In a dramatic comeback, Team Belgium finished the 67th Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations on the top of the podium, thrilling the crowd that packed Teutschenthal for the entire the weekend. Team USA finished second, and Team Italy was extremely happy to climb to the third step of the podium.
Team Belgium started the day with Jeremy Van Horebeek and Ken De Dycker in the 7th and 8th positions, respectively, and Belgium was facing the second race in the 4th overall place in the standings. Everything changed for the Belgians when Clement Desalle finished second after having started in 10th place and his teammate Van Horebeek crossed the finish line 7th. Team Belgium was leading the standings when race three started, but Desalle was involved in a tangle in the first corner and dislocated his shoulder. The Belgians saw their dream beginning to vanish, but De Dycker made an amazing performance and he crossed the finish line second behind the dominating Tony Cairoli, giving Team Belgium win the Chamberlain Trophy. The last time Team Belgium was on the top of the podium was in 2004 in Lierop, The Netherlands, with Stefan Everts, Kevin Strijbos, and Steve Ramon.
Team USA did not have a good start, with Ryan Dungey and Eli Tomac finishing 6th and 16th in race one after Tomac suffered a frightening crash. In the second heat, the Americans turned in two consistent races and Tomac scored a 2nd place behind Germany’s Ken Roczen, and Justin Barcia was fourth. The Americans moved from 7th to 2nd in the Nations standings, just three points behind the Belgians. However, Barcia was involved in the crash at the start of the final race and was only able to work his way up to 11th. Meanwhile, Dungey had an good start in 6th, but he made several mistakes and finished in 7th place. Team USA admitted that they found the German track tough and demanding.
Team Italy was really satisfied with its 3rd overall position, as they had only expected to make the top five. Cairoli turned in an amazing performance, winning both heats, with Alessandro Lupino and David Philippaerts riding two consistent races and finishing among the top ten.
The 4th overall position went to Team Australia, with Dean Ferris the best rider, finishing 4th and 5th in the heats. Brett Metcalfe was 8th and 10th. Todd Waters finished outside the top 10 in both races, so the Australians ended seven points behind the Italians.
Team France was one of the favorites to finish on the podium, but they only managed a 5th overall, four points behind the Australians. Gautier Paulin was the best French rider with a 5-6 result. Christophe Charlier had a strong first race, finishing 9th, while Jordi Tixier did not feel comfortable in any of the heats and he finished 12th twice. Team France might have finished higher up in the standings if Charlier had not crashed in the first corner, forcing him to enter pitlane to have his front wheel changed. When he was back on the race he obtained the fastest lap, but could do no better than 30th position.
Tommy Searle scored a 3rd in the first heat in third, and his 5th position in the final heat helped team Great Britain to finish 6th overall, ahead of Germany and Russia. Switzerland ended 9th and Estonia completed the top ten.
RACE 1 (MX1 and MX2)
Race one saw Valentin Guillod taking the Fox holeshot, but Dean Ferris was lose to the Swiss rider and overtook Guillod on the first lap. However, the Australian made a mistake and Guillod retook the lead. Meanwhile, Roczen was coming fast from behind and, after five laps, the German moved up to the first position. Both Guillod and Ferris dropped several positions to finish 9th and 4th, respectively.
Cairoli did not have a 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. Cairoli led the race to the checkered flag. Meanwhile, Tomac was making an incredible recovery from his initial 17th position and, with two minutes to go, he gave chase to Roczen for the second place. The American was nearly bar-to-bar with Roczen, but he made a mistake in one of the largest jumps and he suffered a spectacular crash. Fortunately, Tomac was not injured and managed to finish the race in 16th position after struggling to separate the bike from a fence. Searle was riding a consistent race behind the American, and he crossed the finish line 3rd.
Ferris and Gautier Paulin completed the top five. Ryan Dungey passed Jeremy Van Horebeek on the last lap, finishing 6th, and Ken De Dycker was 8th, ahead of Guillod and 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 and Open)
Ferris took the FOX Holeshot award, but he quickly dropped down to 3rd after being passed by Roczen and Tomac. The partisan crowd at Teutschenthal loudly cheered for their local hero, who was leading the race. Although Tomac dogged Roczen for the entire race, he was unable to make a pass for the lead, dropping just out of reach on the final lap. Roczen celebrated the victory over his American rival lustily; it was Roczen’s fourth consecutive MX2 overall individual win at the Motocross of Nations.
Desalle made a small mistake at the start of the race, but he had a strong come back and finished 3rd ahead of Barcia and Ferris. Tanel Leok finished a strong 6th position for Estonia, while Van Horebeek and Lupino were 7th and 8th, respectively. Charlier put in a strong race, moving from 30th early on to 10th at the finish.
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 mid-pack crash in the first corner, with some of the top riders were involved. Barcia went down and found himself outside the top 30. He eventually finished a disappointing 11th. That same crash took Desalle out completely with a dislocated his shoulder. Home rider Dennis Ullrich was also involved in the tangle; he decided to pull out from the race because he was riding with a broken rib from a crash in the first heat.
Ullrich’s teammate Max Nagl obtained the Fox Holeshot Award and led the first half of the race, but slowed down his rhythm and dropped down to 3rd. Cairoli had a good start in 3rd, and he knew that he needed to win the race to get Italy on the podium. By the middle of the race, Cairoli took the lead and dominated until the end, becoming the best MX1 rider of the event.
De Dycker had an good start in 7th and he knew that his teammate was out, so the overall victory depended on his result. The Belgian gave it his all and, after the first half of the race, he was already 3rd. With one lap to go, De Dycker overtook Russian Evgeny Bobryshev and moved up to 2nd. Max Nagl ended 4th and Searle took a consistent fifth position. Paulin had a strong start and crossed the finish line 6th, ahead of Ryan Dungey who made several mistakes during the race. Metcalfe ended 8th, and Marc De Reuver and 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.
Final 2013 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations Standings
1. Belgium
2. USA
3. Italy
4. Australia
5. France
6. Great Britain
7. Germany
8. Russia
9. Switzerland
10. Estonia
