2009 Red Bull Motocross of Nations: Saturday 11

By Davey Coombs

The 63rd Red Bull Motocross of Nations got underway below Brescia, Italy, with beautiful sunshine, but things were not so sunny for Team USA. MX1 team rider Ryan Dungey, MX2 newcomer Jake Weimer, and the veteran Ivan Tedesco (MX3) all struggled on the dynamic track, finishing slightly below expectations in their respective qualifiers.

The Grand Prix riders starred today, especially the host Italians, who won two of three motos courtesy of Tony Cairoli (MX1) and David Philippaerts (MX3) and look like a solid favorite now. In the MX2 race, newly-crowned world champ Marvin Musquin was a revelation, running off from a talent-packed field that included AMA regulars Weimer, Tommy Searle, Brett Metcalfe and Tyla Rattray, plus top young stars like Ken Roczen, Dean Wilson and Jeffrey Herlings.

The track here at the Autodromo di Franciacorta is not what many expected. While it may have looked to some like it favored the American style of supercross racing, it was rough and challenging to say the least. Much like last year’s track in England, it’s trickier under the surface than it looks, and several riders made key mistakes. But Saturday is for qualifying, and all of the top teams made it through.

While there's no shortage of air on the course, make no mistake, this is real motocross. Photo: Jeffrey Beerdsen.

The U.S. started in a hole, as did Germany, when they drew #33 out of 36 teams entered in the race. That meant that they took the 33rd gate pick in all three motos today, which meant way, way outside on a start that sweeps around to the right. Of three riders Tedesco got the best jump, but he still wasn’t at the front. Now they will get to pick spots based on their team’s qualifying results.

In the MX1 opener, the massive crowd immediately got satisfaction when national hero Tony Cairoli emerged as the winner, passing the new AMA Motocross Champion, Australia’s Chad Reed, in the process. Cairoli, who struggled with injuries towards the end of the GP season, was in fine form up front, much to the delight of the partisan crowd.

Antonio Cairoli, running away with the first (MX1) qualifier. Photo: Jeffrey Beerdsen.

Cairoli was kept honest throughout by the Belgian rider Clement DeSalle, the same Honda rider who finished third in a moto at Washougal in late July. DeSalle looked comfortable and confident, and his Belgian team is a good bet to do well tomorrow. Joel Roelents (MX2) and Steve Ramon (MX3) both finished third in their respective races, making them the only the only country to reach the box in all three heats.

Reed, riding what could be his last race on his Rockstar/Makita Suzuki (those Monster/Kawasaki team partnership rumors seem to have some real legs), looked fast but uneven. He finished some 15 seconds behind Cairoli and DeSalle, and right in front of New Zealand’s Josh Coppins. But just as the Americans could be saving their best for tomorrow, so might Reed and team.

Dungey, the new AMA 250 Motocross Champion, was racing a 450 outdoors for the first time. He did not get a good start at all, but he rode hard and seemed to get faster as the 20-minutes-plus-two-laps race went on. He reached fifth after early race leader Bill MacKenzie (England) crashed spectacularly towards the end of the race.

The U.S. riders had 33rd gate pick in each of the heats. Dungey had to charge through the pack to earn fifth. Photo: Jeffrey Beerdsen.

In the MX2 race, Marvin Musquin was a revelation for those who have yet to see the new MX2 world champion. He was very fast and smooth, and comparisons were being made in the press center to Christophe Pourcel, his fellow Frenchman who is now racing this weekend. Musquin topped Tommy Searle by eight seconds, with Roelents third, giving KTM a 1-2-3 sweep of the Lites class.

New MX2 World Champ, Marvin Musquin was the only non-Italian to take a qualifier win. Photo: Jeffrey Beerdsen.

Weimer also got a poor start, but he was working his way up through the pack when he caught up to Australia’s Brett Metcalfe in fourth and crashed while attempting a pass. He would finish back in eighth, one spot ahead of 15-year-old Roczen, who was on the far, far outside at the start and then later went down.

Jake Weimer made his way to fourth, but a crash dropped him to eighth. He'll have a better starting spot to work from tomorrow. Photo: Jeffrey Beerdsen.

Metcalfe would end up fourth, with fellow AMA traveler Tyla Rattray, riding for South Africa, placing fifth. There was another fast 15-year-old out there in Jeffrey Herlings, a Dutch KTM rider who finished seventh.

David Phillipaerts took the Open class win, giving the Italian fans yet more to cheer about. Photo: Jeffrey Beerdsen

In the last moto Ivan Tedesco got an excellent jump on his Red Bull Honda, but he could not stay inside and ended up fifth coming around. But after that he could not make anything happen, choosing to finish out the moto and assure Team USA of qualifying with a fifth-place ride.

Philippaerts’ win was another popular one with the home crowd, with the surprising Gautier Palin, usually a 250F rider but now on the 450 for France, taking second ahead of Ramon, the former world champion. Michael Byrne would end up seventh here.

Ivan Tedesco scored a solid fifth. Photo: Jeffrey Beerdsen.

So tomorrow the stage is set for a showdown between Italy and Belgium and France, and of course Team USA. The Americans’ four-year winning streak is at stake, of course, and our boys will have their work cut out for them. But anything can happen in this race, from brilliant performances by unexpected heroes—Paul Malin anyone?—to untimely breakdowns (Stefan Everts’ flat tire in Australia ’92) and then just downright weird stuff (Greg Albertyn hitting a deer while winning at Roggenburg in 1994 remains one of the most bizarre moments in motocross history). In other words, it’s still up in the air.