MX2

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Glenn Coldenhoff remains one of the most consistent riders in the MXGP championship. Always around that fifth to 10^th position in the overall results, the Dutchman holds down seventh place in the series points and is still a mathematical chance of finishing in the top five.

Only poor results in the second round of the Indonesian leg of the series, where he scored just 10 points with 18-14 results and a DNF in the opening race of the Russian GP, have been the low points for Coldenhoff, and his consistency has been rewarded on many occasions as many of his rivals finish outside the top ten.

Despite his consistency, Coldenhoff is yet to finish on the podium, but has finished top five on five occasions, and inside the top ten in 16 of the 18 rounds run. Solid as a rock, and for sure a rider you can depend on getting results every weekend.

In Bulgaria around three weeks ago, the KTM rider scored 26 points for seventh overall, although the hard pack of Sevlievo caused him a lot of issues as he tried to cope with the slippery conditions.

“I was struggling a lot in Sevlievo,” Coldenhoff said. “I was very disappointed after the first race. Tracks like this are very old school and hard-packed ground. The second race was pretty good and I was up there with Tony and Jeffrey. I could follow [Clement] Desalle for quite a while and although finishing seventh was a bit disappointing I gave all I had today. Seventh overall through a difficult weekend is still quite solid.”

Onto Turkey after Bulgaria and Coldenhoff replied on good starts and staying on the pace of the front runners. With a podium finish in his sights, he was a little disappointed with another seventh overall, but knew that the deep sand of Assen was coming after his Turkish result.

 “The weekend started well and I finished fourth on Saturday with a good feeling on the track. I knew it would be tough Sunday but with decent starts I could be up front fighting with the guys. I definitely believed the podium was possible this weekend. I was struggling a bit in the beginning of the first race but sixth was OK. I started better in the second race but I made a mistake and I think only the three local riders were behind me at that point! I fought through the pack and came home in seventh. Overall solid, but these are not the results that we want. We’ll have a couple of days off now after all these GPs in a row, the heat and all the travelling and to be ready for Assen.”

That seventh place in Turkey continued the solid performances by Coldenhoff, but the biggest and most enjoyable race for the sand specialist comes in Assen this coming weekend. With three GPs in a row now out of the way, the Dutchman can go to Assen feeling confident after winning an International race last weekend in Belgium.

Copyright: Photo: Ray Archer Image

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 10 September 2018 – Youthstream is proud to release the entry list for 2018 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at RedBud, USA, this October 6th and 7th. The biggest motocross race in the world is less than a month away and the biggest team lineups have been picked.

The pinnacle of motocross racing will bring the best riders from around the world to the US where Team USA will look to reclaim the Chamberlain Trophy that has been elusive the past several years. With Eli Tomac, Justin Barcia, and Aaron Plessinger the team is as strong as ever but will face a wide array of other top riders.

Besides, with the Dutch of Jeffrey Herlings, Glenn Coldenhoff, and Calvin Vlaanderen, the defending French of Gautier Paulin, Romain Febvre, and Dylan Ferrandis, or the German’s of Ken Roczen, Max Nagl, and Henry Jacobi among the others, the level of competition will be unmatched. 

31 teams have been entered into the weekend all looking to bring glory to their nation. Full entry list can be found below:

The entry list is available for download in PDF format here

Watch the 2018 Monster Energy FIM MXoN Trailer HERE

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

2018 Monster Energy FIM MXoN RedBud

(GDANSK) Poland 9 September 2018 - The 2018 Motocross of European Nations is complete from the Gdansk circuit of Poland. Taking the win in impressive fashion is Team Italy in both the men’s and women’s racing!

A hand full of races took place on the Polish soil today starting with Race 1 of the Women’s Motocross of European Nations and ending with the second race of 250 and 125 group with 4 others in between. The action filled day was also full sunshine, bar banging battles, and intense racing.

Motocross of European Nations 125cc/250cc

The first of two races combining the 250 4strokes and the 125cc two strokes was led through the first corner by the Italians of Gianluca Facchetti and Mattia Guadagnini with the 250 of Facchetti having the advantage.

France’s Maxime Renaux was quick to make a move through and took the lead by the end of the opening lap. However with only 1 lap to go Facchetti charged back past the Frenchman to take the race win. In the 250 category the top three were Facchetti, Renaux, and Norway’s Kevin Horgmo.

In the 125 results Guadagnini took the top spot with the Czech Republic’s Petr Polak second 4 seconds behind and France’s Tom Guyon 3rd. 6 points were attributed to Italy after the race, 1 for the race winner Facchetti and 5 additional for their 125 rider, Guadagnini, as he crossed the finish 5th out of both classes.

Race 2 was lead from start to finish by Facchetti who took another race win executing the perfect performance to help his team. Renaux looked strong for another 2nd place score but a crash sent him back to finish with 21 points, a costly score that the French team would later be forced to count out.

In the categorization of the 125’s Petr Polak took the win with Guyon only 3 tenths of a second further back and Guadagnini 3rd. In the overall classification Facchetti was the clear winner, with Horgmo 2nd, and Slovenia’s Jan Pancar 3rd while the 125 class was topped by Polak, Guadagnini, and Guyon.

MXoEN Main Photo: Team Italy

Bottom Photos: Start & Gianluca Facchetti

Motocross of European Nations 85cc

The 85cc riders also held two races counting into the larger overall score of the 250 and 125 results. Race 1 saw Norway’s Hakon Osterhagen take a win by over 10 seconds after starting the race 3rd. Early leader Valerio Lata from Italy had issues and dropped to 6th by the finish.

Taking second was Tomas Pikart from the Czech Republic while France’s Xavier Cazal took third after leading the race for four laps and running second for another 5.

Race 2 had Italy’s Matteo Luigi Russi lead the first lap before lending the spot to fellow Italian Lata for 2 laps. With Russi back in the lead Lata held second for 9 laps before dropping 2 spots on the final 2 laps.

Meanwhile the hard charging Frenchman Maxime Grau came through the field to finish 2nd behind Russi while Osterhagen came back from an early fall to take third away from Pikart. The overall classification went in favor of Osterhagen as Grau took 2nd and Pikart rounded out the podium.

MXoEN EMX85 Race 1 Top 10 Classification: 1. Haakon Osterhagen (NOR, KTM), 25:22.650; 2. Tomas Pikart (CZE, KTM), +0:11.723; 3. Xavier Cazal (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:13.004; 4. Maxime Grau (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:14.036; 5. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, KTM), +0:15.409; 6. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), +0:17.885; 7. Matteo Luigi Russi (ITA, KTM), +0:56.791; 8. Andreas Faata Meyer (NOR, KTM), +1:01.465; 9. Julius Mikula (CZE, KTM), +1:05.560; 10. Kiryl Kadorkin (BLR, KTM), +1:08.252

MXoEN EMX125/EMX250 Race 2 Top 10 Classification: 1. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), 28:20.713; 2. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:00.761; 3. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:05.397; 4. Jan Pancar (SLO, Yamaha), +0:32.113; 5. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:41.188; 6. Petr Polak (CZE, KTM), +0:45.030; 7. Dušan Drdaj (CZE, Yamaha), +1:01.228; 8. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), +1:07.793; 9. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Husqvarna), +1:08.382; 10. Arnolds Snikers (LAT, Yamaha), +1:10.860

MXoEN EMX85 Race 3 Top 10 Classification: 1. Matteo Luigi Russi (ITA, KTM), 25:12.410; 2. Maxime Grau (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:02.377; 3. Haakon Osterhagen (NOR, KTM), +0:03.048; 4. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), +0:08.062; 5. Tomas Pikart (CZE, KTM), +0:16.145; 6. Xavier Cazal (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:17.814; 7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, KTM), +0:20.928; 8. Bor Brejc (SLO, KTM), +1:27.587; 9. Damian Zdunek (POL, KTM), +1:32.475; 10. Luka Kunic (CRO, Yamaha), +1:33.668

MXoEN EMX125/EMX250 Race 4 Top 10 Classification: 1. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), 28:27.929; 2. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:01.429; 3. Jan Pancar (SLO, Yamaha), +0:13.650; 4. Petr Polak (CZE, KTM), +0:40.285; 5. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), +0:40.666; 6. Dušan Drdaj (CZE, Yamaha), +0:51.564; 7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:52.329; 8. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Husqvarna), +1:32.755; 9. Vitaly Makhnou (BLR, KTM), +1:38.804; 10. Maks Mausser (SLO, Husqvarna), +1:40.129

MXoEN Nations Top 5 Classifications: Italy, France, Norway, Czech Republic, Slovenia

MXoEN Podium

Women’s Motocross of European Nations

Race 1 of the Women’s Motocross of European Nations was a close fought battle between Italy’s Kiara Fontanesi and the Netherlands Nancy Van de Ven.  Lapped riders played into the hands of Fontanesi by hampering the progress of the closing Van de Ven. Although again close at the finish the race win went to Fontanesi who held off Van de Ven.

Race 2 was started with a holeshot by Fontanesi who lead every one of the 13 laps to take the race and overall win. Van de Ven was second every lap but the very last when she was forced into a DNF result after a mechanical issue.

Denmark’s Sara Anderson took over the second position after giving chase in third the majority of the race while Van de Ven’s Dutch teammate Shana Van der Vlist took 3rd.

In the overall classification Fontanesi took the clear win with 1-1 results while Sara Anderson was second with 3-2 finishes, and Fontanesi’s teammate, Giorgia Montini was 3rd. The pair of Italians on the podium gave team Italy the title of Women’s Motocross of Nations champion as Denmark took 2nd, and the Netherlands took 3rd.

WMXoEN Race 1 Top 10 Classification: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 24:41.002; 2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:01.030; 3. Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), +1:02.817; 4. Giorgia Montini (ITA, Yamaha), +1:18.219; 5. Mathilde Martinez (FRA, KTM), +1:21.425; 6. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), +1:27.120; 7. Thea Emilie Asphaug (NOR, KTM), +1:30.945; 8. Line Dam (DEN, Honda), +1:36.443; 9. Justine Charroux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:39.103; 10. Mathea Seleboe (NOR, Yamaha), -1 lap(s)

WMXoEN Race 2 Top 10 Classification: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 24:12.922; 2. Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), +0:49.248; 3. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), +1:07.684; 4. Giorgia Montini (ITA, Yamaha), +1:09.876; 5. Mathilde Martinez (FRA, KTM), +1:17.969; 6. Line Dam (DEN, Honda), +1:24.178; 7. Thea Emilie Asphaug (NOR, KTM), +1:32.858; 8. Justine Charroux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:39.857; 9. Mathea Seleboe (NOR, Yamaha), +1:43.846; 10. Liubov Leonteva (RUS, Yamaha), +1:52.081

WMXoEN Nations Classification Top 5: Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Norway

WMXoEN Main Photo: Winning Team - Italy

Bottom Photos: Start & Kiara Fontanesi

2018 Motocross of European Nations - QUICK FACTS

Track length: 1595m

Type of Ground: Hard Pack 

Temperature: 22°

Weather conditions: sunny

Crowd Attendance: 7,000

Click here to obtain the complete results.

All the photos of the 2018 Motocross of European Nations will be available here

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

MXoEN GDANSK

(GDANSK) Poland 8 September 2018 - The 2018 Motocross of European Nations has completed Qualifying in Poland at the Gdansk circuit. Team Italy was the best overall in both the MXoEN and WMXoEN’s qualifying today with Norway and the Netherlands also putting in strong performances.

Today’s Qualifying was preceded by an opening ceremony and team presentation in a square in the city of Gdansk held yesterday night. 19 teams were presented in total with 11 men’ teams and another 8 women’s teams. The opening event also hosted speeches from Youthstream Representative Patricia Maskarova, who stressed the importance of such events for the promotion of the sport, President of the Polish Motorcycling Federation (PZM) Michal Sikora, who expressed gratitude to be the host country, and Marian Zupa, the President of the Gdansk Automoto Club who shared his pride in having the venue host the event for the second consecutive year in addition he wished the participants luck.

The first qualifying race of the day was a combined race with the 250 4 strokes and the 125cc 2 Strokes. Free Practice earlier in the day put Italy’s Gianluca Facchetti at the front of the standings with the fastest lap time. Just after the start of the combined race France’s Maxime Renaux crashed in turn 2 slowing the 125 riding of Mattia Guadagnini who lost positions. Norway’s Kevin Horgmo took the race win on his 4 stroke while France’s Tom Guyon took the top spot of the 125’s.

85cc Qualifying was lead from start to finish by Norway’s Hakon Osterhagen as he took the holeshot and never looked back. Unable to be caught by anyone Osterhagen became the second Norwegian to top a qualifying race today. Italy’s Valerio Lata took second and France’s Xavier Gazal took third.

The women’s Qualifying race was completely controlled by the multi-time Women’s Motocross World Champion Kiara Fontanesi from Italy. Fontanesi took holeshot and led till the end while France’s Mathilde Martinez and Denmark’s Sara Andersen fought for 3rd position. With only a few laps to go Andersen managed took the spot from Martinez and finished just behind the Netherlands’ Nancy Van de Ven.

Sunday Timetable:

Warm Up Qualified Nations WMX 09:00 – 09:15

Warm Up Nations EMX 85 09:25 - 09:40

Warm Up Nations EMX125/EMX250 09:50 - 10:05

WMX of European Nations RACE 1 11:45

MX of European Nations RACE 1(EMX85) 12:45

MX of European Nations RACE 2(EMX125/EMX250) 13:45

WMX of European Nations RACE 2 15:00

MX of European Nations RACE 3(EMX85) 16:00

MX of European Nations RACE 4 (EMX125/EMX250) 17:00

Follow the Live Timing by clicking HERE

Watcht the FULL Result  HERE

All the photos of the 2018 Motocross of European Nations will be available here

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

MXoEN GDANSK

Standing Construct KTM is pleased to confirm the signing of Ivo Monticelli for its 2019 MXGP World Championship campaign.

As one of the youngest riders in the MXGP class this season, having turned 24 years old only three weeks ago, Monticelli is a rookie that has impressed with his speed this season, which includes a top-ten race finish at the MXGP of France. The Italian won two European Supercross Championships in his teenage years before making his MX2 debut and has shown his potential as a top-ten contender.

Monticelli has realigned his focus for next season, where he will join Glenn Coldenhoff onboard a Standing Construct backed KTM450SX-F inside the 2019 MXGP World Championship.

Ivo Monticelli / Italian MXGP rider

“I am very happy to sign with Standing Construct KTM as I think with their professional way of working and the bikes they have, I can make the next step in my career, which I believe is consistently riding inside the top-ten. I think this year I showed a few times that I have the speed to do that, and with a team like Standing Construct KTM I’ll have the full package to reach my goal.”

Tim Mathys / Standing Construct KTM

“After signing Glenn Coldenhoff we had to decide who to take as a second rider for our 2019 team. Looking at the bigger picture, we preferred to choose a young rider with potential like Ivo, who we think that by giving him the pieces of the puzzle he was missing till now, he can show his real ability and can achieve some good results. I think that in the past, with riders like Glenn Coldenhoff, Valentin Guillod, Julien Lieber and more, we have proven that we can bring the best out of a rider and take him to a higher level, and I am convinced we can do the same with Ivo.” 

Copyright: Photo: Standing Construct KTM

(GDANSK) Poland 7 September 2018 - Some of Europe’s best motocross talents are in Gdansk, Poland for the 2018 edition of the Motocross of European Nations. Racing will take place Sunday follow tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions along with the Opening Ceremony where teams will be presented this evening!

One of the oldest cities in Europe, Gdansk, is just aside the Baltic coast and it is the center of Poland’s shipping and trade with a population of half a million people. The riders will not only fight on the Gdansk soil in front of Europe’s motocross fans and locals but will do so for both individual and national pride.

Gdansk’s Motocross Circuit is no stranger to hosting events with many National, European Junior, Quad, and FIM World Sidecar Championships taking place over the years. Last year’s MXoEN took to this very same facility after missing it the 12 years prior. The success of last year’s event along with the local support and favorable weather forecast will likely lead to one of the best events of its kind in many years.

The Motocross of European Nations is structured with 3 classes: 250cc, 125cc and 85cc. Each team competing is made up of four riders: one 250cc rider, one 125cc rider, and two 85cc riders. 14 nations will compete this year on the track of Gdansk each having the goal of winning the 2018 MXoEN crown or the 2018 Women’s Motocross of European Nations title.

Teams to look out for this weekend include the defending Champions of France with MX2 rider Maxime Renaux in 250 and Tom Guyon in the 125 division. Joining Renaux and Guyon are Xavier Gazal and Maxime Grau aboard the two 85cc machines. 2017 Champions, Italy, look strong as well with Gianluca Facchetti, Mattia Guadagnini, Matteo Luigi Russi and Valerio Lata.

Another strong, well rounded team, and perhaps a black horse, is that of the Netherlands with Roan Van de Moosdijk, Rick Elzinga, Kay de Wolf, and Kay Karssemakers. Other well known riders to look out for are Czech Republic’s Petar Polak and Tomas Pikart along with Norway’s Kevin Horgmo.

Some of the best women will line up this weekend also with the Dutch duo of Nancy Van de Ven and Shana Van de Vlist going against Italians Kiara Fontanesi and Giorgia Montini among several others

Weekend Timetable

Saturday:

Free practice EMX125/EMX250 10:00 - 10:30

Start practice EMX 125/EMX250 Immediately after the Free Practice-5 min

Free practice EMX85 11:00 - 11:30

Start practice EMX85 Immediately after the Free Practice-5 min

Free practice WMX 12:00 -12:30

Start practice WMX Immediately after the Free Practice-5 min

Qualifying Heat EMX125/EMX250 14:30

Qualifying Heat EMX85 15:30

Qualifying Heat WMX 16:30

Sunday:

Warm Up Qualified Nations WMX 09:00 – 09:15

Warm Up Nations EMX 85 09:25 - 09:40

Warm Up Nations EMX125/EMX250 09:50 - 10:05

WMX of European Nations RACE 1 11:45

MX of European Nations RACE 1(EMX85) 12:45

MX of European Nations RACE 2(EMX125/EMX250) 13:45

WMX of European Nations RACE 2 15:00

MX of European Nations RACE 3(EMX85) 16:00

MX of European Nations RACE 4(EMX125/EMX250) 17:00

Follow the Live Timing by clicking HERE

Watch the full Results HERE

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

MXoEN GDANSK

Defending MXGP World Champion, Antonio Cairoli might be close to losing his championship, but he knows that the fight isn’t over until it’s over, and he will head to Assen in Holland with the intentions of battling for a GP victory.

The last round in Turkey though was a tough one for the Italian legend, as he battled physical problems, and also a crash, and lost more points to series’ leader Jeffrey Herlings. Cairoli knew it would be hard work coming into the event.

“It was a tough day here in Turkey,” Cairoli said. “I struggled a little bit in finding a good speed during timed practice yesterday, because physically I’m not yet at 100% and with a track this fast you need to push hard to get a good lap time. In the qualifying race I was able to recover from twelfth to fifth, which was good enough to get a decent gate for the two races today. In the first race I didn’t get the best possible start but I had a good rhythm going and I made my way up to third place, behind Gajser. Then, just before I passed him, I hurt my right hand on the bridge over the finish line. Luckily the adrenalin meant that it didn’t give me any instant problems and I was able to finish the race in second. "

His physical condition didn't improve throughout the day, and his body started breaking down as the day wore on in Turkey. His second race was more than a little hard work.

“Unfortunately during the period between the heats my hand swelled up and it’s fair to say that the second race was an ordeal. After a bad start I tried to recover as quickly as I could but Anstie crashed right in front of me, and to avoid him I took a rut that broke, so I lost control of the bike and I went over the bars. I restarted dead last and as the bike was damaged I was unable to ride as I wanted, which was massively frustrating. Now we must go back home to get my right hand checked and find out the problems with it."

A week early at the Sevlievo circuit in Bulgaria Cairoli had to sit back and watch Herlings ride off into the distance, but just like in Turkey, he was still fighting his body and not being 100%.

"I’m really happy about how the weekend went because all week I’d been wondering if I’d be in good enough shape to ride or not. Yesterday I didn’t feel too bad and I rode taking care of my knee without taking risks. For sure I’m still not at 100% but luckily the track was an easy one, so getting a good start made it easier. In the first race I had a good start but I was riding carefully. I was fifth when Anstie crashed in front of me and I hit his bike, losing loads of places, before eventually restarting out of the top 15. After dropping so far back I tried my hardest to claw some ground back, getting right up to eighth place where I got stuck behind Lieber, who I just couldn’t get past. In the second race I was more confident, I took the FOX Holeshot and I led the first lap until I made a small mistake down the hill and Jeffrey passed me. I followed him and we had a good race, pulling away from the rest of the guys, so I’m also happy because the knee doesn’t seem to be as badly injured as I thought.”

Now onto Assen, in Holland, where the Italian will try and end his season with a high. While his MXGP championship seems gone, he will want to battle Herlings in the deep sand and prove he isn’t finished just yet.

Copyright: Photo: Ray Archer

Youthstream is happy to release the entry lists for FIM Europe’s 2018 Motocross of European Nations and Women’s Motocross of European Nations held this weekend, the 8th and 9th of September, in Gdansk, Poland!

The 2017 winning countries of France and the Netherlands respectively, return to Gdansk along with a long list of talented riders from various countries.

The full entry lists can be found below:

MXoEN Entry List

WMXoEN Entry List

Australian rider Todd Waters has made the switch from Team HRC to Team Honda Redmoto Assomotor for the final two rounds of the 2018 MXGP world championship. After stepping in for the injured Brian Bogers before the Latvian GP in May, Waters now will round off the season under the Assomotor awning as he looks to end his campaign on a high note.

With Bogers returning from his long-term foot injury for his home GP in Assen, the Honda family wanted to find a home for the number 42 on a CRF450R, which team Assomotor happily provided. After a championship which has seen Waters challenge for the top 10 positions numerous times, the switch now gives him two more rounds to achieve that goal, something that would please everyone connected with Honda.

Waters has one weekend off before the series resumes at the sand-track built at the Assen TT road-racing circuit on September 15/16, with the last round taking place at Imola 2 weeks later.

Todd Waters: While my time at Team HRC is coming to end, I am extremely excited to finish off these last two MXGPs of 2018 under the Team Honda Redmoto Assomotor awning. With Brian Bogers coming back from injury, it would have been a real shame not to have rounded out the season properly but thanks to the great family here at Honda, they found a spot for me and I’m looking forward to racing at Assen and Imola on this new, but familiar machinery.

It was a massive opportunity for me to come and ride for Team HRC here in the MXGPs. I got the call whilst I was preparing to race as a privateer in America and I’m so grateful for everything that they have done to make me feel welcome and to help me perform as best I could. Unfortunately injuries have taken their toll and I don’t feel like I’ve shown my best but I am still proud of what I have achieved and can look back fondly on my time riding the Honda CRF450RW. Thank you to both teams and to all my fans and supporters who have backed me on this rollercoaster ride.

Alfredo Bevilacqua, Team Manager: We are delighted that Todd Waters will be joining the Assomotor team for the final two rounds of the 2018 MXGP season. We know from his time with Team HRC that he is a top quality rider and a solid professional who we look forward to working with. Obviously Todd has only just started with the team, but due to him riding the Honda CRF450RW already this year, we are confident the transition will be swift and that he will come into Assen fully prepared. It also great for all our supporters and sponsors to have a full house under our awning for our home GP at the last round in Imola.

Copyright: Photo: Honda Racing

While we sit in a different era now, there are two men that stand tall in the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations history books. Ricky Carmichael  from Team USA and Stefan Everts from Team Belgium. These two men had their share of victories, Carmichael winning the team event in 2000, 2005 and 2007 and Everts in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2004.

Now as we come closer to this year’s event, set for the Redbud circuit in USA, both Carmichael and Everts could be standing in the crowd, watching as fans. Both respected in the sport and both happy with their achievements, but just as happy to be sitting in the middle of a group of fellow motocross fans enjoying the action.

Everts ended his career at the Matterley Basin circuit way back in 2006, helping Team Belgium onto the podium after scoring 1-1 results and beating James Stewart from Team USA. American might have won the event but Everts walked away the hero.

“When I rode there in 2006,” Everts said. “It was the biggest crowd I had ever ridden in front of in Europe and the Nations, so a good moment, even great moment.”

For Ricky Carmichael, it was never a question if he would go to the Motocross of Nations, because he always put his hand up to race the event. Carmichael loved the atmosphere and the experience, and while Team USA didn’t always win under his watch, he had more than enough success.

“It was an honor to go to the Motocross of Nations,” Carmichael said. “To be invited to that race. In my day, if you could win any title and be selected to represent the USA at the Motocross of Nations was one of the greatest honors. So, that was always one of my goals. I raced the Motocross of Nations in Zolder, Belgium, and we did pretty good. We didn’t win as a team, but it was one of the best races of my life and I had a blown-out ACL.”

Now in 2018, with these two legends long retired, more than a decade ago for both, the new breed are in the firing line, riders like Eli Tomac, Jeffrey Herlings, Antonio Cairoli and Ken Roczen, all looking to get their own piece of Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations glory. While multiple team wins for these guys seems unlikely in the super competitive world of MXGP, you can be sure at Redbud this year, all will be trying to help their country to the top of the podium.

Copyright: Photo: Geoff Meyer