Team USA Win 2010 Motocross of Nations – Moto 3 Race Report

Heading into the final moto of the 2010 Motocross of Nations it was USA, Germany, Belgium and Great Britain all fighting for a podium finish and ultimately trying to take home the Chamberlain trophy. Race 3 consisted of MX1 and the Open classes with the MX2 riders all watching and waiting eagerly from the sidelines.

The USA team got out front early, with both Andrew Short and Ryan Dungey up front after the first few turns. Australia’s Brett Metcalfe and New Zealand’s Ben Townley also made good starts and held down 3rd and 4th going into the second lap.

Maximillian Nagl side swiped one of the banks in the first 10 minutes and went down putting Germany in a tough place for their overall result. The accident would ultimately cost them second spot on the podium.

Jay Marmont held onto seventh place early on but crashed while dicing with another rider, dropping him back as far as 21st. That didn’t stop the Aussie, he put his game face on and clawed back 11 places, stealing positions from riders such as Brad Anderson, Josh Coppins and Tanel Leok — eventually finishing in 10th position.

Ben Townley slipped past Metcalfe and took third with Belgium’s Clement Desalle getting past Metcalfe as well. This set up the final round for a fight between Team USA and Belgium for the Outright victory. But with two USA powerhouses sitting in 1-2 it was never going to be easy.

In a surprise move Andrew Short let his team mate Ryan Dungey past. It was Short’s chance to take a win and beat Dungey, as there was no real threat from any other riders at that time. But they weren’t taking any chances today. Both riders didn’t want to make any mistakes while vying for the top step on the podium.

Mid way through the race and Metcalfe was fighting back, taking fourth from Desalle. The Belgium’s were now sitting 5th & 7th with 13 minutes to go. After a less than spectacular start, Italy’s Antonio Cairoli moved up passed Steven Ramon into sixth.

Ten minutes to go and Ben Townley had trouble, losing it on a corner and nearly getting hit by Steven Ramon in the process. He was slow to recover and looked like he injured his left knee in the process eventually finishing in 35th. His team mate Josh Coppins would eventually finish in 14th place.

With only 3 minutes to go, Britain’s Jake Nichols was fighting to put his team on the podium, competing with Germany for third place on points. Nicholls was sitting in tenth place, just in front of Jay Marmont, but when Marmont passed him it stopped Great Britain’s chance of finishing on the podium.

Two to go and team USA (Dungey-Short) still sat in the two top spots, followed by Belgium (Desalle), then Italy (Cairoli) and Australia (Metcalfe). Cairoli is up to speed passing Metcalfe, putting him in fourth place. He spent the final lap giving it all he had to get past Desalle but had to settle for 4th.

The last lap saw Team USA ride conservatively and constantly, with Dungey’s lap time slowing down as he took it easy to make sure he finished in first. Dungey and Short finished 1-2 respectively, meaning USA keep the Chamberlain trophy (Motocross of Nations) this year, on 23 points. Belgium finished second on 30 points, knocking Germany into third place on 44 points. Great Britain missed out on the podium by just one point, thanks to Marmont with Brad Anderson and Jake Nicholls finishing 11-12. Australia got sixth on 54 points and New Zealand ended up in eighth position on 90 points.

Nation Standings

1. USA, 23pts
2. Belgium, 30pts
3. Germany, 44pts
4. Great Britain, 45pts
5. Italy, 50pts
6. Australia, 54pts
7. France 71pts
8. New Zealand, 90pts
9. Portugal, 94pts
10. Puerto Rico, 99pts
11. Switzerland, 102pts
12. Austria, 109pts
13. Spain, 115pts
14. Finland 116pts
15. Estonia, 118pts
16. Canada, 119pts
17. Latvia, 121pts
18. Brazil, 123pts
19. Japan, 128pts
20. Ireland, 142pts

Moto 3 (MX1 + Open) Results

1. Ryan Dungey
2. Andrew Short
3. Clement Desalle
4. Antonio Cairoli
5. Brett Metcalfe
6. Steve Ramon
7. Xavier Boog
8. Arnaud Tonus
9. Gautier Paulin
10. Jay Marmont
11. Brad Anderson
12. Jake Nicholls
13. Rui Goncalves
14. Jashua Coppins
15. Manuel Monni
16. Marcus Schiffer
17. Antonio Balbi
18. Matthia Walkner
19. Yoshitaka Atsuta
20. Tanel Leok

The full results can be found here.

Links

• Transmoto MXoN Moto 2 Race Report
• MXoN Award, Ken Roczen Youngest Rider winner