It has taken freak occurrences or exceptional circumstances in recent years to deprive Team USA of their 23rd victory at the Motocross of/Des Nations and this past weekend in the fine, shallow sand of Kegums in Latvia it came from a truly special performance from France that delivered their second ever success in 68 years of the competition and first since 2001. Back on that rainy day in Namur in Belgium it was David Vuillemin, Luigi Seguy and Yves Demaria as the supposed “B-team” that covered the Chamberlain cup with the Tricolore. In Latvia the trio of Gautier Paulin, Steven Frossard and Dylan Ferrandis produced the goods in spite of hefty criticism of the French Federation for ignoring Marvin Musquin and unexpected MX2 world champ Jordi Tixier in the initial selection for the only nation that can draw marginally close to the USA for depth of choice. Outgoing team manager Olivier Robert might feel inclined towards a two-fingered salute in response as the French not only won, but did it with a massive ten point gap over 2013 champions Belgium and the Americans on the third step.
At the heart of the triumph was a masterful double from Paulin. The rider who is expected to vacate his factory Kawasaki for the incoming Ryan Villopoto was on a different level around the Kegums ruts that was surrounded by a capacity crowd. Paulin took Pole and then went 1-1 and admitted to Racer X Online that, as a kid, he watched Villopoto on television unveil the perfect set at the 2007 Nations at Budds Creek and one day dreamed of doing the same. This was his moment and he had no match in Latvia. France’s worst result to drop was a ninth position and this says much. Thanks to good starts and consistent riding led by Paulin (running for his country for the sixth time at the age of 24) they were a force to be reckoned with. Ferrandis was the alleged controversial choice for the team but in MX2 and on the CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki he didn’t put a foot wrong (except for twisting his ankle slightly in the final race) to go 9-9 and finish third in the category. Frossard was also super-steady with a 2-4. After two years of injury hell in 2012 and 2013 this was a sweet comeback for the eldest member of the squad but his joy seemed tempered by his looming circumstances for 2015 as he loses his factory status with Kawasaki.
Frossard followed Rockstar Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos in the second moto in the MX2/MX Open affair. The 28 year old’s win was the cornerstone for the Belgian’s shout for an overall podium finish in a tight grapple with USA and the capable trio of Tommy Searle, Shaun Simpson and Dean Wilson representing Great Britain. Starting the third and final moto of the motocross year the French were sitting pretty. It could have gone the shape of a pear of course but once Paulin and Frossard came around both inside the top five then it was clear that it would be the second and third steps of the box that would be in contention. 2014 MXGP runner-up Jeremy Van Horebeek posted a 4-2 for the champs in spite of a bent gear shifter in the first moto and a re-twist of his injured ankle in the third. Team Belgium debutant Julien Lieber was almost a bag of nerves on Saturday (especially when his engine failed in qualification) but came through to finish fifth overall in MX2. TV commentator Paul Malin unearthed a nugget of trivia to claim that Belgium now have 23 podium appearances from the last 25 editions of the Nations.
There was sympathy for the Brits, the perennial podium fringe nation. Tommy Searle defied expectation after just two training rides on the CLS Monster Energy KX250F and in the wake of a torridly average season in MXGP with injury and difficulties-with-form, to head the MX2 class and scoop Ken Roczen’s vacant crown. The former AMA racer always seems to excel when under pressure at the Nations and his 8-4 was superb and matched in merit by Pro Circuit’s Dean Wilson who made the hard job of starting brightly down the short straight and around a congested right “180” to go 3-4. He classified just behind Frossard in the MX Open ranking for a personal best at the Nations. The Brits were primed and in the hunt from the off but the harsh side of this race reared its head for the first name on the British list for the ’14 team, Hitachi Construction Machinery UK KTM’s Shaun Simpson. A popped oil cap caused the 450SX-F to smoke for the better part of the last five laps in the first moto and robbed a top ten finish. He was passed by Portugal’s Rui Goncalves on the final circulation to place thirteenth and this one point would end-up proving crucial for the Brits in missing the rostrum for the first time this decade. The second moto was also technically frustrating. Simpson was running eighth with seven laps of seventeen to go until a chain snapped and the Brits had to suck-up that joker from their six scores. It was devastating for the British Champion who commented afterwards that he was “the weak link”: fully hinting towards the pun.
Team USA thus had their champagne. The 2011 winners have ingested their fair share of bad luck over the years—Barcia’s front wheel lock at Lommel in ’12, Tomac’s superman in Germany last summer, even Ryan Villopoto’s bad start at St Jean in ’11—and it struck again when Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin cartwheeled out of the qualifier on Saturday and broke his big toe/foot in three places. The entourage played the injury down (somewhat unusually) and Martin rode the best he could with painkillers to 11-13 and fourth in MX2. “The track was rough, maybe one of the roughest I have ridden in a while, and I had a blast,” the 250MX Champion said in his first trip overseas. “The foot injury is no excuse; I learned a lot and sometimes you do that more when you are down than when you win.”
Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey has faced scrutiny over the years for allegedly under-performing, having won and lost the Nations three times each in his tenure since 2009 (the fact that he has been selected every season from a wide pool frequently being lost on his critics) but his effort in Moto1 to second place was the best result on the day for the USA. A first lap crash in the final moto meant a charge from the back to eleventh. “Life goes on. We all gave it our best. Last year we did not win and I felt like I had a little pity party but it is a great opportunity to come over here,” he reflected. “For three years in a row, for me and the team, it worked and now it is three years where it hasn’t worked. Rough times but congratulations to the French and the Belgians who rode really good today. We have these days sometimes and you just need to keep moving forwards. We race a lot in the States, and I’m happy with how I have done this year. We know what we are capable of but it is a team effort and like Roger [DeCoster] says we came up a bit short. We’ll come back next year.”
GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac turned in night and day performances. A stunted outing to sixth in Moto2 was puzzling as the CRF450R runner-up struggled to even pressurise brand-mate Sweden’s Freddie Noren (fifth in a career-best). In Moto3 the attacking and feisty figure seen indoors and out this year was back. He had to deal with a first corner crash for the second time in the weekend but was soon eating up ground and rivals without remorse; a revised front-end set-up apparently helping. He made it all the way to third before an engine stall prevented a late attack on Van Horebeek. It was perhaps the most eye-catching ride of the day and second only to Paulin’s faultlessness. “It was rough to say the least,” he said afterwards. “I just don't know what was going on in that first moto. It was a jam. I tightened up and for the second moto we made a complete front-end change. I wasn’t riding like myself. We all fought as hard as we could and we came up short again; it sucks. We failed. It is three years in a row now and it just keeps stirring us up. Maybe we will come back and get that victory soon.”
There were a few surprises. Marc de Reuver’s brutal crash in the final moto led to a broken nose, cheekbone and collarbone and pushed the Dutch to tenth, especially when Rockstar Suzuki’s Glen Coldenhoff had ridden well to claim second in the MX2 class behind Searle. MXGP World Champion Tony Cairoli fared better in the injury stakes. The Sicilian pitched off through the waves section while closing on Dungey for third in the first moto. Cairoli’s speed and confidence on the 250 was nothing short of breath taking but ultimately it was his undoing. A sore right knee meant he was a shadow of his potential in the second moto and inexplicably hit the gate trying to get out front. Wilvo Nestaan Hisqvarna’s Alex Tonkov was surprisingly quick on his first race with the FC350 with a fifth and sixth while Chad Reed was abject and a start straight crash in Moto3 put paid to a miserable weekend for the Australian who was back on European shores for the first time since winning at the Nations in 2011.
On Saturday Youthstream talked publicly about the next three incarnations of the Nations. 2015 is set for Ernee, France, where the 2005 meeting saw Carmichael, Windham and Tedesco in charge and against a backdrop of fans and public that re-ignited the huge surge of interest and following in the “MXoN” as an annual extravaganza. 2016 will be a nostalgic throwback to the ’86 vintage at Maggiora in Italy and one of the most spectacular current Grand Prix venues. Finally, after two years of hard-pack, the USA will get hosting duties for 2017 and for the first time since 2010. Although it was believed to be Glen Helen apparently the destination is not yet completely fixed.
