Motocross of Nations
Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson made a stunning debut on the world stage as he finished second best individual in the MX2 class of the FIM Motocross of Nations team contest.
The 18-year-old Scot, still an amateur in 2009, twice finished second in class at the Thunder Valley Raceway, Denver, Colorado as he led Great Britain to fourth place in the annual contest for national teams, the “olympics” of motocross.
A host of countries placed their trust in riders of Kawasaki machinery, almost a quarter of the field racing green in the event where regular rivalries are put aside for the weekend in favour of national pride.
The event was won for the 6th consecutive year by the United States of America, and Wilson, a regular on the US tour, was not the only Kawasaki rider to star.
Xavier Boog of the Kawasaki Racing Team was making his debut for France and was third-best individual in the “Open” class despite leaving the first corner in last place in his first ride after falling at turn one.
And Jeremy Van Horebeek, a vital member of the Belgian team which finished second, was the 4th best individual in the MX2 class on his CLS Pro Circuit Kawasaki despite discomfort from a two week old injury.
After a difficult season with injury Jonathan Barragan, the Spanish member of the Kawasaki Racing Team, confirmed that he is rapidly getting back to speed as he led the opening race for several laps before being passed by American and World champions; but even then he maintained their pace to finish a close fourth.
The worldwide Kawasaki family always springs into action at this event, held in a different country each year, as the loan of machinery was arranged for the entire three man team from Brazil, Ireland’s Gordon Crockard and Estonian Gert Krestinov.
The South Americans found the going tough, but team leader Antonio Balbi showed good form to finish 12th and 17th in his two races, whilst Crockard was his country’s top man and Krestinov played his part in heping Estonia to 15th place in the team rankings.
Dean Wilson says: “The long uphill start was difficult for the 250s against the 450s, but I was soon in front of the other MX2 bikes in our first race, leading until Roczen caught and passed me a few laps from the finish. The second race was a little more difficult for me as I didn’t get quite such a good start, but I finished 6th and 8th against the larger bikes.”
Xavier Boog says: “I haven’t been lucky with the starts this weekend, as I crashed there twice, once on Saturday and again on Sunday. In qualification it was the fault of another rider, but in the first race on Sunday I crashed alone and started last. I rode tense and never found a good rhythm, so I was pretty tired when I finished the race in eleventh position. There was only a short break to recover between the races, so the last race was tough.”
“At least I didn’t fall this time but my start could have been better; still I managed to finish seventh after starting somewhere around twentieth. It was a dream to race the Nations for my country but I had been hoping for better results.”
Jonathan Barragan says: “I was happy with my speed this weekend, even if I’m not fit enough due to the fact that I only got back into full training a few weeks ago. But, after Fermo, I confirmed that I am returning to my best speed; I got the holeshot in the first race, but I knew that Cairoli and Dungey would be faster so I didn’t battle too much with them as I wanted to finish the race.”
“Later Metcalfe also passed me for the third position. In the second race I was seventh for a few laps but then I had some problems with the bike, maybe due to the altitude of the track.”
Jeremy Van Horebeek says: “In the first race I just never found my rhythm. I was stressed and Canard passed me, but I was able to watching his lines; that was good for me, and it helped me at the beginning of the second race. But as the race wore on it became more difficult with the ligaments in my right thumb which I had broken in Fermo two weeks ago.”
“I had kept it to myself and didn’t say anything as I wanted to be there for the Nations. It got more and more painful after ten minutes, but I finished tenth and did my job for the Belgian team who again finished on the podium. I want to thanks Kawasaki, Pro Circuit and CLS who provide me with perfect support all season, but now I will go back to Belgium to have surgery on my thumb.”
2010 Motocross of Nations Results: 1.USA (Canard, Dungey, Short), 23 pts; 2.Belgium (Van Horebeek, Ramon, Desalle), 30; 3.Germany (Roczen, Nagl, Schiffer), 44; 4.Great Britain (Wilson, Nicholls, Andersson), 45; 5.Italy (Lupino, Cairoli, Monni), 50; 6.Australia (Ferris, Metcalfe, Marmont), 54; 7.France (Musquin, Paulin, Boog), 71; 8.New Zealand (Groombridge, Coppins, Townley), 90; etc.
