MXGP

MAGGIORA (Italy), 25 September 2016 – With 30 years of experience tucked tightly under our belt, the success of the 2016 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional on the nostalgic hills of Maggiora Park was a mesmerizing spectacle of what has been achieved in our beloved sport thus far.

The enormous, passionate and boisterous crowd has rewritten the handbook of fan etiquette with their non-stop flag waving, chain saw revving, air horn blowing, chanting, singing, and cheering that contributed to this years’ motocross of nations being as hair-raising, memorable and emotionally charged as it was.

It has been a while since the Chamberlain Trophy was so tightly contested. In the final race of the day the ‘Nations Result’ board shuffled between The USA, France and The Netherlands, with USA being one man down after a mind boggling scenario sidelined their best performer of the weekend Jason Anderson immediately after he won Race Two, and also with the defending champions, Team France, being buried at turn one. Meanwhile, The Netherlands had a high-powered start to the race with both of their riders, Jeffrey Herlings and Glenn Coldenhoff, inside the top three.

The Netherlands led the initial stages of the race, but as Coldenhoff faded and Webb propelled forward, The USA took over at the top. Team France had their work cut out for them, but Febvre is never one to shy away from a challenge and eventually caught Webb and put him on the front line for Team USA. Both riders engaged in a titanic battle, which raged on ‘til the moment Webb got cross-rutted and tipped over. With Webb losing a few spots The Netherlands leapt to the top of the board once more, and with one lap to go they were right on the cusp of claiming their first ever MXoN title before Febvre spoiled everything when he passed Tommy Searle for the vital 1 point that was required for Team France to defend the cup.

Team France won the Motocross of Nations for the first time in 2001 in Namur, Belgium with Yves Demaria, Luigy Segy and David Vuillemin, and they didn’t win it again until 2014 in Kegums, Latvia when Gautier Paulin, Dylan Ferrandis and Steven Frossard silenced the haters with their emphatic win. Since 2014, France is yet to be beaten, and their trail blaze continued in sensational style today around this spectacular hillside circuit, in a cauldron-like atmosphere that we have become accustomed to at the MXON.

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The Netherlands didn’t only have one Bullet in their gun this weekend; Glenn Coldenhoff was also lethal as he led Italy’s own Antonio Cairoli around turn one. Febvre, who was fifth around the first turn, lost his nerve on lap two and passed Australia’s Todd Waters before pressuring Canada’s Kaven Benoit into a small mistake to take third place.

On the third lap, the Italian erupted as Cairoli ripped up the inside of Coldenhoff to take the lead down the start straight. The following lap, Febvre, who was riding like a man possessed, carried a serious amount of momentum right around the outside of Coldenhoff for second, before putting the exact same move on Cairoli a few laps later.

Belgium’s Kevin Strijbos was silent but violent as he set fast lap after fast lap, and came out of nowhere to pass Coldenhoff for third at the midway mark.  Meanwhile Team USA’s Cooper Webb was also on a diehard mission to claw back spots way after starting outside of the top twenty. The American attacked the track fearlessly, yet with an incredible amount of control as he put an effortless pass on Coldenhoff for fourth with less than five minutes to go.

At the checkers, the fans roared for their hero Antonio Cairoli as he crossed the line in second place behind Romain Febvre, who took his third consecutive MXoN race win if we count the two he took last year in front of his home crowd in France. Belgium’s Kevin Strijbos put in an incredible ride for third ahead of USA’s Cooper Webb, while another Belgian in the form of Jeremy Van Horebeek rounded out the top five and was the best placed MX2 rider.

Race 1 top ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 34:41.712; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:04.648; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:19.429; 4. Cooper Webb (USA, Yamaha), +0:25.658; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:34.398; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:37.475; 7. Todd Waters (AUS, Suzuki), +0:37.958; 8. Kaven Benoit (CAN, KTM), +0:41.284; 9. Alex Martin (USA, Yamaha), +0:50.538; 10. Cody Cooper (NZL, Honda), +0:52.837

Nations top ten: Belgium, USA, France, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Great Britain, Australia

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A good start couldn’t have come at a better time for Team USA. Jason Anderson ripped the holeshot ahead of Switzerland’s Arnaud Tonus, France’s Gautier Paulin and Holland’s Jeffrey Herlings. Herlings doesn’t do anything slowly, and he slung shot past Paulin before the end of lap one and squeezed Tonus on lap two which put him in second place before the end of lap one.

Behind Paulin, Evgeny Bobryshev made Russia’s presence noticeable when he ran hot up the inside of Paulin and almost T-boned him before dropping off the pace. Australia’s Dean Ferris nipped by the Russian who ended up crashing mid-moto in the same dip that caught Cairoli out in the Qualifying Race yesterday.

Meanwhile, Herlings set the fastest lap of the race on lap five and was taking sizeable chunks out of Andersons lead. Herlings showed Anderson a wheel on a couple of occasions before he lost his mind in frustration and slipped into his smaller bike habits where he could hammer the throttle and get away with it. This time he didn’t save it; he got too hard on the gas, lost traction and high-sided. Fortunately he had a good cushion and didn’t lose a spot, although the next three riders did catch him.

With five minutes to go, Herlings, Tonus, Paulin and Ferris put on a breath-taking exhibition of close combat racing as they rode wheel to wheel and ‘bar to ‘bar. Ferris managed to pass Paulin at one point but a gust of wind caught the Frenchman’s sails, and he passed Ferris back before passing Tonus half of a lap later as well.

Meanwhile, the MX2 riders had crept in on the action and with three laps to go ‘the Jeremys’, Belgium’s Jeremy Van Horebeek and Switzerland’s Jeremy Seewer, who were split by Great Britain’s Shaun Simpson, had Tonus and Ferris in their sights.

MXoN rookie, Jason Anderson, took an emphatic win for the Team USA ahead of The Netherlands’ Jeffrey Herlings, France’s Gautier Paulin, Switzerland’s Arnaud Tonus and Australia’s Dean Ferris.

As is the intense racing wasn’t hard enough on the old ticker, hearts were stopped when the race winner, Anderson, was landed on while celebrating. Jason was taken to the hospital for further observation.

Race 2 top ten: 1. Jason Anderson (USA, Husqvarna), 34:59.493; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:06.109; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:07.356; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:08.861; 5. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), +0:09.890; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:10.765; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:11.126; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:13.493; 9. Alex Martin (USA, Yamaha), +0:16.116; 10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:30.103

Nations top ten: USA, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, Estonia, Canada, Australia,

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In what is the most evenly matched race of the day with all 40 riders on 450cc bikes, it was the 450cc rookie Jeffrey Herlings who led the way into turn two, with Great Britain’s Tommy Searle being the filling in a Dutch sandwich as he chased Herlings with Coldenhoff, hot on his heels.

Antonio Cairoli kept the crowd screaming at the top of their lungs when he executed a series of great passes to take second place before the end of lap one.

Belgium’s Kevin Strijbos looked better than ever today. Yes, he did win his home grand prix, the MXGP of Belgium, but that was just a mega result on paper. Today, Strijbos was physically riding superb!

As Coldenhoff faded and dimmed The Netherlands chances at hoisting the Chamberlain Cup in the air for the first time in the history of The Nations, Cairoli caught Herlings for a brief challenge, but all it did was tease the boisterous crowd as Herlings sensed he was there and hooked yet another gear to win relatively easily.

Meanwhile, it was the crucial battle for fourth that took epic to an all-new level as Webb and Febvre charged hard with the weight of their nations on their shoulders. At that point, USA had the lead in the overall standings ahead of The Netherlands and France, but then Webb threw it away when he got cross-rutted and fell.

Webb’s mistake worked in favor of The Netherlands who had one finger on the Chamberlain Cup right up till the very last moment when Febvre pulled something out of nothing and made an absolutely vital pass on Searle on the final lap of the race.

The Netherlands’ Jeffrey Herlings was tenacious in his efforts to stretch out a lead for his second ever MXoN race win. The first one was in Lommel back in 2012, which he won in similar fashion when he took the holeshot and checked out.

Cairoli cruised home for second place ahead of Strijbos, Febvre and Searle.

MXoN Race 3 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:34.924; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:07.624; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:20.781; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:26.248; 5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:28.215; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:34.054; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:42.218; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:44.343; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:45.113; 10. Cooper Webb (USA, Yamaha), +0:46.305

Nations top ten: France, The Netherlands, USA, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, Australia, Estonia, Canada.

Click here for the complete results.

All the photos of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional will be available HERE

Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional - QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1830

Type of ground: Hard pack

Temperature: 25° C

Weather conditions: sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 85,000

The 2016 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations Presented by FIAT Professional was available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

Monster Energy FIM MXoN Presented by FIAT Professional

Watch the highlights from the most epic edition of The Nations, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional that took place today at the spectacular venue of Maggiora Park. 

Following yesterdays Press Conferences here at Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional, at Maggiora Park, the Head of Fiat Professional EMEA Region Mr. Domenico Gostoli gave a special award to the eight-time FIM Motocross World Champion, and Italian legend, Antonio Cairoli after the announcement of their newly formed partnership.

Mr. Gostoli said, “there is one rider who shares the same values as us at Fiat Professional, he has passion, determination and is a dynamic personality, and that person is none other than Antonio Cairoli which is why we are pleased to announce that he will be a part of the Fiat Professional family.”

Tony Cairoli said, “I’m happy to join the Fiat Professional family because I’m Italian, and they’re Italian, and most of all their vehicles are off-road vehicles which is perfect for people involved in motocross. I look forward to driving my Fiat Professional FULLBACK to go training and riding.”

The Fiat Professional FULLBACK was the official vehicle of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship where it received many great reviews. The FULLBACK has also been heavily involved in the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional here at Maggiora Park where it has played a significant role in the Teams Presentations and the annual MXGP Awards. Having the Italian hero, Antonio Cairoli, onboard is a sign of Fiat Professional’s passion and commitment to our wonderful sport of motocross.

Catch up on what happened in the Qualifying Races here at Maggiora Park for the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional: 

MAGGIORA (Italy), 24 September 2016 - Earlier this evening Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo and FIM Europe President Dr. Wolfgang Srb were joined by one representative of each of the brands, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, KTM, Husqvarna, and Honda, that will be competing to etch their names in the history books as the winner of the first ever Monster Energy SMX Riders’ Cup trophy, on stage to present the trophy itself to the media that are here at Maggiora Park for the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional.

The design of the trophy resembles the event in every facet of its creation. It’s prestigious, it’s modern and it’s unique, just like the Monster Energy SMX Riders’ and Manufacturers’ Cup that is set to rock the VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, in less than two weeks time, on October 8^th. The trophy will be much like the coveted Chamberlain Cup, in the sense that it cannot be kept for longer than one year unless it is won consecutively. 

Mr. Luongo and Mr. Srb both thanked the brands for their participation and support, while Husqvarna’s Mr. Robert Jonas, Kawasaki’s Mr. Steve Guttridge, KTM’s Mr. Pit Beier, Yamaha’s Mr. Alberto Barozzi, Suzuki’s Mr. Stefan Everts and Honda’s Mr. Roger Harvey, all expressed how much they are looking forward to the new challenge.

Buy your ticket for the Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup NOW and go to the popular Motorcycle event 'INTERMOT' for free.

Click Here to purchase your ticket in advance.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

FIM Europe

Monster Energy SMX Riders'Cup

Monster Energy FIM MXoN Presented by FIAT Professional

MAGGIORA (Italy), 24 September 2016 – The world’s fastest motocross riders, as well as the biggest industry names, brands and organizers, all gathered at Maggiora Park, the venue that is hosting the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional, this evening for the annual MXGP Awards.

The award ceremony took place on top of the spectacular infrastructure that is built directly behind the start line, the Skybox Terrace, and was hosted by MXGP-TV personalities Paul Malin and Lisa Leyland.

Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo and FIM President Mr. Vito Ippolito personally handed out the awards to the 2016 FIM Motocross World Champions Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings, and to the industry award winners, although Tim Gajser couldn’t make it this evening after a crash in while practicing in Slovenia during the week has sidelined him this weekend, therefore the award was collected by the owner of Honda Gariboldi Mr. Giacomo Gariboldi.

Dr. Wolfgang Srb joined Mr. Luongo on stage to acknowledge the 2016 European Champions Edvards Bidzans, Rene Hofer, Emil Weckman, Jago Geerts, Mike Kras and Thomas Kjer Olsen, as well as the FIM Junior, WMX and VMX World Champions, Kirill Vorobyev, Rene Hofer, Jago Geerts, Livia Lancelot and Mats Nilsson.

In addition, Youthstream awarded the Journalist of the year, Pascal Haudiquert, Photographer of the year, Ray Archer, and the best digital platform, MX Vice. The 2016 EMX250 Champion Thomas Kjer Olsen was also awarded as the winner of the Jan de Groot award, an award that honors the most promising young talent.

Youthstream also donates €10,000 to the Wings for Life charity every year and this year the cheque was collected on behalf of the foundation by Heinz Kinigadner.

Tag Heuer’s Mr. Olivier Volery awarded Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings with an exquisite Tag Heuer watch each as the winners of the Tag Heuer Fastest Lap Competition, although Tim Gajser’s watch was collected by his team owner, Giacomo Gariboldi.

A Fox Head Europe representative also joined Mr. Luongo on stage to award Antonio Cairoli and Max Anstie with their cheques for €10,000 and €5,000 as the winners of the Fox Holeshot competition.

Adding something extra special to the evening, some of the most celebrated names in motocross, David Bailey, Johnny O’Mara, Ricky Johnson, Stefan Everts, Jean-Michel Bayle, Michele Rinaldi, Harry Everts, Pit Beirer, Antonio Cairoli, Roger De Coster, Dave Thorpe, Dave Stijbos, Jacky Martens, James Dobb, Jacky Vimond, Heinz Kinigadner and Yves Demaria took to the stage as a token of appreciation to Giuseppe Luongo and all he has done for the sport. The champions, past and present, awarded Mr. Luongo, on behalf of the motocross world, with a silver plate for being the best promoter in the history of motocross. It was an emotional moment for Mr. Luongo who started out on his journey to becoming a pioneer of motocross right here in Maggiora as the promoter of the legendary 1986 Motocross of Nations. Teary eyed Mr. Luongo returned the thanks saying, “I was never a good rider, so I had to take a different path, but you are all fantastic riders and if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be here today, it would all still be just a dream, so it’s all of you I owe the thanks to.”

Wrapping up the awards, Jeffrey Herlings emerged from the darkness and through the crowd on the back of a Fiat Professional FULLBACK. He was dropped off at the stage where he collected his prizes for winning the FIM MX2 World Championship, a World Championship ring and a Tag Heuer watch.

For the complete list of award winners, see below:  

MXGP Manufacturer World Champion: Honda

MX2 Manufacturer World Champion: KTM

WMX Manufacturer World Champion: Yamaha

MXGP Winning Team: Honda Gariboldi

MX2 Winning Team: Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

WMX Winning Team: Team One One Four

Mechanic of the Year: Team HRC’s Roger Shenton, Junji Miyazaki, Toru Yukawa and Masaki Serizawa

Steve Bruhn Award Journalist of the year: Pascal Haudiquert

Photographer of the year: Ray Archer

“Jan De Groot” Award: Thomas Kjer Olsen

Motocross MXGP Best Cooperation: Americas, Charlotte

Motocross MXGP Best Race Track: Argentina, Neuquen

Motocross MXGP Best Media Centre: Charlotte Speedway, USA

Motocross MXGP Best Paddock: The Netherlands, Assen

Motocross MXGP Best Promotion: The Netherlands, Assen

Motocross MXGP Best Infrastructure: The Netherlands, Assen

Wings For Life: Heinz Kinigadner

EMX 65 European Champion: Edvards Bidzans

EMX 85 European Champion: Rene Hofer

EMX 125 European Champion: Jago Geerts

EMX 150 Honda European Champion: Emil Weckman

EMX 250 European Champion: Thomas Kjer Olsen

EMX 300 European Champion: Mike Kras

65cc European Open Winner: Kirill Vorobyov

85 Junior World Champion: Rene Hofer

125 Junior World Champion: Jago Geerts

Veterans’ World Cup Winner: Mats Nilsson

Women’s World Champion: Livia Lancelot

TAG HEUER Best Lap Challenge: Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings

FOX HOLESHOT Award: Antonio Cairoli and Max Anstie

Motocross MXGP Best Organizer: Switzerland, Frauenfeld-Gachnang

MX2 World Champion: Jeffrey Herlings

MXGP World Champion: Tim Gajser

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

Monster Energy FIM MXoN Presented by FIAT Professional

MAGGIORA (Italy), 24 September – The first day of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional at the iconic venue of Maggiora Park is already proving to be a true celebration of motocross in its entirety. An enormous crowd of the most passion filled, motocross mad people from all over the world swamped the historic hills of Maggiora to watch the worlds best motocross riders represent their countries in a battle of pride and glory.

The defending champions, Team France, Romain Febvre, Gautier Paulin and Benoit Paturel, are looking good for the three-peat based on todays performances. The trio will go to the line first tomorrow morning as the top Qualifiers. 1 point shy of the French, who had 3 points, was Team Belgium, Kevin Strijbos, Jeremy Van Horebeek and Brent Van Doninck, who chalked up 4 points, while the ever-modest Dutch team of Jeffrey Herlings, Glenn Coldenhoff and Brian Bogers qualified third.

MXGP

The Italian fans are just like the sun in the sky, both create power, and it was with that power that Team Italy’s own Antonio Cairoli nailed the holeshot despite only having the 27^th pick at the gate.

It wouldn’t be a motocross of nations without some drama, although you don’t really expect it to happen in the first race of the weekend, but it can, and it did. It started when Team Germany’s Max Nagl crashed out of the race when he collided with another rider at speed on the first lap, while Team Switzerland’s Valentin Guillod also tipped over on lap one, and cut himself, but he’s tough and he should be on the gate tomorrow.

On the opening laps Team Canada’s Kaven Benoit was running a blistering pace as he held his own against the French captain Romain Febvre. The former world champ managed to make the pass stick on the third lap before Benoit went a little too high on a berm, lost the front wheel and crashed. Team USA’s Cooper Webb was minding his own business in fourth and didn’t see Benoit on the deck. The American tried to wheelie the bike that was laying on the track, but got bucked and chucked out of shape before looping out, off the track and crashing.

At the halfway mark Team Belgium’s Kevin Strijbos dabbled in Real Estate as changed lines every lap and used every inch of Maggiora Park in effort to pass Great Britain’s Tommy Searle for third. Eventually, the Belgian’s creativity paid dividends and got the job done.

Meanwhile, the crowd changed its tone as Cairoli reminded us just how fast everything can change when he hit a slick spot on one of the fastest sections of the track and went down really hard. It was kind of a crazy crash, and he was extremely lucky not to get drilled by his bike that bounced right overtop of him. The Italian star only lost a spot. He managed to finish second behind Febvre while Strijbos landed third place ahead of Searle and The Netherlands’ Glenn Coldenhoff.

MXGP Qualifying Heat top ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 24:59.780; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:18.065; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:22.210; 4. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:33.989; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:53.782; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:57.615; 7. Todd Waters (AUS, Suzuki), +1:01.120; 8. Lukas Neurauter (AUT, KTM), +1:06.214; 9. Akira Narita (JPN, Honda), +1:07.731; 10. Kaven Benoit (CAN, KTM), +1:08.350

MX2

In the small bore class, MX2, Team Spain’s fifteen-year-old sensation Jorge Prado kicked things off with an epic holeshot over Sweden’s Alvin Ostlund and the budding New Zealander Josiah Natzke. Prado is young and ambitious; he has admitted that he gets excited when he’s out front, so it wasn’t surprising to see him flaunt his talent on the opening lap.

While Prado was running a hot pace, he was no match for two of the most distinguished riders in the class, Switzerland’s Jeremy Seewer and Belgium’s Jeremy Van Horebeek. Both of the Jeremy’s were cooking on gas, which was to be expected of both riders who are a lot bigger, stronger and more experienced than Prado.

The Jeremys put on an epic show for the fans as they went bar-to-bar for the Qualifying heat win, and when we say bar-to-bar, we mean it. There is bound to be a few scuffs of Yamaha blue on that Suzuki of Seewer after Van Horebeek got hasty with two laps to go and punted the Swiss rider out of an inside rut on turn two. Both riders almost went down, and it didn’t even work in Van Horebeek’s favor, but he managed to regroup and took a second shot which was cleaner second time around, and he made it stick in time to take the win in MX2 for Team Belgium.

After getting off to a mediocre start, France’s Benoit Paturel had to pick off a bunch of guys on his way to third, while Prado put in a great ride for fourth ahead of The Netherlands’ Brian Bogers and New Zealand’s Josiah Natzke.  

MX2 Qualifying Heat top ten: 1. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), 25:15.129; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:01.272; 3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:27.928; 4. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:36.732; 5. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:37.114; 6. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), +0:45.841; 7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +0:46.082; 8. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:47.753; 9. Alex Martin (USA, Yamaha), +0:48.724; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), +0:56.321

OPEN

All year long Jeffrey Herlings has been stressing to the press about how difficult it is to get a good start on an MX2 bike. The Dutchman, riding for The Netherlands, is not a small guy so an extra 200cc underneath him was like Christmas. “I had the 32^nd pick of the gate and I got the holeshot, so that was pretty amazing!” he said with the biggest smile on his face.

While Herlings was smiling about turning a bad pick of the gate into a holeshot, the rest of the world was smiling because this kid is incredible and he made it obvious that he will be a match for the reigning world champion Tim Gajser in the premier class next year.

After ripping the ‘holeshot’, Herlings checked out to win by a massive 18 seconds over Team France’s Gautier Paulin. Paulin did what he had to do, although it wasn’t easy as Australia’s Dean Ferris was on his rear wheel the entire race.

With Switzerland’s Valentin Guillod crashing out of the MXGP Qualifying Race, the hope of Switzerland rested on the shoulders on Arnaud Tonus. Tonus got off to a reasonable start in fifth. After passing Spain’s Jorge Zaragoza, who eventually faded back to thirteenth, he turned up the heat and reeled Ferris in. Ferris always ups his game at the Motocross of Nations and managed to hold off the fury of Tonus, just.

Great Britain’s Shaun Simpson rode smooth for fifth. As for Team USA’s Jason Anderson, he went down at turn one and from there it was an uphill battle. Quite literally. All three Americans were fast in practice, so their results don’t reflect their speed. Tomorrow is a new day, and looking on the bright side, both Cairoli and Herlings pulled holeshots from the 27th and 32nd gate picks.

OPEN Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 24:48.756; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:18.823; 3. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:21.512; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:22.024; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:39.090; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:41.829; 7. Fredrik Noren (SWE, Honda), +0:42.677; 8. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:56.873; 9. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +0:59.550; 10. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, Honda), +1:06.217

Click here for the complete results.

All the photos of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional will be available HERE

Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1830

Type of ground: Hard pack

Temperature: 23° C

Weather conditions: sunny

MXGP will be available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

TIMETABLE

Sunday: Warm-up B-Final 8:40; Warm-up MXoN Group 1 9:10; Warm-up MXoN Group 2 9:40; B-Final 11:00; MXoN Race 1 (MXGP+MX2) 13:10; MXoN Race 2 (MX2+Open) 14:40; MXoN Race 3 (Open+MXGP) 16:08.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

Monster Energy FIM MXoN Presented by FIAT Professional

MAGGIORA (Italy), 23 September 2016 – Youthstream is pleased to confirm that the contract for the MXGP of San Marino 2017 at the famous circuit of Baldasserona, will be signed on October 11^th 2016.

Earlier today the Secretary of Tourism and Sport Teodoro Lonferini met with Youthstream representatives at Maggiora Park, where the 70^th edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations is taking place, to verify a date on which the contract for San Marino to host around of the worlds premier motocross series, MXGP, will be signed. Both parties have agreed to pen to paper on October 11^th 2016.

The Secretary Lonferini declared his pleasure to revive motocross in San Marino by hosting a round of the FIM Motocross World Championship. Before leaving Maggiora Park, Teodoro Lonferini visited Team San Marino, which is made up of Thomas Marini, Bryan Toccacelli and Andrea Gorini, who will represent the state at the prestigious Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by FIAT Professional this weekend.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

Photo_from left to right: Secretary of Tourism and Sport Teodoro Lonferini and Youthstream Vice-President Luigi Zompetti