FCA MX Race Report: MXoN 2010
Lakewood, CO - As many of you know, the Motocross of Nations took place this past weekend in Lakewood, Colorado. The United States raced their way to victory and was represented by three of the best riders in the world. The team "Lieutenant" Andrew Short is a part of our ministry and has been in regular attendance at our camps. FCA MX was there to keep up with the events of the weekend.
Things started off on the right foot Saturday with Team USA running the fastest overall time as a team in qualifying. The team felt confident going into Sunday's final day of racing. We caught up with Andrew Short and Trey Canard to see how they felt going into Sunday. There were some critical thoughts from both about the track, but for the most part both riders felt confident. Moto One (MX1+MX2) would start the day off with a win from Dungey but a mid-pack finish from Canard. The team had to secure two solid motos with one "throw-away" score to have a chance at the title. The second race (MX2+MX3) would start off with a massive holeshot from Short. During the first laps of racing, Germany's 16 year-old Ken Roczen aboard an RMZ 250 would make a pass on Short for the lead which would leave Short exposed to a focused and hard charging "Kiwi," Ben Townley. Short would soon find himself on the ground after Townley questionably took out his front wheel. Short was slow to remount his machine, but soon was back to racing. Canard fought his way to an 8th overall in the moto after another poor start due to a hangup in the first turn.
With the day of racing more than half way complete, Team USA was at a six point deficit to Germany. The title was not out of reach, but a near perfect performance from all three of our riders was going to be needed to complete the task. With pressure weighing on the shoulders of the team, the training and preparation was evident. Short ripped his third massive holeshot and was followed by Dungey coming out of the first turn. The previously hostile Townley was close in tow to Dungey. Townley tried to make a pass on Dungey during the first lap of racing, but was held off. Short eventually realized that the pressure from behind was from his own teammate, to which he soon let Dungey by to run away with the lead. Short was then the new target for the rider who had put him in the dirt the previous moto. Townley immediately began pressuring Short, hoping for a mistake. The pass was soon made with little fight from Short and Townley was in the second place position. Only a few laps later, Townley lost traction and soon was sitting on the track as Short regained the second place position. The USA team only had to finish the moto with the 1,2 score to seal the deal, as the previous threat from the Germans had been diminished by a first lap crash from their rider. The task was achieved only laps later, placing team USA atop the podium once more. The hard fighting Belgian team would finish second followed by team Germany.
Team USA has undoubtedly been the driving force in all of motocross worldwide, and will be expected to be a top contender at next year's MXoN in France. Click here for video coverage and more content.
FCA Motocross was there to catch some of the action. Check out our Facebook to see the pictures and more content.