgium
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (Hus) Russia
6. Filip Bengtsson (KTM) Sweden
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (Suz) Netherlands
8. Tommy Searle (Kaw) Great Britain
9. Dylan Ferrandis (Kaw) France
10. Davide Guarneri (TM) Italy
11. Jeremy Martin (Yam) USA
Race 2 (MX2+Open)
1. Kevin Strijbos (Suz) Belgium
2. Steven Frossard (Kaw) France
3. Dean Wilson (Kaw) Great Britain
4. Tommy Searle (Kaw) Great Britain
5. Fredrik Noren (Hon) Sweden
6. Eli Tomac (Hon) USA
7. Tanel Leok (TM) Estonia
8. Glenn Coldenhoff (Suz) Netherlands
9. Dylane Ferrandis (Kaw) France
10. Mar de Reuver (Hon) Netherlands
13. Jeremy Martin (Yam) USA
Race 3 (MXGP+ Open)
1. Gautier Paulin (Kaw) France
2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (Yam) Belgium
3. Eli Tomac (Hon) USA
4. Steven Frossard (Kaw) France
5. Dean Wilson (Kaw) Great Britain
6. Aleksandr Tonkov (Hus) Russia
7. Tanel Leok (TM) Estonia
8. Arnaud Tonus (Kaw) Switzerland
9. Kevin Strijbos (Suz) Belgium
10. Rui Goncalves (Yam) Portugal
11. Ryan Dungey (KTM) USA
Team Classification
1. France (17)
2. Belgium (27)
3. USA (33)
4. Great Britain (33)
5. Germany (72)
6. Italy (73)
7. Switzerland (74)
8. Russia (75)
9. Estonia (77)
10. The Netherlands (80)
