Steve Cox | September 30, 2017
2017 Motocross of Nations Qualifying Results: Things got kicked off for the final big-time outdoor motocross of the year today in Matterley Basin, UK, where over 30 three-man national teams lined up to determine the qualifying order for tomorrow’s 2017 Motocross of Nations. Team USA continued its streak of drawing a terrible gate pick for today’s qualifying heats, drawing number 37, meaning Team USA got the 37th gate pick in all three qualifiers.
While many in the press have made a big deal about Team USA for this year’s Motocross of Nations being comprised entirely of rookies to the event, it’s technically not true, as Zach Osborne has raced the MXoN in the past for team Puerto Rico, since they use an American passport as a territory of the United States.
2017 Motocross of Nations Qualifying Results
2017 Motocross of Nations Qualifying Results
But today, in qualifying, is when things finally got serious at this year’s MXoN. First up came the MXGP (450cc) qualifier, where Team USA’s Cole Seely managed to fight his way through on the opening lap to start at the tail end of the top 10 and then finish a solid ninth. But out front, fellow Honda pilot Tim Gajser (Slovenia) was on a tear, leading every lap of the short 20-minute qualifier and finishing just in front of France’s Gautier Paulin, whose Husqvarna sported the number-one plate, as France has won the Motocross of Nations the last three years in a row.
Just behind Paulin came Italy’s 9-time World Champ Antonio Cairoli, Great Britain’s Max Anstie, Belgium’s Jeremy Van Horebeek, Russia’s Evgeny Bobryshev, Australia’s Dean Ferris, Switzerland’s Arnaud Tonus, and then Seely and the Netherlands’ Glenn Coldenhoff.
2017 Motocross of Nations Qualifying Results
Then came the MX2 (250cc) qualifier, where 2017 AMA 250cc MX Champ Zach Osborne came around the first turn way back in the field, while Australia’s Hunter Lawrence took the holeshot in front of the Netherlands’ Brian Bogers and Spain’s Jorge Prado Garcia. Osborne came around the end of lap one in 6th, having passed about 15 racers on the opening lap, then set out after the leaders.
Over the course of the short, 20-minute moto, Osborne picked the top of the field off one by one until, on the last lap, he sat second to the leader, Lawrence, halfway through the 10-lap race. At that point, the Aussie was way out front, but Osborne pushed hard until, on the last lap, he caught and then passed the young Aussie to take the qualifying-heat win.
“It was tough, we had 37th gate pick and I didn’t make the very best start with that pick,” Osborne said. “I think I was maybe like 25th or 23rd when we came out of the first corner and I made some passes on the first lap. Even when I got into second I didn’t think it was possible to catch him [Lawrence] but I just started to put my head down and he started to make some mistakes and I won.”
2017 Motocross of Nations Qualifying Results
After the tremendous ride by Osborne came the final Open event, where racers can race whatever motorcycle they’d like (although nearly all of them opt for 450s).
Switzerland’s Jeremy Seewer – who normally races the MX2 class in the GPs, where he finished second in the championship this year – grabbed the holeshot in the Open heat on his RM-Z450, but the Netherlands’ Jeffrey Herlings was on a mission and made short work of the Swiss racer. France’s Romain Febvre followed Herlings through into second and that set the finishing order in the top four by the end of the opening lap, with Herlings going on to win by nearly 30 seconds over Febvre, Seewer and Australia’s Kirk Gibbs.
Great Britain’s Dean Wilson worked his way by Team USA’s Thomas Covington for fifth, and Belgium’s Kevin Strijbos did likewise for sixth, while Covington – in his 450cc debut – held on for seventh.
Each team dropped its worse qualifying result to set the order for Sunday, and three-time defending champs Team France will have first gate pick all day tomorrow over the Netherlands, Australia, and Team USA, who came through for fourth despite the 37th gate pick to start the day.
How The MX of Nations Is Scored
Results:
MXGP
1. Tim Gajser (Hon, Slovenia)
2. Gautier Paulin (Hus, France)
3. Antonio Cairoli (KTM, Italy)
4. Max Anstie (Hus, Great Britain)
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (Yam, Belgium)
9. Cole Seely (Hon, USA)
MX2
1. Zach Osborne (Hus, USA)
2. Hunter Lawrence (Suz, Australia)
3. Brian Bogers (KTM, Netherlands)
4. Jorge Prado Garcia (KTM, Spain)
5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Hus, Denmark)
Open
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM, Netherlands)
2. Romain Febvre (Yam, France)
3. Jeremy Seewer (Suz, Switzerland)
4. Kirk Gibbs (KTM, Australia)
5. Dean Wilson (Hus, Great Britain)
7. Thomas Covington (Hus, USA)
Overall Qualifying Order, In For Sunday’s Event
1. France (4)
2. Netherlands (4)
3. Australia (6)
4. USA (8)
5. Great Britain (9)
6. Switzerland (11)
7. Belgium (11)
8. Italy (13)
9. Denmark (18)
10. Estonia (19)
11. Spain (20)
12. Puerto Rico (21)
13. Ireland (22)
14. Germany (23)
15. Canada (25)
16. Portugal (26)
17. Slovenia (26)
18. Sweden (27)
19. Russia (28)
To the B-Final Tomorrow Morning
20. New Zealand (29)
21. Czech Republic (33)
22. Latvia (38)
23. Slovakia (41)
24. Norway (44)
25. South Africa (48)
26. Finland (49)
27. Croatia (51)
28. Argentina (52)
29. Iceland (52)
30. Ukraine (53)
31. Brazil (54)
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