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World MX: Team USA Nabs Another Win at the Motocross of Nations
Written by: Steve Cox   http://racerxill.com
09/29/2008
Charlotte, NC
 
U.S. riders started the first moto of the weekend, the MX1/MX2 moto, with the first and 21st gate picks. (Photo: Steve Cox) ยป More Photos

After Team USA’s record dominant victory at the Budds Creek Motocross of Nations in the USA last year, where team member Ryan Villopoto won both of his motos on his KX250F and the other was won by the GOAT Ricky Carmichael – and where all three of Team USA’s riders won their classes individually as well – many thought the 2008 event at Donington Park in southern England would be a mere formality. Of course Team USA would win, and easily.

However, there’s something about traveling overseas for a race and racing on someone else’s turf. This year’s team captain James Stewart knows that, as two years ago he was forced to settle for second against Belgian legend Stefan Everts in both motos in order to ensure the win for his team.

The weekend started off with qualifying races on Saturday, where each class – MX1, MX2 and MX3 – had its own race, and each team’s qualifying result would come from combining the best two moto scores and dropping the worst score. Team USA’s MX1 rider, Stewart, and MX2 rider, Ryan Villopoto, each won their races handily, which meant that going into the MX3 event, Team USA had already locked up the number-one qualifying position. Team USA’s MX3 rider,
Timmy Ferry, had a tough go of it in the final qualifier with a horrible start and he eventually finished eighth, although AMA racer Cody Cooper from Team New Zealand won the race.

Throughout the weekend, all of Team USA’s riders (and even riders from the AMA who were racing for other teams) complained of a lack of front-end grip on the track surface, and it even cost Stewart two crashes on his way to the win in his qualifier on Saturday. Tracks in Europe require quite a different setup from tracks in the USA as they are prepped much differently, and this is part of what helped the USA have such a dominant performance at last year’s MXoN in the USA.

The first moto of the weekend was the MX1/MX2 moto, and with the first and 21st gate picks, Team USA elected to put Villopoto on the first gate and Stewart on the 21st gate. After the first couple of turns, both Villopoto and Stewart miraculously found themselves in the top five, but it wouldn’t last, as only a few turns later, French racer Sebastien Pourcel hit Villopoto from behind hard enough to knock them both down. Pourcel was up quickly, but Villopoto ended up at the bottom of a pile that meant that he wasn’t able to get up until everyone else had.

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