Photo by: JP Acevedo
The 2017 Motocross of Nations is in the record books, and Team France won again, becoming the third team in the events history to win four in a row. The French team of Gautier Paulin, Christophe Charlier and Romain Febvre were joined on the podium by Team The Netherlands in second and Team Great Britain in third.
For Team USA, this was a MXoN they hope to soon forget. The team of Cole Seely, Zach Osborne and Thomas Covington finished way back in 9th with a myriad crashes in the muddy conditions and two DNF’s from their MXGP rider, Seely. On a good note, the red, white and blue will get their chance to stop the French assault on MX when the event arrives at RedBud in the USA in 2018.
Check out what some of the top riders at Matterley Basin had to say about the event below.
Romain Febvre: “I had two solid motos and two good starts; the new bike is just amazing. We had been working for a few weeks but it already felt better. In the first moto I was battling with Jeffrey and when he crashed I had to take off my goggles because I couldn’t see so well. With the lapped riders it was really difficult so I took a safe second. In the second moto I felt I couldn’t continue again like this so stopped quickly for goggles but anyway we are so happy to have won for the fourth time. People had doubts about Christophe on social media but he won both the ISDE and the Nations and that’s quite amazing.”
Gautier Paulin: “Winning the Nations is a crazy feeling that never gets old. This is such a special event with fans and spectators travelling from all parts of the word to see us race. I really want to thank my teammates Christophe Charlier and Romain Febvre. They did a great job and the overall win belongs to all three of us. The atmosphere this year has been amazing. As for me, it feels great to be able to get a fourth consecutive win with the team. I did my best to secure two good results in the final motos and I made it happen. I loved every moment of this year’s Motocross of Nations.”
Christophe Charlier: “I’m over the moon with this victory. Especially for me focusing all my efforts this season into the EnduroGP World Championship, it’s been a crazy experience coming back to the pinnacle of motocross competition. The Nations is always a huge event and this season it seemed that it was even more spectacular. As for me, I spent the last couple of weeks training on the FC 250 machine and it all worked out pretty well here in the UK. I got 14th in the first moto and then managed to improve to sixth in moto two. It’s been a crazy journey and it feels amazing to have now won the ISDE and the Nations during the same season.”
Max Anstie: “Getting two moto wins and seeing our team finish on the podium is an amazing feeling. My teammates and myself have done well this weekend. We all put in a great effort into the Nations and it’s great to bring Team GB on the box in front of our home crowd. For me these two moto wins feel like a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to get a win in the MXGP class and now I’ve got two victories at the most prestigious event of the season. In moto one I got the lead quite early and just tried to stay focused and hit my lines correctly. Then in moto two we had a good battle with Febvre and eventually I managed to come out on top. It’s an unreal feeling.”
Dean Wilson: “It was a pretty tough weekend with the weather changing on Sunday. Conditions were treacherous on the track and it was easy to make mistakes. I got seventh in my first moto and then eighth in the second. It was nothing spectacular but we managed to bring Team Great Britain on the podium. Max [Anstie] did an amazing job this weekend getting two solid victories and our teammate Tommy [Searle] rode well too. It’s good that we managed to bring our team on the box for the first time after 20 years, it’s pretty exciting.”
Tommy Searle: “I was going well in the first race until I had to retire, and I felt I’d let the rest of the team down at first as this is a team contest and it put the pressure on the other guys. I knew I had to bring it home in my second ride but I had a bad start and got filled in with the mud as I came through the pack. I was very nervous and fifteenth is not good, but it was enough to help earn third place for the team.”
Jeffrey Herlings: “We did really good last year and had a bit of luck to finish second but I think we deserved it this time. I’m proud of my teammates and the organisation to make this happen. I just missed the start in the second moto and had so much mud on my helmet and dirt in my goggle. Romain went in for goggles and I wasn’t sure, so I kept going and I caught Max but there was only one dry line and it was very tough to pass. I managed to get him in France [the GP Pays de Montbeliard] but couldn’t do it this time! I feel a bit disappointed because I worked hard and wanted to go 1-1 but I couldn’t. The second part of the season was good for me. I was one of the fastest and it gives me a lot of confidence going into next year.”
Glenn Coldenhoff: “I expected better. I got a good start in the first moto but struggled a bit at halfway. I had to take off my goggles as well and then it was even more difficult. I tried as hard as I could and just came up a little bit short. It was not my day today. I gave everything that I had and in the end I’m happy for the team but disappointed in myself.”
Hunter Lawrence: “The day started off really well, with a good start on my RM-Z250. It was a good race with the 450s and I ended up fourth which was really cool, finishing ahead of some top-quality riders and I was the first MX2 rider across the line. It was a short break between the two motos and I didn’t get as good of a start in the second race and I had to work my way through the pack. There was so much mud on my helmet and I had to take the goggles off but I was riding well and making passes. I took a rock to the eye at one stage and that hurt a lot but others were making mistakes and I kept charging and eventually got up to third. Unfortunately, my helmet was falling down across my eyes and I couldn’t see so well and I crashed a couple of laps from the end. Obviously it was a massive let down for myself as I ended up finishing eighth after that mistake. I still won the MX2 class and won the Ricky Carmichael award for best young rider so I’m really happy with that and with helping Australia to a sixth overall.”
Zach Osborne: “I was happy to be back racing on familiar British soil. I did my best in the qualifying moto and was happy to get away with the win. Then on Sunday my performance was good. I didn’t get a good rhythm in the opening moto and following a small crash I had to settle for 10th at the line. In the second moto I felt much better and managed to make some good passes in the last few laps for third. I’m satisfied with second overall in the MX2 class. For Team USA it was a tough weekend but I am sure we will come back fighting for next year.”
Thomas Covington: “I was looking forward to representing Team USA for the first time in my career. My speed was good on the 450 machine but things didn’t work out for me in any of the final motos. I got a bad start in my first moto and then went down three times during the race. My bars and levers were bent so I just did my best to finish the race. Then in the second moto I wasn’t able to get a good start again. I tried to come back as closer as possible to the top but had to settle for 17th at the line.”
Antonio Cairoli: “Today was good. We couldn’t expect the win and with the track like this it was a matter of good starts and staying out of trouble and this was not our case. We struggled a lot but Alessandro rode well in the second moto to take fourth place. I had a crash in the first race and it was difficult to come back, and in the second moto I had another problem at the start and from almost last I could come to seventh. Anyway we were happy that it was muddy because we needed to work a bit on this kind of soil and had struggled a bit in similar conditions during the season. We had some good practice today and now I’m looking forward to the break before we start to think of the new season.”
Jeremy Seewer: “For the bad starts I had in both motos, today went all right”, said Seewer. “I had a lot of spinning on the gate, which perhaps was due to the fact I don’t have too much experience starting on the 450. Both of the races I was pretty much dead last which in a mud race isn’t very good at all. In the first moto I had a couple of crashes after one guy hit me but I came back pretty good to 14th. I wasn’t overly happy with it but my riding was good and that was important. In the second moto I made a lot passes on the first lap after the bad start, coming from like 35th up to seventh. Antonio Cairoli then passed me and I had another problem with a lapper and I ended up ninth. Switzerland ended up fifth. It was our joint-best result in our history and it just means that we need to have a really good day to get on the podium.”
Kevin Strijbos: “Today wasn’t a good day for me as I just couldn’t find my speed or rhythm at all. It was just a bad weekend from yesterday to today, I felt so bad on the track and couldn’t get anything going at all. I tried my best, just like I always do and I’m glad I helped Belgium to get fourth overall, but I don’t feel satisfied with how I rode personally. I really wish I could have placed higher because I normally do so much better at this race, but this just wasn’t my weekend.”
Jorge Prado: “A disappointing way to finish the season. I had some goggle trouble in the first moto and was always battling the conditions and then the second race was over when I had a stone get into the rear brake. It meant I wasn’t going anywhere with the bike. Not really how I wanted to end the year but it has been a long one for me and now it is time to stop and have a good look at everything we have done and work for the next season.”
Michele Cervellin: “Today was not a good race for me. I struggled with my leg in these conditions but I just tried to do my best for Team Italy and for HRC as it is my last race with them. The track was so difficult and you need an umbrella on you just to see where you are going. I am going to take some time now to focus on next year.”
Thomas Kjer-Olsen: “It was a challenging weekend here in England. The track was technical and the rain made it muddy for the final motos on Sunday. I didn’t get the best of starts but put in some good lap times and made a few good passes during both motos. My goal was to be top 10 in both motos and I managed to finish ninth and 10th. I’m pretty happy with my riding as well, as it’s been a bit better than it was during the last few GPs. Overall, it’s been a positive weekend for me and I’m already looking forward to the coming season.”
Tim Gajser: “Actually, today was really tough for us as a Slovenian team. We set the goal before we went to this event that we wanted to be top 15 and we did that as we finished 12th. I struggled today with my starts I had to come back through from far back. It was hard as the track was really muddy and I lost my goggles in the third lap in both moto’s. I got roosted really badly in the eyes. I managed to finish second in my first race and then fifth in the second one. I know I can do better but we are quite happy because after many years Slovenia has had a good result.”
Evgeny Bobryshev: “I had a really good first Moto today even though the track was not my favourite type of terrain, then in the second race I didn’t have a good start but managed to finish twelfth. The track was really muddy compared to yesterday and really tough. Russia didn’t do so well overall but I enjoy taking part in the event and is good to see so many fans out there supporting us.”
Jeremy vanHorebeek: “I was feeling really good today; it was really tough because the pace was really high. I am happy with fourth place as I have only been for a few rides on the new bike and this was my first race. I feel like it was lucky I had the new bike this weekend because it handles so well and on a track that is this rough and technical, it really helped. I’m stoked, Yamaha have done a great job on the bike. Fourth place in my first race means we will be in business next year.”
Arnaud Tonus: “It was a bit of a frustrating day. I felt good but I made a few mistakes so I felt like I could have done better. The track was really difficult today, and I think I was fifth so that is okay. I hope to keep improving and land on the podium soon.”
