| September 25, 2016
In a race that is known for its intense finishes, the 2016 edition of the Motocross of Nations will surely go down as one of the craziest, after a series of events in the last couple of laps handed Team France–Gautier Paulin, Romain Febvre and Benoit Paturel–their third win in a row, in front of a packed crowd at Maggiora, Italy, September 25.
Dramatic Finish To Maggiora MXoN
After a disastrous Saturday qualification day, Team USA–Cooper Webb, Jason Anderson and Alex Martin–bounced back and almost took the win, only dropping out of top spot when Cooper Webb crashed with a lap and half left. This gave the Netherlands–Jeffrey Herlings, Glenn Coldenhoff and Brian Bogers–the virtual win but they were denied when Romain Febvre passed Tommy Searle with a last-corner attack that moved France onto 29 points, one less than the Dutch’s 30.
Team USA finished on 33 but was severely handicapped when Jason Anderson was landed on by a Japanese lapper as he coasted across the line after he won the second race. This left him with a reported concussion and out of the third race, putting all the pressure on Webb’s shoulders.
Webb performed admirably and looked to have done enough, even holding off the charging Febvre, but that one mistake, when he got cross-rutted and went down awkwardly–will, no doubt, haunt the young rider for a long time to come.
After the race, Anderson’s Husqvarna team issued a release, quoting Anderson, “We’ve got everything checked out and I’m going to be OK. It’s just a bit of a bummer I couldn’t get out there in the last moto to help Team USA battle for the win.”
The Dutch, led by Jeffrey Herlings’ 2-1 rides had mixed emotions after their second place finish. They were delighted to end their countries podium spell, which dated back to 2004, but were disappointed to have come so close to victory.
Overall, all three motos were filled with intense action and confirms the Motocross of Nations as the biggest race on the calendar. Next year it will be hosted at Glen Helen so the USA will go in as massive favorites whoever they pick, however, they certainly won’t have it their own way as the MXGP riders continue to show how good they are.
DAVID BULMER
Check out below the highlight video from the Motocross of Nations
70th Monster Energy Motocross of Nations
Maggiora, Italy
RESULTS: September 25, 2016
Race 1: MXGP & MX2
Race 1 Overall
- Romain Febvre (FRA) – MXGP
- Antonio Cairoli (ITA) – MXGP
- Kevin Strijbos (BEL) – MXGP
- Cooper Webb (USA) – MXGP
- Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL) – MX2
- Glenn Coldenhoff (NED) – MXGP
- Todd Waters (AUS) – MXGP
- Kaven Benoit (CAN) – MXGP
- Alex Martin (USA) – MX2
- Cody Cooper (NZL) – MXGP
Race Time: 34:41.712 – 17 Laps
Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:53.792 – Romain Febvre
—–
Race 2: MX2 & Open
Race 2 Overall
- Jason Anderson (USA) – Open
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED) – Open
- Gautier Paulin (FRA) – Open
- Arnaud Tonus (SUI) – Open
- Dean Ferris (AUS) – Open
- Shaun Simpson (GBR) – Open
- Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL) – MX2
- Jeremy Seewer (SUI) – MX2
- Alex Martin (USA) – MX2
- Benoit Paturel (FRA) – MX2
Race Time: 34:59.493 – 17 Laps
Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:54.003 – Jeffrey Herlings
—–
Race 3: MXGP & Open
Race 3 Overall
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED) – Open
- Antonio Cairoli (ITA) – MXGP
- Kevin Strijbos (BEL) – MXGP
- Romain Febvre (FRA) – MXGP
- Tommy Searle (GBR) – MXGP
- Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS) – Open
- Glenn Coldenhoff (NED) – MXGP
- Arnaud Tonus (SUI) – Open
- Jose Butron (ESP) – MXGP
- Cooper Webb (USA) – MXGP
Race Time: 34:34.924 – 17 Laps
Fastest Lap Race 3: 1:53.436 – Jeffrey Herlings
—–
Nations Classification
- France – 29
- The Netherlands – 30
- USA – 33
- Belgium – 36
- Italy – 44
- Switzerland – 44
- Great Britain – 73
- Australia – 76
- Estonia – 93
- Canada – 95
MXGP Class
- Antonio Cairoli (ITA): 2-2
- Romain Febvre (FRA): 1-4
- Kevin Strijbos (BEL): 3-3
- Glenn Coldenhoff (NED): 6-7
- Cooper Webb (USA): 4-10
MX2 Class
- Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL): 5-7
- Alex Martin (USA): 9-9
- Jeremy Seewer (SUI): 11-8
- Benoit Paturel (FRA): 14-10
- Samuele Bernardini (ITA): 16-15
Open Class
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED): 2-1
- Arnaud Tonus (SUI): 4-8
- Gautier Paulin (FRA): 3-11
- Dean Ferris (AUS): 5-15
- Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS): 17-6
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