2012 U.S. MXoN Team Dungey, Barcia, Baggett
Sunday 12 August: The official press release out of Pickerington, Ohio, from the American Motorcyclist Association.
The AMA is pleased
to announce the members of the U.S. team that will compete at the FIM
Motocross of Nations Sept. 30-31 in Lommel, Belgium. The 2012 team will
include Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey, Monster Energy Pro Circuit
Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett and GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia.
Perennial U.S. Team Manager and Motorcycle Hall of Famer Roger
DeCoster will manage the team in its hunt for a record 23rd Motocross of
Nations Championship.
"We will have Ryan in MX1. Blake, who has excellent support for the
250cc bike from Mitch [Payton], will be our MX2 rider, and Barcia will
be our open class rider,” DeCoster said. "This is a great team. They
have proven that they are solid riders, especially in the sand, and the
Lommel track is a very deep sand track.”
Riders in the Motocross of Nations compete in either the MX1, which
features 450cc bikes; the MX2 class, which includes 250cc motorcycles;
or the open class.
Dungey, who returns for his fourth time to the Motocross of Nations, said he is thrilled for the opportunity.
"It’s a pleasure, and it’s an honor to represent my country at the
Motocross of Nations,” said Dungey, who is leading the points for the
450cc Lucas Oil AMA Pro Racing Motocross Championship. "Blake has a year
of experience [at the Motocross of Nations] and although it’s Barcia’s
first year we do a great job of welcoming everybody. We’re not racing
against each other. We are racing with each other for one goal, and
that’s to win the Motocross of Nations. With Roger and the rest of the
organizational team behind us, we have excellent support and all the
support we need to win.”
Baggett said he’s confident in the U.S. team’s chances to win the title.
"I’m excited to go to Belgium and race,” said Baggett, who is leading
the points in the 250cc class in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Racing Motocross
Championship. "It will be cool and a life experience for sure. The
atmosphere of this race is really big and crazy, but the best advice is
what I got last year, just ride to your potential, race the track and
don’t worry about the thousands of European fans and the competition
you’ve never raced before. If we ride the best that we can, there should
be no problems of winning it. We’ll just go over there and bring the
trophy home.”
Barcia, who is stepping up to the 450cc bike to compete in the open
class, said he is ready for the challenge and thrilled to be on the 2012
team.
"It’s a little bit shocking, really. It’s awesome,” said Barcia, who
is currently second behind Baggett in the 250cc class championship
standings. "I’ve always dreamed of racing for the U.S. at the Motocross
of Nations, and it’s incredible. I’m speechless. To be picked for that
team is just mind blowing. I’ll be riding a 450, and that will be
exciting. I practice on the 450 a lot, and I ride the sand really well.
I’ve matured a lot in the past year, and I’m ready.”
AMA Director of Supercross and AMA Pro Racing Relations Kevin Crowther said that the 2012 team is stacked from top to bottom.
"The AMA has an enormous amount of industry, fan and racer support
for this effort,” Crowther said. "We are bringing an extremely talented
team to Belgium, both in terms of the riders and the support crew behind
the scenes. In addition to the on-bike talent, exceptional leaders such
as Roger DeCoster, Mitch Payton, Chris Onstott, Jeff Canfield and Doc
Bodner, and many more, really step up as part of the operational
backbone for this event.”
For Belgium native DeCoster, the 2012 Motocross of Nations will be a
homecoming in more ways than one. Lommel is the same track where the
U.S. team, also managed by DeCoster, won its first Motocross of Nations
title in 1981.
"That’s where we won the first time, 31 years ago,” DeCoster said.
"That first team [of Donnie Hansen, Danny LaPorte, Johnny O'Mara and
Chuck Sun] was one of the youngest in history, and we are returning with
another extremely young team. This will be a great Motocross of
Nations. Being on the same track where we won the first time makes it
very special.”
The Motocross of Nations is one of the most high-profile motorsport
events in the world. It features national teams competing for a combined
score to determine the overall championship-winning country. The event
emerged in post-war Europe in 1947 and has run uninterrupted since that
time.
The United States is the reigning champion of the Motocross of
Nations, winning in 2011 when the event was held in Saint D’Angely,
France. The United States is also the all-time leader in Motocross of
Nations overall victories with 22. Great Britain is second with 16.