Welcome to Racerhead.
Our long national motocross nightmare is over.
After more than a decade outside the winner’s circle of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, after nearly a dozen years of the Peter Chamberlain Trophy picking up fingerprints from Germans, Belgians, Frenchmen, the Dutch, and the Italians, Team USA was finally able to get their muddy mitts on it again last Sunday afternoon on a wet but glorious day at RedBud MX in Buchanan, Michigan. The motocross gods finally lifted whatever curse was placed on us the moment Ryan Villopoto slowed down at the end of the ’11 MXoN in France to let Ryan Dungey get up alongside him for an emphatic Team USA flex after a seventh straight win. Our luck in this race abandoned us after 2011, and while the other winning teams during the spell certainly deserved their respective victories, it was starting to seem like Team USA might never win again. To finally break the losing streak after all these years—and do it at the one U.S. track we’d ever lost the Nations upon (RedBud ’18), in what seemed like the exact same conditions—felt like Roger De Coster and Team USA’s Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton, and Justin Cooper, as well as all of the folks who have helped over the years, finally righted their own ship in what’s been a dark, turbulent 11-year storm.
Okay, I probably over-wrote that intro, but it really was a relief for us all. Even folks from all over the rest of the world were telling me in the weeks leading up to the race, and all through last weekend, that Team USA had to win again, that they wanted Team USA to win again, that the event itself needed Team USA to win again. Finally, the stars (and stripes) lined up for our boys again, and now we can get on with our moto lives. The albatross of this losing streak grew heavier with each loss, as we under-performed while others rose to the occasion. Crazy to think that it’s been so long that one of those guys on the last winning team, Villopoto, has been retired for seven years—and another member, Dungey, has retired twice since then! The third member, Blake Baggett, up and disappeared from motocross years ago.
RedBud did an amazing job, as always, despite the terrible weather. They put on another great motocross party, along with Infront Moto Racing, and both the fans and the racing were great. This was the first one I’ve ever been to in America that felt every bit as crazy and fun as some of the better ones in Europe, like Ernée 2005, Matterley Basin ’06, and Brescia ’09. The costumes, the camaraderie, the noise, the smoke bombs, the partisanship, and the friendship. The spirit of motocross felt like it was back bigger than ever. Maybe it was because this was the first time the whole motocross world really got back together since COVID-19. This felt like one big meetup after three years apart, and the home team winning just added to the great vibes.
The only thing missing—or at least the thing I was kind of expecting—was that Team USA’s De Coster, the most successful team manager and actual racer in Nations history, did not take the moment of victory for the ultimate mic-drop exit, because The Man stuck with it for all of those losing years and finally got back on top where he belonged. He deserved the whole motocross world to carry him off on our collective shoulders just the way he started with Team USA back in 1981: a winner. (He also ended his own career in 1980 with a walk-off 1-1 at the 1980 500cc Grand Prix of Luxembourg, for what it’s worth.) That moment might have been the cherry on top, but if Roger is willing to continue and lead us into France next year, then we will all line up behind him once again—he’s Roger De Coster!
Now that the 2022 season really is over, the off-season finally begins, right? On Tuesday, there will be a big press conference at the Los Angeles Coliseum for all of the details about the new 2023 SuperMotocross World Championship, Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and next summer’s AMA Pro Motocross Championship. It’s a chance for Feld Motorsports and MX Sports Pro Racing to unveil something we’ve been working on together for some time. Unfortunately, I won’t be at the press intro because I had something planned already—I’m getting married in about three hours, and then off on a honeymoon with the dazzling Sabrina. So I need to cut this short and get my suit on. Wish me luck, and congratulations again to Roger, Eli, Chase, Justin, and everyone involved with both Team USA and the ’22 Motocross of Nations!
The Little Things Matter (Jason Weigandt)
On the surface, Team USA's win feels so darned good because it ends a lot of speculation and head scratching. At least for a while. There was a time when the American team felt so superior that any loss in any year seemed unacceptable, but the 13-year win streak is long gone, and shouldn't ever be expected again. Going 11 years without a win, though, is insanity, so now finally that talk is over for a bit. Winning just feels good, and not only did the American fans and team need it, but I was surprised by how many Europeans from the MXGP scene wanted to see it happen, too. TV announcer Paul Malin, for example, told me after the race he was hoping to see a Team USA win, because fans around the world want to see the American team and riders stay relevant and engaged with this event. What if the losing streak just kept going so far that the Americans stopped participating? No one wants that. This win is a big boost for the future of Team USA and the MXoN in general.
That's the big story. The second cool part is seeing the work that it took to get this win, and seeing that work pay off. The industry got to see this event in full back at RedBud in 2018, because anyone who was anyone in the U.S. motocross industry came to that race. It was an embarrassing. You could tell the team didn't work together, wasn't familiar with MXGP rules on start procedures, and made many errors along the way. There was a time when three fast riders could win this race, but Team France has taken this race to a new level in terms of organization, and that's why that team wins even in years when it doesn't have the best riders.
So there was a mission for Team USA to improve operations. Credit to 2019 team members Zach Osborne and Jason Anderson for going to Holland early and showing the way. Credit AMA's Mike Pelletier for turning over every rock and stone to make the team work better. Credit to Paul Perebijnos from Renthal for creating the #raiseit4USA fund raiser and becoming an integral part of the team—including scouting all the MXGP procedures in person to know how to get starts on race day. Maybe the biggest thanks of all goes to Christina Denney, who has been rising through the ranks of this team since 2016, and is the master organizer of all of these processes. USA Team Manager Roger De Coster said, "On our team, everyone worked very hard, but I think the hardest working person besides our riders was Christina [Denney]. I want to thank her for the crazy amount of work she put in."
Listen: Christina Denney Talks Team USA’s MXoN Organization
I can't even list all the names that helped collect this win here. Of course the super strong Honda HRC and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing staff is a massive part of this, these are two teams that know how to win races, as proven all year. If you're a fan of Team USA, you wanted to see two things. First, a darned win. Second, a concentrated, organized effort that could be sustained each year, no matter what riders are on the team. The Americans won't always be able to race at home, and they won't always have a dominant 450 motocross pair like Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac on the team at the same time. But there are other pieces from RedBud's success that can transfer to other years. Like next year, in France. The team is going to need all the help it can get, but luckily it has more help now than it has had in quite some time.
Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)
Team USA did it! The first real weekend off for the entire industry has arrived, and for those who have been working for the past few weeks in RedBud anticipation, it's well deserved. After 11 long years, Team USA has finally won the Peter Chamberlain Trophy once again. Their performance was even more impressive when considering we had yet another Sunday of rain for this event. It has rained on every Sunday for this event since 2017 (Matterley Basin, RedBud, Assen, Mantova, and RedBud). I went back and checked the weather for Matterley Basin on the intended 2020 date that was canceled due to COVID-19, and like some sort of cruel joke, it was crystal clear and sunny. Super cute wrinkle, mother nature. Anyhoo, Team USA prevailed in difficult conditions and proved that they can indeed do it. Whew.
As for what's next, supercross testing is around the corner. The factory teams need time to prepare requested parts, so the next couple of weeks are a critical time for deciding what to order. The SoCal SX tracks will be a popular place this week before mellowing a bit towards the end of October. Riders and teams need to balance testing with resting, making sure they understand their new motorcycles (for those with changes), but also taking time to completely recharge their figurative batteries. There's no perfect formula but now is the time. September and October represent what would be closest to “time off” that riders will see all year long. Enjoy it, boys, it will be time to get back to work before you know it.
AFTERMATH (Matthes)
Well, that was exciting, right? Team USA's win at RedBud was certainly, although not like many other wins, never really in doubt. All three riders rose to the occasion in some pretty sloppy conditions, and although only one of the three took their overall class win, it was still a statement win. Inside the results you can look at Jago Geerts ride in moto one where he almost took the win over Eli Tomac and Maxime Renaux's overall in MXGP as eye openers and things that those respective countries can hold up as an achievement. And of course, Jett Lawrence's win in the Open Class was, although not expected, not surprising either. There's always a dude at the Nations that rides out of his mind and pulls off the unexpected, and my winner this year would be Renaux, who won MXGPs this year and was a real eye-opener, but I don't think people thought he would take the overall at RedBud. Great work by him.
And yes, next year at Ernée will be much tougher. If the French just send this exact same team, they'll be really tough. If they bump Renaux down to MX2 and add in Romain Febvre, or maybe bring Tom Vialle back over after a year in America as their MX2 guy, heck, things just got real interesting. Look, the USA doesn't need to be as dominant at this event as it used to be, and frankly, it's hard to see any 13-in-a-row streaks coming down the pike but they have to, for the sake of the interest over here, win this thing once in a while.
Few other things that come to mind about the event from a personal standpoint. The Rob Buydos Pit Bike of Nations was, yet again, a real hit. Just without the anarchy of last time. Team USA won again, but the French and UK teams were strong—in fact, the French team had guys fly over just to do the PBoN. They didn't care about watching some motocross race! I was managing the Canadian team, and we had a last-minute substitution due to "injury," and, well, just like the real Canadian MXoN effort, things didn't go our way. Them’s the breaks!
The Racer X live show was a lot of fun, and props to Weege for literally carrying the entire show both nights with a bunch of guests. The fan turnout for that was amazing. The whole weekend was a blur of talking, walking, pit bikes, no sleep, and lots of fun.
Bench Racing with DV12 (DC)
David Vuillemin has always been a student of the sport. He posted that someone asked him who else won SX/MX/MXDN the same year like Eli did, so he went to work and came up with this list:
David Bailey in 1983
Jeff Ward in 1985
Ricky Johnson in 1986
Ricky Johnson in 1988 (AMA MX 500, not 250)
Jeff Stanton in 1989/1990
Ricky Carmichael in 2005
Ryan Dungey in 2010
Ryan Villopoto in 2011
Check out a more in-depth look at the AMA SX and MX champions that also helped Team USA win the Motocross of Nations that same year.
NEXT TIME (Matthes)
We got into an interesting discussion about the location of the next USA MXoN. I'm sure the guys at Infront love Redbud, and it's a great facility as we all know. I'm sure there will be a ton of internal politics going on when it comes time to pick the next USA venue for this race, and from what I understand, it's not going to be a long wait until it comes around again. Maybe as soon as 2025. There will be lots of tracks vying for the race—it makes a ton of money for everyone involved, and in my opinion, it needs to move on from RedBud. For one, the race is getting pushed later and later, and weather in Michigan can't seem to be trusted; two, having two MXoNs is a great feat for everyone at RedBud, but we have other tracks with a better chance of great weather, and also a different region for international fans to check out, and local fans to get to see this great big race. Even though they’ve had it before, Budds Creek comes to mind, or perhaps WW Ranch or Ironman (weather risks there also). High Point? My point (see what I did there?) is that everything about RedBud is great, but I think it's time to look elsewhere in the USA to host the Olympics of Motocross.
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