MXoN

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 – 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

Watch the first GoPro lap of Maggiora with Team USA's Alex Martin:

The ballot for the 70th^th edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by FIAT Professional has been drawn. This is the order of gate pick for the Qualfying Races which will take place today 13:30 local time and can be watched LIVE on www.mxgp-tv.com:

1. Brazil
2. Japan
3. Hungary
4. France
5. Slovenia
6. Australia
7. Slovakia
8. Czech Republic
9. Great Britain
10. Lithuania
11. Croatia
12. Spain
13. Austria
14. Canada
15. Israel
16. Switzerland
17. Sweden
18. New Zealand
19. South Africa
20. Poland
21. Puerto Rico
22. San Marino
23. Portugal
24. Luxembourg
25. Denmark
26. Greece
27. Italy
28. Ukraine
29. Estonia
30. United States
31. Belgium
32. Netherlands
33. Finland
34. Iceland
35. Germany
36. Russia
37. Latvia
38. Ireland

Tomorrow the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional will take place at a venue that is so epic; it’s practically the godfather of motocross, Maggiora Park.

Fans are already starting to roll in and get their autographs from the riders who are just scoping out the track, the venue and the layout of the paddock. There is already a ‘feel-good’ vibe floating about, which gives us confidence that this event will be as incredible as it was last year.

There are a few things of interest this weekend; the most obvious is whether Team France will defend the crown or not, especially since there are a lot of fans skeptical over the decision to leave Marvin Musquin off the team. For European based fans that want to see Musquin ride this year, he WILL be racing for KTM at the Monster Energy SMX Riders’ Cup, which will take place inside the VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany on October 8^th.  You can get your tickets by clicking HERE.

Unfortunately Tim Gajser won’t be racing this weekend after crashing in practice at a track in Slovenia during the week. Honda have confirmed that he is okay, he is just black and blue and has been advised to rest this weekend. The good news is he will also be racing at the Monster Energy SMX Riders’ Cup.

As for everyone else, it’s hard to recall a time where the teams at the Motocross of Nations were so evenly matched. Team France (FEBVRE, PAULIN and PATUREL), Team USA (WEBB, ANDERSON and MARTIN), Team Belgium (VAN HOREBEEK, STRIJBOS and VAN DONINCK), Team Switzerland (GUILLOD, SEEWER, TONUS), Team Netherlands (HERLINGS, COLDENHOFF and BOGERS), Team Great Britain (SEARLE, SIMPSON and ANSTIE), are the most talked about podium contenders. Team Australia (FERRIS, WATERS and EVANS) are the underdogs while Team Italy (CAIROLI, BERNARDINI and CERVELIN) and Team Germany (NAGL, JACOBI and ULLRICH), have riders who are going to be spoilers in terms of the points per race.

There is so much action; you won’t want to miss it so here are the links for how you can follow the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations presented by Fiat Professional LIVE.

Facebook

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WATCH LIVE ON WWW.MXGP-TV.COM

FREE Video Content: Youtube

Timetable

Entry lists

LIVE Timing

Results

Team USA don’t need to worry about not having the right team captain in 2016, as AMA 250cc champion Cooper Webb returns to the MXoN after a strong showing in 2015. Here he talks about what he expects from the team, and what he learnt from being involved at Ernee last year.

“The team dynamic is really good. We all know each other well, and it’s a team race and both my team-mates are excited, as am I. I think people will be surprised how well this team does.

“I think when it comes down to it, if you have three guys that want to win, then it’s hard to lose. We’re all in shape. We’re all grinders. We all do what we need to do, so I think that’ll be the biggest thing. Obviously, you have to have luck and you have to be consistent. Last year, we were as solid as we can be. We had three guys that wanted to win and wanted to do it. It’s tough when you have a guy that doesn’t really want to do it.

“I fit the roll as team captain. I have a year of going to the MXoN, and Alex and Jason are rookies. I was bummed when Eli didn’t race the MXoN. I have been watching Jason and the progress he has made is good. The team has been riding together, and we didn’t do that last year, so that makes the team bonding much better.

“I got called originally to do the MX3 class which—at first, I really wanted to do it on 250’s [MX2] because I feel really comfortable and strong, but at the same time, it’s a team event, so you have put your team first. It’s not all about yourself. When Eli [Tomac] pulled out, I got the call on Thursday night from Roger Decoster, and he said, “Hey, we’re going to get Jason [Anderson], and what do you want to do?” I said, “I want to be team captain in MX1.” I feel like I deserve it, and I want to go out and get some revenge from last year and race the best of the best. I’ve been riding my 450 a lot during the week, so I feel really good on it. The bike’s come a long way, so I’m excited. I think it gives me a huge motivation which, at the end of the year, it’s really hard to find that. I think we have a really good chance. I don’t see why we can’t go over there and win.

“I think this year it’s a similar situation to last year. The bike is new, all new frame, clutch and other stuff. I have had less time on the bike, but feel more comfortable than last year. It is a lot different, I know what to expect, and I have learnt from last year. I know what to expect and while I haven’t spent a lot of time on the 450 I know what I like and what I don’t like. It was pretty tough last year.

 “Obviously for myself I want to win and show people what we can do. Last year it was difficult, because France was the best team, and it was in France. This year there are more teams and not one country that is the favorite.”