Kailub Russell Earns Sixth GNCC Championship

Duvall wins in muddy Ohio but Russell bags second for his sixth straight GNCC title at penultimate round in 2018.

St. Clairsville, Ohio Powerline Park hosted its 18th Annual GNCC race at the weekend and saw FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Kailub Russell secure his sixth-consecutive GNCC XC1 National Championship. 

As the green flag fell for round 12 of the 2018 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series Sunday, Kailub Russell got the All Balls Racing Holeshot Award. But a mistake at the FMF PowerPoint cost Russell meant he would come around mid-pack on the first lap gifting Energy Racing/KTM’s Steward Baylor Jr. the lead, followed by KR4/Husqvarna’s Layne Michael in second as they came through timing and scoring after completing lap one.

 

 

As the XC1 Open Pro class made their way on the second lap, the Powerline mudhole jump would prove to be one of the toughest obstacles of the day. Despite a dramatic first corner crash, Rockstar Energy/Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Thad Duvall had made his way from third to first during the second lap, with Baylor Jr. and K. Russell seconds behind him. The top three were ready to push each other for the penultimate round win.

Rockstar Energy/Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Josh Strang was having problems of his own during the second lap, ultimately stopping in his pits for a new rear brake system. Tely Energy Racing/KTM’s Grant Baylor did not get the start he wanted, but was busy working his way back up to the front of the pack hoping to battle for a podium position.

Duvall continued to lead the way at the halfway point, followed by K. Russell both of them stopping for a splash of gas, fresh goggles and hydration. Baylor Jr. would opt out of a pit stop and made the pass for second in pro row. 

 

 

Steward Baylor looking to put the pressure on Duvall at the front instead get caught out by the Powerline mudhole! He made the jump but tipped over in the muddy mess and needed help from the GNCC “mud fleas” to get going again.

Grant Baylor would hold on to the last podium spot with a third, followed by Steward Baylor and Strang rounding out the top five in XC1 Open Pro. JCR/Honda’s Trevor Bollinger battled throughout the race to hold onto a sixth place finish in XC1 and an eighth overall. Ashburn followed Bollinger in seventh, while AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell secured eighth place from 11th on the second lap.

Michael would also face misfortune after running at the front of the pack early on in the race, ultimately finishing in the ninth place position followed by Factory GasGas/FAR’s Andrew Delong rounding out the top 10 in the XC1 Open Pro class. Solid Performance KTM/ Fly Racing’s Jesse Groemm would complete five laps for an 11th place, while Ohio native KR4/Husqvarna’s Cory Buttrick suffered some bad luck only completing three laps.

Tomac wants Revenge

Team USA rider Eli Tomac, like so many of the Team USA riders in recent years isn't feeling great about his MXoN performance, so much so that he feels getting revenge of the GP riders might add a few years to his career.

"Last week is still in my head and in my mind," said Tomac. "It’s still bugging me and bugging us. I know we are better than what we finished, but that's racing. I think it probably added three years to my career because I want to go over there and get some revenge on those guys. But overall, though, we did just get straight-up beat."

Justin Barcia has also told the American media that he is willing to spend a month in Belgium after the final AMA National race in 2019 so he can prepare for the MXoN as Assen. Team USA mean business, and lets hope we see the best team possible in Holland next year.

Justin Barcia reflects on the MXoN

Discussion: Justin Barcia

Justin Barcia was clearly disappointed about the way that he performed at the MXoN, but openly admitted that in this exclusive MX Vice interview from the event. Barcia ended seventh in the individual Open classification, much to the dismay of those draped in stars and stripes, but was still the second-highest finisher on Team USA.

MX Vice: Obviously you came into this weekend with high expectations. Everyone did, but it did not quite go to plan. Just talk us through the weekend. 

Justin Barcia: Yeah, didn't go as planned for sure. Second in the qualifying race was okay. I felt like I could have been better and my set-up. This track, it was supposed to be in our favour but it really wasn't at all, because this wasn't like RedBud at all. It's kind of crazy. It was a difficult track this weekend. We had some bad luck. The last race for me, I had a little mechanical halfway through the race and that kind of hindered my performance moving forward. That was frustrating, but me, Aaron [Plessinger] and Eli [Tomac] obviously tried our hardest. It wasn't lack of effort. Just wasn't in our favour, unfortunately.

Justin Barcia was seventh in the individual Open classification at RedBu (ConwayMX)

I guess the situation just comes down to that as well though, because yesterday, like you said, you got a good start in the qualifying race and ran up front. Had you done the same today, the same kind of thing probably would have happened.

I think so. You never know. I let Aaron have the good gate the first race and looking back at it, I probably should have took the better gate. Oh well. Starts would have helped us a lot and we didn't have great starts. Compromised our performance coming from the back to the front. It's been a difficult weekend. It wasn't really a lot of pressure, but we felt like we could win it. That's why it's frustrating.

One idea I have got is that when you guys have mud races over here, they are proper mud races. You can do that. We have seen that. It's either that or dry. You don't really have races like this where it drizzles a bit and it's on and off. This is maybe something that is completely out of your comfort zone? 

It was unique, for sure. It's crazy because it was kind of like a European-style track. It was really slick underneath. It had some banked bowl corners that were deep and you had to kind of stay to that. I watched the first race from the TV and I was watching Jeffrey [Herlings] and all of those guys. I'm like, "F*ck, they are going fast." They were just killing stuff. I knew what I needed to do, but it was a difficult track. It was hard to get a good set-up. This race is difficult for us Americans. It's a very foreign race. It's pretty much an MXGP, with two days. It's just unique. But, all in all, everyone has to do the same race. We tried our hardest but came up short. A lot short. 

Like you said, you were watching it on TV and saw those guys, but back to the start thing… If you had got a good start, maybe you could have slotted in behind one of them and followed their lines? Again, something as simple as that just fixes things.

Yeah, it's the same thing in America even when Eli's faster than us or something. If you can get a start and run that wheel, you can pick up things. I was never able to pick up things. I was behind [Glenn] Coldenhoff on Saturday in the race and I picked up some stuff from him, some lines and stuff. He was hauling them out. So that was good, but Sunday just didn't work out.

Team USA finished up in sixth overall at the Motocross of Nations (ConwayMX)

I'm guessing you kind of started with your set-up in July when you raced here in the dry, so were you kind of chasing your tail with that a little bit and moving away from that to try to hit the sweet spot?

Yeah, it's funny, because my set-up here for the American race I struggled a little bit. I rode good and I had a good result, but I struggled with set-up. Back in California we were searching for what we thought we needed and then we get here and it was like a totally different track. We kind of had to rethink things and search a little more for a different set-up, so we were kind of chasing our tail a little bit all weekend with set-up and tires and things like that. Definitely the conditions were not in our favour. 

Any regrets, though? Anything you can look back on now and be like, "If only I'd done this coming in or during the race?" Anything at all?

Not necessarily, because this was the best prep coming into this race. We had a team test out in California. We talked a lot about this one. It felt like more of a team this year. There's nothing I could say I could have done better. We all tried our hardest and just sucked.

One thing that concerns me I guess is that next year is Assen, a road-race circuit. If this is foreign to you, then the whole set-up over there is going to be another world.

Yeah, I've watched that race. 

If you get asked to go next year then, is that going to be an automatic yes? Are you guys going to have to think about that long and hard?

I always love doing Motocross of Nations. I enjoy it. I always have fun with it. This year, the fans made it really fun but the track conditions and just the bad starts and not putting ourselves in the right position was difficult. But Assen is definitely a unique one, for sure. I like the sand, so I'll do it. Yeah, I'll do it. It's cool. For sure. I like Motocross of Nations. It will be another one that's unique and not in our favour, but so be it.

Interview: Lewis Phillips | Lead Image: ConwayMX

World Motocross - Top Ten

With the season now behind us, we decided to rank our top ten riders in the World. What a season it has been, on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Jason Anderson, Aaron Plessinger, Eli Tomac, and so many other American riders put on a great show in their AMA National championships, and of course in the FIM World Motocross Championship, it was Jeffrey Herlings, Antonio Cairoli, Jorge Prado and Pauls Jonass of the Red Bull KTM Factory team that stole the show.

Our top ten has seven GP riders and three AMA riders, and last weekends MXoN did have some bearing on our top ten, as its the only way to really tell the two series competitors apart and as everyone remembered, it was a Euro domination.

1. Jeffrey Herlings: There is zero doubt that Jeffrey Herlings is the fast man on the planet. Not only is he the World MXGP champion, but he also dominated the American riders in the last 12 months, first in their own final race in 2017, and in the USGP. He then finished with a very nice 3-1-2 result at the MXoN, and only lost to his team-mate, Glenn Coldenhoff on the Sunday, so in fact you could nearly give him a 1-1 on team performance. Herlings is special, very special, and anyone who puts another rider close to him, is either blind, or dumb. Many people have mentioned him in the same sentence as Ricky Carmichael, Stefan Everts and Antonio Cairoli, and that is a very elite group, or which he already belongs. He has 84 GP victories, and four World championships. For a 24-year-old, that is unheard of in GP history.

2. Antonio Cairoli: Antonio Cairoli is for me the second-best motocross rider in the World in 2018, and his battles with Herlings this year will be written into motocross folk law. At 32 years of age, and clearly riding better than ever this legendary Sicilian deserved a championship in 2018, but unfortunately, that man Herlings was just too good. He went to the MXoN broken, worn out and feeling like an old man, but he still went 1-4-6, which placed him the third in the MXGP class behind Herlings and Paulin, and just ahead of Tomac. As the only man who really gave Herlings a fight on a consistent basis in 2018, its hard not to put him second in the World.

3. Eli Tomac: Eli Tomac, the AMA motocross champion and like the two guys above him, a special talent. His lightning speed makes him great to watch, and with three AMA motocross championships to his name, one in the 250 class and two in the 450 class, you have to give him respect. Tomac didn’t perform that well at the MXoN with DNF-4-7, but he still managed to finish fourth in the MXGP class and was the standout for team USA. While he might not be on the level of Herlings, he is probably close to Cairoli, and no doubt in 2019, he will get his chance to once again come up against the GP riders at the MXoN in Assen.

4. Jorge Prado: The World MX2 champion has had a brilliant year. One of the youngest World champions ever, a class winner at the MXoN, and maybe the brightest talent in World motocross. His future looks secured, and while many don’t see anyone racing with Herlings for a long time, if this kid improves enough, who knows what will happen. He doesn’t lack confidence, as that opening moto of this years MXoN showed. Leading the MXGP/MX2 race and finishing with 5-3-3 for the weekend proved he is the stand-out 250 rider in the World. Wait for 2019, because its hard to see anyone coming close to him in MX2, and the MXoN at Assen will be massive for him (remember him battling Herlings at Assen in his GP debut).

5. Tim Gajser: The two-time World motocross champion began to show signs of what he is capable of as the season closed up, and he finished the season fourth in the MXGP points, claiming a 2-2 result in the final round or the series. Early season injuries cost him a lot of momentum, and no doubt with a good winter he can come back and shine like he did in his championship winning seasons. Beating Herlings though, that is not likely to happen.

6. Marvin Musqin: You have to have the Frenchman in the top ten due to his solid American series, finishing second to Tomac, and putting in some victory performances. It is hard to judge after last weekend where Musquin stands against the top MXGP riders. Is he better than countryman, Romain Febvre? I don’t know. But he has been a solid performer for years and is without question inside the top ten of 450 riders in the World.

7. Aaron Plessinger: The 22-year-old won the American 250 supercross championship and the AMA 250 Outdoor championship, and without question is a talent. While he isn’t somebody who you might expect to be a massive star in the sport, he is solid, and his MX2 qualification race at the MXoN, until his crash showed that he is right up there with the best 250 riders in the World. He will move to the 450 class in 2019, and with his size, he should handle it well.

8. Clement Desalle: Desalle has proven over and over again that he is World class. Always around the top three in the World, and again this year a GP winner. While nobody could match the KTM boys in 2018, the Belgian snuck a GP victory in there and was always working hard to try and keep with Herlings and Cairoli. After missing a lot of MXoN events due to injury he rode this year, and while he did get a fifth in one moto, a DNF and 27^th place made it a poor weekend for the usually solid MXoN rider.

9. Gautier Paulin: The fifth best guy in MXGP was once again a star for Team France in the MXoN. He is a class above most in the World and while he didn’t have a great 2018 season, fifth in the stacked MXGP class is worth something. He went 4-2-3 at the MXoN and led France to their fifth victory in a row. A move to Yamaha in 2019 might bring him closer to Herlings and Cairoli, but no matter what happens next year, he finished off 2018 with a bang, just as he has done the last 10 years at the MXoN. A class act and a solid World ranked rider.

10. Romain Febvre: Three Frenchies in the top ten, and after last weekend it isn’t a surprise. What is a surprise two of them didn’t even ride the MXoN. Yes, the French are the strongest nation in World motocross at the moment, and Febvre continues to show strength, under tough times. Like Paulin it wasn’t a brilliant season, but sixth in MXGP and some podium finishes prove he still has it. The 2015 World MXGP champion needs to take a good rest in winter and come back strong in 2019, otherwise he slips out of our top ten and Ken Roczen might take his place.

Ray Archer image

MXoN - Race Report

The world’s biggest motocross race, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, has taken on the American circuit of RedBud today where Team France ecstatically hoisted the Chamberlain trophy for their 5th year in a row!

The French team was led to victory by team captain and Monster Energy FIM MXoN veteran Gautier Paulinalong with Dylan Ferrandis and Jordi Tixier. Coming in second by only a two-point deficit was the Italian team of Antonio Cairoli, Michele Cervellin, and Alessandro Lupino. Taking the final spot on the podium was team Netherlands led by Jeffrey Herlings along with Calvin Vlaanderen and Glenn Coldenhoff.

The 72nd running of the event was one of the most successful ever as countless motocross fans from around the world joined the Americans on the Michigan hillsides. The atmosphere created at this year’s Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations was as unique as the event itself hosting riders and fans from over thirty countries. The world’s most passionate, energetic, and sometimes crazy motocross fans were one of the best parts of this year’s event providing an emotion packed day of racing.

A true pinnacle of the sport the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations puts the usually independent riders into a team setting against competitors never before face truly testing their adaptability, speed, and consistency over a challenging weekend. While each fan and nation had their favorites for the win it was one of the most competitive and deeply talented Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations fields ever. With pride on the line and patriotism in their hearts 30 teams entered the competition but the field narrowed to an even more competitive 20 this morning.

19 teams directly qualified out of yesterday’s warm up sessions but the 11 teams remaining had one last chance this morning via winning the B-Final. Bringing the crowd to their feet with their B-Final win was Team Puerto Rico’s Travis Pastrana, Kevin Windham, and Ryan Sipes.

Following the B-Final and a short break was an opening ceremony at the podium with motocross legends Ryan Villopoto, Jeff Stanton, Jeremy McGrath, John Dowd, Tim Ferry, Ricky Carmichael, Gary Semics, Ricky Johnson, Steve Stackable, Donnie Hanson, Billy Lies, Jeff Ward, Ron Lenchien, and Chuck Sun in his cowboy hat. The legends shared their most memorable racing moments including participating in the previous editions of the Motocross of Nations before the microphones were handed over for speeches from Youthstream Vice President David Luongo, Monster Energy Vice President of Sports Marketing Mitch Covington, FIM/CMS Director Tony Skillington, President of AMA Rob Dingman, and United States Congressman Fred Upton.

Following the speeches and tradition yelling of “RedBuuuuud” the United States national anthem was sang to open the event! As the crowd and fireworks erupted in the background the riders MXGP and MX2 of MXoN Race 1 went out on track for their sighting lap.

 

The first team to line up for Race 1 was Saturday’s top qualifier, the Netherlands. MXGP rider Jeffrey Herlingstook full advantage of the start by scoring the Fox Holeshot after the better jump off the gate from Italy’s Antonio Cairoli was thrown away when he slid out in the first turn.

Team Spain’s MX2 rider Jorge Prado was right behind Herlings in second but took over the lead before the first lap was complete when the Dutchman slid out. France’s Gautier Paulin took over second ahead of Canada’s Colton Facciotti. Herlings got back up and on track in 5th behind Australia’s Hunter Lawrencewhile the American’s of Eli Tomac and Aaron Plessinger ran in 10th and 9th.

Herlings was quick to make passes through and at the start of the first official lap was up to 3rd as Lawrence also moved up to 4th. Paulin’s French Teammate Dylan Ferrandis was riding well in 6th but lost the spot to Great Britain’s Tommy Searle at the end of the second lap.

America’s Tomac was moving forward from 10th and by lap 3 he was up to 6th but his teammate Plessinger was dropping as far back as 21st. Meanwhile the 2018 MX2 World Champion Prado led but Herlings came up quickly one past Paulin for second. On lap 8 Herlings took the lead from Prado but his Dutch teammate Vlaanderen was out of the race.

By the finish Tomac worked his way up to 4th just behind MX2 rider Prado while Cairoli came from his first turn crash to 6th but Plessinger only recovered to 18th place. Herlings took the race win by 25 seconds over Paulin, 31 second ahead of Prado and 40 seconds ahead of Tomac. The results of the two riders in race 1 put France in the lead of the nations standings with a combined 9 points, 7 better than Italy in second and 9 better then Belgium in third.

Monster Energy FIM MXoN Race 1 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 36:14.743; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:25.416; 3. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:31.483; 4. Eli Tomac (USA, Kawasaki), +0:40.195; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:51.878; 6. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:57.900; 7. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Yamaha), +1:00.029; 8. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), +1:03.066; 9. Colton Facciotti (CAN, Honda), +1:51.758; 10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +1:54.397.

Nations top ten: France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, USA, Australia, Canada, Estonia, The Netherlands, Austria. 

  

The second race was the combined riders of MX2 and Open which saw the Netherlands going to line first again with Glenn Coldenhoff but this time no Clavin Vlaanderen after his injury from race 1 made it impossible to continue.

Down a rider Coldenhoff made the most of the situation for the Dutch team taking the Fox Holeshot and leading the again impressive MX2 ri

rider Jorge Prado. Team Great Britain’s Ben Watson was up in third and leading Team Switzerland’s Jeremy Seewer while the American’s again struggled.

Justin Barcia was in 16th and Plessinger was in 18th on the first lap Barcia worked his way up to 9th by lap 9 as Coldenhoff still led Prado and Watson. Plessinger on the other hand only gained two positions throughout the entire race to finish 16th.

The Aussie MX2 rider Hunter Lawrence was pressuring Seewer as early as lap 2 but finally found his way past the Swiss rider on lap 7. 6 laps later Lawrence passed Watson for 3rd before finally moving into second ahead of Prado on the next to last lap.

Coldenhoff took the race win for the Netherlands ahead of Lawrence, Prado, Watson, and Seewer. Team France’s Ferrandis and Tixier scored 8th and 32nd as Tixier’s bike expire while Barcia made no further moves to take 9th. The 2-3 scores of Prado crowned him the MX2 overall winner while Team Australia took the lead in the nations standings ahead of Belgium and Italy.

Monster Energy FIM MXoN Race 2 top ten: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 34:28.308; 2. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), +0:16.063; 3. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:20.510; 4. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:21.458; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:23.272; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:28.847; 7. Harri Kullas (EST, Husqvarna), +0:32.905; 8. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Yamaha), +0:37.022; 9. Justin Barcia (USA, Yamaha), +0:59.661; 10. Mitchell Evans (AUS, KTM), +1:09.475.

Nations top ten: Australia, Belgium, Italy, Spain, USA, France, Estonia, Great Britain, Canada, Austria.

      

Photos: 1. Hunter Lawrence; 2. Jorge Prado

   

The final race of the day was the one that decided the 2018 winner with the combined classes of MXGP and Open racing one last time. On the start it was Italy’s Alessandro Lupino taking the Fox Holeshot ahead of Germany’s Ken Roczen and the Netherlands Glenn Coldenhoff.

Coldenhoff took second away from the German on the exit of the second corner before taking the lead from Lupino only a few corners later. Paulin moved into third as Herlings came from a poor start to pass both Roczen and Paulin in one lap.

Coming forward with Herlings was Antonio Cairoli but the Italian got held up by Paulin as Herling took 2nd from Lupino. After looking for a way by Paulin for 3 laps Cairoli moved to 4th but then both he and Paulin were passed by Germany’s Max Nagl.

Nagl fell afterwards to 7th however but Cairoli was only 4th for a lap as Paulin took the spot back then went on to pass Lupino. 2 laps before the finish Lupino and Cairoli swapped positions as Coldenhoff went 1-1 with Herlings in second and Paulin 3rd.

The strong races and class overall wins from both Coldenhoff and Herlings however were not enough to make up for the absence of Vlaanderen and the consistency of team France who took their 5th successive Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations win, the 6th in their country’s history.

Monster Energy FIM MXoN Race 3 top ten: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 35:53.888; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:03.970; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:03.687; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +1:05.191; 5. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:11.582; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:12.469; 7. Eli Tomac (USA, Kawasaki), +1:12.820; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), +1:27.271; 9. Ken Roczen (GER, Honda), +1:44.294; 10. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:50.621.

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

      

Main Photo: Glenn Coldenhoff

Bottom Photos: 1. Antonio Cairoli; 2. Monster Energy FIM MXoN Crowd

MX OF NATIONS: RESULTS

Gautier Paulin of the winning French team dices with Tony Cairoli, of the second place Italians.

The 2018 Motocross of Nations wrapped up with another win for France. The defending champions did it through consistency this time, with Gautier Paulin, Dylan Ferrandis and Jordi Tixier turning in consistent performances without any wins. The real heartbreak of the day was the Netherlands, which had the most dominent two riders of the race with Glenn Coldenhoff and Jeff Herlings. The two of them took the top Open spot and the top 450 position, respectively. Unfortunately for them, Calvin Vlaanderen, their 250 rider, suffered an eye injury in his first moto and had to withdraw. As for the U.S. team, it was beset with poor starts and crashes. The best overall performance for the Yanks was Eli Tomac, who was fourth overall in the 450/250 moto, then seventh in the 450/Open moto. Justin Barcia fell on the start of his first race (the Open/250 combined moto) and could only work his way up to 13th.Aaron Plessinger suffered crashes in each race, scoring a 16th and an 18th. In the end, the U.S.team could do no better than sixth overall.

RESULTS
1 FRANCE
Gautier Paulin 2-3
Dylan Ferrandis 7-8
Jordi Tixler 15-32

2 ITALY
Antonio Cairoli 4-6
Alessandro Lupino 5-12
Michele Cervellin 10-14

3 THE NETHERLANDS
Glenn Coldenhoff 1-1
Jeff Herlings 1-2
Calvin Vaanderen 36-DNF

4 AUSTRALIA
Hunter Lawrence 2-8
Mitchell Evans 10-14
Kirk Gibbs 14-33

5 GREAT BRITAIN
Ben Watson 4-15
Max Anstie 6-13
Tommy Searle 10-34

6 USA
Eli Tomac 4-7
Justin Barcia 9-13
Aaron Plessinger 16-18

7 BELGIUM
Clement DeSalle 5-27
Jeremy Van Horebeek 6-11
Jago Geerts 13-18

8 SPAIN
Jorge Prado 3-3
Jose Butron 17-18
Carlos Campano 22-22

9 ESTONIA
Harri Kullas7-12
Tanel Leok 12-19
Hardi Roosiorg 21-24

10 GERMANY
Max Nagl 8-11
Ken Roczen 9-25
Henry Jacobi 25-37

MXoN... France Again!

 France win - Netherlands Stunning

The Netherlands Glenn Coldenhoff and Jeffrey Herlings put on a masterclass you could compared to the great American teams of the 1980s. Going 1-1-1-2 in the two motos each and with all seriousness, they should have won the event, however an eye injury to Calvin Vlaanderen, their MX2 rider scoring a DNF and DNS cost the Dutch victory.

The team that did win was the French, their fifth in a row, and once again against all the odds. With 2-7-8-15-3 results the defending champions were strong all weekend and maybe this time a little luck helped them out, but of course, they deserved it. 

So it was France with 35pts, Italy with 37 and Netherlands with 41. Class winners were Jeffrey Herlings MXGP, Glenn Coldenhoff Open and Jorge Prado MX2.

“Yes, we did it again, strong in America,” Paulin said.”

Lupino in the lead, then Coldenhoff, Roczen, Paulin, Evans, Cairoli, Nagl, Seewer, Gibson, Herlings in 10^th. Barcia 13^th and Tomac 24^th. Herlings quickly into seventh, and Nagl passed Evans for fifth place. Barcia up to 11^th, and Tomac 15^th.

Coldenhoff into the lead, then Lupino, Paulin, Roczen, Nagl, Evans, Herlings, Cairoli, Searle, Seewer, and Barcia.

Herlings fifth and chasing down Roczen and amazingly as it stood, and with their worst result taken out, France led with 35pts, then Italy 36, Holland 42pts, Australia 43pts and USA with 50pts. Italy suddenly drew even with France with both on 35pts and Netherlands with 42pts.

Herlings into third, and Roczen got swallowed up by Cairoli. Barcia 11^th and Tomac 10^th. Team USA not out of it, but probably struggle to make the podium. Tixier down in 14^th and will he cost Team France victory?

Herlings into second and they close up a point on both France and Italy. France 35, Italy 36 and Netherlands 41pts.

Cairoli and Paulin in a massive contact over a jump and both stay on the bikes, Holland nearly got get out of jail card. Cairoli passed Paulin and put Italy at the top of the points race.

Anstie and Nagl both close up on Paulin and Cairoli. Barcia and Tomac swapping positions with Barcia 10^th again and Tomac 11^th.

Lupino getting heat from a pack of riders behind him, and Cairoli seemingly holding up riders to block for Lupino, but then Nagl got past Cairoli and Netherlands getting closer and closer to the top spot, incredible.

Nagl passed Lupino and the top spot is heating up. Coldenhoff well ahead of Herlings, but the Dutch are 1-2, with Nagl third, then Nagl had trouble and dropped back to seventh. After eight laps the points situation was Italy 35, France 36, Netherlands 41, Australia 44, USA 49.

Herlings catching Coldenhoff, and for sure wanting the 1-1. Cairoli passed by Paulin and Anstie. Tomac passed Evans for 8^th place and now the top ten was Coldenhoff, Herlings, Lupino, Paulin, Anstie, Cairoli, Nagl, Tomac, Roczen and Evans.

Paulin and Anstie all over Lupino, and Cairoli also in the mix, this is another classic MXoN. Paulin moved past Lupino, and France now four points ahead of the Italians, and looking likely to take their fifth MXoN victory in a row.

Kullas all over Tixier and Cairoli chasing down Paulin, Team France and Team Italy really bringing it down to the wire. Kullas passed Tixier and if Cairoli can get to Paulin it would be 35pts each

Coldenhoff wins the moto, France win the day.

MXoN Qualifing Results

Tough day for the US. Team was lucky Barcia saved the day...team finished 9th. That gives them 9th gate pick tomorrow. I predict a better day tomorrow.

Barcia 2nd

Plessinger 11th

Tomac DNF

2018 Mason-Dixon GNCC Highlights

GNCC race highlights from Mason-Dixon – Duvall takes the win

International dirt

Motocross of Nations to make 1st appearance at RedBud this weekend

• By BEN SPENCER - HP Sports Writer

BUCHANAN — RedBud MX in Buchanan is no stranger to a good motocross race.

But the course has not yet seen an event the likes of Motocross of Nations.

For just the fourth time since the race began in 1947, and for the first time in the Midwest, Motocross of Nations is coming to the United States.

The event has been held in New York and Maryland in the past, and was last in the United States with Denver as a host site in 2010.

This year, the Monster Energy MXoN will be held at Buchanan’s famous track starting Saturday with qualifying events, continuing on Sunday with finals races. 

RedBud’s Amy Ritchie, daughter of the late Gene Ritchie, RedBud’s founder, said crowds from all over the world are expected at the weekend event. 

About 60,000 spectators are expected to attend the weekend-long event.

“I think that if you’re not into motocross, it probably wasn’t on your radar until recently,” said Ritchie. “But I think most people locally have heard things and seen the event. I think it’s huge for the economy. It’s great for the region. 

“Every team, even the tiniest team, is going to bring 50 people, or probably more like a couple hundred as far as the fanbase. It’s pretty big. Every county has a stake in it.”

The race has teams from 31 countries registered.

The team of Eli Tomac, Justin Barcia and Aaron Plessinger will represent the United States. Barcia finished third in the 450 class at this year’s RedBud National on July 7. Tomac was last year’s champion.

The trio will look to take down four-time defending champion France, who will be represented by Gautier Paulin, Dylan Ferrandis and Romain Febvre.

All 31 teams will compete Saturday in qualifying, with just the top 20 advancing to the final motos on Sunday. 

Each team’s three riders compete in two separate motos, adding up to six moto scores for each country. The best combined score wins.

Ritchie said the event is comparable to the Olympics, with fans from all across the world coming to support their teams

“It’s a very Olympic vibe,” she said. “All the flags and the costumes, I think that’s why RedBud fits so well for the event, because we’re always Fourth of July weekend for the National, which has given us the moniker ‘America’s motocross track.’

“Its a very patriotic vibe at our July event, so it’s sort of like the world is coming to America’s motocross track. I think you’re going to see tons of red, white and blue. It’s just a very unique event.”

Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast all weekend, but Ritchie said the event will continue as planned regardless of the weather. She also noted the extra crowd volume shouldn’t be much of an issue.

“There are three entrances on RedBud Trail,” she said. “We don’t want people sitting in their car for an hour waiting to get in, so we have a pretty good plan. Mother Nature may make things a little bit more difficult, but she surely won’t stop the show.” 

“I think people are worried about the huge crowd, and I guess I would say that I want to convey to people that we’ve made modifications and we’ve prepared for that.” 

RedBud has also partnered with Youthstream, the company that owns the streaming rights to the event, to help give out 100 tickets to current and past military personnel. 

The donated tickets are marked at a total retail value of nearly $12,000.

“We asked Youthstream, who owns the rights to this event, and they were glad to do it,” said Ritchie. 

Many area hotels are booked fully for the weekend, said Ritchie. The onsite campgrounds are also totally booked as well. 

Ritchie said the fantastic reception and turnout is a testament to the event itself.

“You’ll get it within 15 minutes of being there,” she said of the race. “Just the vibe of the event is nothing like anything we’ve ever seen. It’s just not something we get in this country, unless we get the Olympics.”