Belgium conquer 67th Motocross of Nations at packed Teutschenthal

Monday 30 September: The super choppy (Nikki Scott's description) track of Teutschenthal, Germany, set the scene for the 2013 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations.

One more time the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations was an incredible event and this 67th edition will be always remembered for the comeback of Team Belgium on the top of the podium and for the huge crowd that packed Teutschenthal during all the weekend. Team USA were only able to finish second and Team Italy was extremely happy for being on the third step of the podium.

Team Belgium started the day with Jeremy Van Horebeek and Ken De Dycker in the seventh and eighth position respectively and Belgium was facing the second race in the fourth overall place in the standings. Then everything changed for the Belgians when Clement Desalle finished second after having started around the tenth place and his teammate Van Horebeek crossed the finish line seventh. Team Belgium was leading the standings when race three started, but Desalle was involved in a tangle in the first corner and he dislocated his shoulder. The Belgians saw their dream starting to vanish but De Dycker made an amazing performance and he crossed the finish line second and made team Belgium win the Chamberlain Trophy. The last time Team Belgium was on the top of the podium was back in 2004 in Lierop, The Netherlands, with Stefan Everts, Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon.

Team USA did not have a good start either with Ryan Dungey and Eli Tomac finishing sixth and sixteenth respectively, but in the second heat the Americans did two consistent races and Tomac obtained a strong second place behind Roczen, and Justin Barcia was fourth. The Americans moved from seventh to second in the Nations standings and they were just three points behind the Belgians, so the dream was still alive for them. However, Barcia was involved in the crash at the start of the final race and was only able to finish eleventh. Meanwhile, Dungey had an OK start in sixth but he made several mistakes that made him drop to the seventh place. The whole team admitted that they found the track really tough and demanding, so they struggled to give their 100%.

Team Italy was really satisfied with their third overall position because they knew they had some chances to finish among the top five, but they also were aware of how difficult it would be. Antonio Cairoli did once again an amazing performance and he won both heats, whereas Alessandro Lupino and David Philippaerts rode two consistent races among the top ten.

The fourth overall position was for Team Australia being Dean Ferris the best rider finishing fourth and fifth in the heats. Metcalfe was eighth and tenth, but Todd Waters could not finish among the top ten in any of the races, so the Australians ended seven points behind the Italians.

Team France was one of the favourites to finish on the podium, but they obtained the fifth overall position, four points behind the Australians. Gautier Paulin was the best French rider with a 5-6 result, and Christophe Charlier did a strong first race in ninth. Jordi Tixier did not feel comfortable in any of the heats and he finished twelfth in both races. Team France might have finished higher up in the standings if Charlier had not crashed in the first corner because he was forced to enter in the pitlane to have his front wheel changed, and when he was back on the race he obtained the fastest lap. In the end he ended in the 30th position.

Tommy Searle did a really good first heat in third, and his fifth position in the final heat helped team Great Britain to finish sixth overall, ahead of Germany and Russia. Switzerland ended ninth and Estonia completed the top ten.

RACE 1 (MX1 & MX2):
Race one saw Valentin Guillod taking the FOX holeshot but Dean Ferris was really close to the Swiss rider and he overtook him in the first lap. However, the Australian made a mistake and Guillod took back the lead. Meanwhile, Ken Roczen was coming really fast from behind and after five laps the German moved up to the first position. Both Guillod and Ferris dropped several positions to finish ninth and fourth respectively.

Antonio Cairoli did not have a really good start and he made several mistakes in the beginning of the race, but he managed to find a good rhythm and with six minutes to go he caught Roczen and led the race until the chequered flag. Meanwhile, Eli Tomac was making an incredible recovery from his initial seventeenth position and with two minutes to go he gave chase to Roczen for the second place. The American was really close to overtake Roczen, but he made a mistake in one of the jumps and he suffered a spectacular crash. Fortunately, Tomac was not injured and managed to finish the race in the sixteenth position. Tommy Searle was riding a consistent race behind the American, so he crossed the finish line third.

The fourth place was for Dean Ferris and Gautier Paulin completed the top five. Ryan Dungey succeeded to overtake Jeremy Van Horebeek in the last lap and finished sixth and Ken De Dycker was eighth, ahead of Valentin Guillod and Brett Metcalfe.

Race 1 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 33:57.542; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), +0:07.835; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:10.138; 4. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), +0:15.414; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.256; 6. Ryan Dungey (USA, KTM), +0:17.025; 7. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:18.162; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:41.274; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:44.811; 10. Brett Metcalfe (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:45.282.

Nations top ten: Germany, Italy, Australia, Belgium, France, Great Britain, USA, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Austria.

RACE 2 (MX2 & OPEN):
In the third race Dean Ferris managed to take the FOX Holeshot award but he quickly dropped down to second and then to third because both Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac overtook him in the early stages of the race. The crowd present at Teutschenthal became crazy cheering for their local hero, who was leading the race keeping the American Eli Tomac behind him since the beginning of the heat. Roczen celebrated the victory as if he had won a Title because he had not only beaten the American, but he had also won the MX2 overall individual class for fourth year in a row.

Clement Desalle made a small mistake at the start of the race but he had a strong come back and finished third ahead of Justin Barcia and Dean Ferris. Tanel Leok obtained a strong sixth position for Estonia and Jeremy Van Horebeek and Alessandro Lupino were seventh and eighth respectively. Christophe Charlier did an incredible race moving from almost the thirtieth position to tenth.

Race 2 top ten: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), 33:32.919; 2. Eli Tomac (USA, Honda), +0:00.553; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:49.027; 4. Justin Barcia (USA, Honda), +0:56.969; 5. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), +1:04.788; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +1:11.126; 7. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:14.496; 8. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:16.624; 9. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:22.783; 10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Honda), +1:27.909.

Nations top ten: Belgium, USA, Italy, France, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Estonia.

RACE 3 (MX1 & OPEN):
The third and final race started with a big crash in the first corner where some of the top riders were involved. Justin Barcia went down but he managed to recover himself very quickly and ended eleventh, but Clement Desalle dislocated his shoulder and he was forced to retire. Home rider Dennis Ullrich was also involved in the tangle and he decided to pull out from the race because he was riding with a broken rib from a crash in the first heat.

His teammate Max Nagl obtained the FOX Holeshot Award and led the first half of the race, but he then slowed down his rhythm and dropped down to third. Antonio Cairoli had a good start in third and he knew that he needed to win the race to help Italy to finish on the podium. By the middle of the race Cairoli took the lead and dominated it until the end becoming the best MX1 rider of the event.

Ken De Dycker had an OK start in seventh and he knew that his teammate was out, so the overall victory depended on his result. The Belgian gave it all and after the first half of the race he was already third, and with one lap to go he overtook Bobryshev and moved up to second. Max Nagl ended fourth and Tommy Searle obtained a consistent fifth position. Gautier Paulin had a really good start and crossed the finish line sixth, ahead of Ryan Dungey who made several mistakes during the whole race. Brett Metcalfe ended eighth and Marc De Reuver and David Philippaerts completed the top ten of the final heat.

Race 3 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:41.993; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:02.849; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:03.145; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:04.609; 5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:10.483; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.498; 7. Ryan Dungey (USA, KTM), +0:23.690; 8. Brett Metcalfe (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:39.261; 9. Marc de Reuver (NED, KTM), +0:42.055; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), +0:43.430.

Nations top ten: Belgium, USA, Italy, Australia, France, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Estonia.