It’s finally the end of the outdoor motocross season and that can only mean one thing – It’s Nations time! In case you have been living in a cave with a poor WI–Fi signal, this year’s instalment takes place in the deep sand of Lommel in sunny fun time Belgium. The very best of the world’s riders (along with some of the world’s very average riders for the smaller countries!) will be making their way by planes, trains and automobiles to the crucible of motocross that is the MXoN (Youthstream had to rebrand the event from the Des Nations as the Americans weren’t sure who Des was….)

The first instalment of this prestigious event was held way back in 1947 when Bill Nicholson, Fred Rist and Bob Ray took home the honours for Team GB for the first time. Since then in the 63 annual events the British teams have won the Trophy an impressive sixteen times, but it’s the Americans that have had the competition in virtual lock down since their debut to the competition in 1981, racking up a staggering 22 wins. Their present run of seven wins on the bounce started in Ernee in France 2005 with Carmichael, Windham and Tedesco bringing home the bacon after the USA had been away from the competition for a few years. Since then, the US teams have steam rollered the opposition, winning at Matterley, Budds Creek, Donnington, Franciacorta, Lakewood and St Jean D’Angely.

Watch last years highlights and re-live the memories

Yet the results never tell the whole story, and on many of the above fixtures, the mighty US team have been on the cusp of losing the trophy to other countries, only to snatch victory in the final moto. Last year it looked like France were going to overhaul Dungey, Vilopoto and Baggett , right up to the point that Pourcel’s tyre decided it would prefer to be off the rim. In Franciacorta, Cairoli was about to pull off a dream home win and make himself a God , only to wipe out on the start straight and score a DNF. When it comes to luck, the Americans seem to have more than their fair share.

Yet that is perhaps too simple an assessment. The US team are quite so focussed, tight and coordinated that their wins are a justified return on their efforts. They never give up, they seem to have a far tighter team spirit than many of the other countries – hell they even give each other support and advice (can’t see Paulin and Pourcel doing that!) – and they so don’t want to lose that their determination stands out like veins on a junkies arm.

In many ways the other secret to the US dominance is the infamous ‘Third rider’ problem. For virtually every team outside the States, countries have often had two obvious choices from the AMA or World Championship ranks, but the number three slot leaves them struggling. It’s not that they didn’t have good riders; they just didn’t have three that could hope for a top five position within such a stacked field. Yet the Americans always do if they hadn’t picked Dungey, Baggett and Barcia, they could still find three, four maybe ten top flight riders that could take the fight to the rest of the world. Alessi, Tomac, Stewart, Tickle, Weimer – hell even Kevin Windham is still strong enough to make the grade.

Just in case you don’t know the scoring – each rider completes in two motos, scoring points as to their finishing place – 1 for first etc. Of the six scores accrued by each three man team, the best five results are counted, with the worst score discarded. In simple terms, the lowest team score wins the Chamberlain Trophy, but with two scores coming in the final moto, you won’t know who’s going to win until the chequered flag in the MX1 and MX3 race.

So what’s the competition like this year? Well strangely this year, quite a few teams are able to put out three top class riders that might well have the US team bang to rights. As said the Americans enter as favourites with a strong team certain to fight hard. We’ve all seen Dungey and Baggett at a Nations, but this is the first for Justin Barcia, and he is sure to impress his team mates and Team Boss Roger ‘The Man’ DeCoster. As one of the most exciting riders in the AMA series, Barcia will be an absolute joy to watch on the Belgian sand. People have said that the Americans can’t ride European sand circuits – by Sunday we will know whether this is really true…..

The French team now consists of Paulin, Boog and Musqin and on their day, this is a winning team. Yet whilst Paulin is super consistent, clocking up a third place in his rookie MX1 year, Boog has been less impressive and Musquin has been similarly variable in the outdoor nationals. The French so nearly won last year and with all three relatively strong in the sand, they have to be in a position to score well.

Belgium were perhaps the team most likely to provide the best challenge to the US team in the sand of Lommel, with a powerful line up of Desalle, DeDycker and Van Horebeek. Ken has been a revelation this year on the KTM and is masterful in sand, Van Horebeek was the only one to avoid Herlings onslaught at Lierop and rode well there just two weeks ago and Desalle is good for a strong result on any day of the week. A Belgian home win would have sent the crowd absolutely ballistic, but with Desalle still nursing an injury and rumours that Van Horebeek may also be injured, their challenge may prove difficult.

Germany have a good chance with Roczen and Nagl up front, and if Marcus Schiffer clocks in a low scoring result, they could propel themselves towards the podium. Herlings might end up being the star of this event as he is likely to destroy every other rider on the track, but with De Reuver and Coldenhoff as wing men to his efforts, the Netherland will be hard pushed to be near a podium slot. De Reuver may have been the sand master in his day and could still pull out a good result, but on the evidence of Lierop, we’re not so sure. As with Herlings, Cairoli would hope to do well at what is nearly his home track, but a) his luck at the Nations is lousy and b) Guarneri and Lupino will be struggling to run the pace of the big boys. That said it would be nice to see Antonio show the Americans how good he really is!

But what of the Great British Team? Well although we’re bound to say this, our boys have a very strong chance of success this year. We’ve managed to lurk just below the podium for too many years, but 2012 could be the time to break that cycle. With Tommy a strong prospect on the 450, Jake being super consistent and fast on the MX2 machine especially in sand, we have two good results in prospect. As for our third man, Neil Prince has taken a bold decision to gamble on the mercurial talent of Anstie rather than the dependability of Simpson. And he may be just right, as armed with Bobryshev’s CRF450 and a sackful of confidence after his stunning result in Lierop, Max has all the potential to get the job done.

OK so it’s normally prediction time now, but with so many variables at the Nations, it’s just too tight to call. The Americans will be vulnerable on this circuit with the top places are likely to be taken by the European riders, and this will weaken their hold on the top. Barcia could prove the weak link if the pressure of the occasion makes the already wild rider try too hard in the Belgian sand. If that happens, the unthinkable would come true and the Americans would end their winning streak. You’d have to be there if that happens…….

If you are not going to Belgium for the biggest party of the year, get the beers in and spend the whole weekend watching the action on Moto.

After a 2-2 score at Budds Creek gave Broc Tickle the best finish of his career, he landed outside of the top 5 the following week at RedBud. Would Broc be able to rebound as the series hit Millville? Hear from Broc and team owner Mitch Payton as Behind the Gate goes inside Tickle’s day at Spring Creek.

Despite feeling under the weather at RedBud, Blake Baggett came out and ripped it up at RedBud. Fighting through the field and jumping LaRocco’s Leap, Baggett carried over his momentum from Budds Creek. Go inside Blake’s 1-1 finish as he leaves the track with the points lead for the 6th race in a row.

2 years ago, Blake Baggett suffered a broken arm at Budds Creek, an injury which weighed heavily on his mind and held back his riding when the series returned to Maryland last year. Blake returned to the track in 2012 looking to put the past behind him and extend his points lead.

Behind the Gate follows the story of the 2012 Pro Circuit Kawasaki team as they compete in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross circuit. Look for Episode 7 from RedBud later this week!

Team Yoshimura Suzuki Racing’s James Stewart returned from injury at the popular RedBud AMA Pro Motocross Championship sixth round in Buchanan on Saturday, overcoming stifling humidity and temperatures over 100 degrees to finish third overall and once again putting his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 on the podium.

After two weeks of rest and rehabilitation away from the bike, Stewart took a conservative approach to rough-and-tumble RedBud. Turning in solid laps in practice, he qualified second and got a good gate pick. In the first 30-minute moto, Stewart got a good start and was running second when he suffered a few mishaps, but recovered to finish sixth. In the second moto, he slotted into third place long before the race’s halfway point and turned consistent laps for the remainder of the moto. The sixth- and third-place finishes gave Stewart third overall for the day.

Said Stewart: “It was an eventful day. I was second fastest in practice, but in the first moto, I realised I wasn’t quite 100 per cent, but I still wanted to try and have a decent moto. After one crash and a stall, I ended up sixth. In the second moto, I came from 10th and made my way up into third and just sat there. But it was good to be racing again, the Yoshimura Suzuki team was working hard and the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 was running great. The fans at RedBud are awesome and I was happy just to be back racing. Now I’m looking forward to Millville next weekend.”

Team mate Brett Metcalfe, who’d moved into the top five in the overall championship points standings after the last round at Budds Creek, suffered a broken tibia and fibula in a recent practice crash. Although Metcalfe is on the mend, he’ll most likely be out for the rest of the season.

Team Yoshimura Suzuki Racing’s next event is the seventh round of the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on July 14th at the Spring Creek National in Millville.

2012 RedBud MX 450 Results:

1. Ryan Dungey
2. Justin Brayton
3. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450)
4. Tyla Rattray
5. Mike Alessi
6. Broc Tickle
7. Cole Thompson
8. Josh Grant
9. Andrew Short
10. Jake Weimer

2012 AMA Pro Motocross 450 Standings:

1. Ryan Dungey – 286
2. Mike Alessi – 214
3. Jake Weimer – 202
4. Andrew Short – 178
5. Broc Tickle – 162
6. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450) – 151
7. Brett Metcalfe (Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450) – 142
8. Josh Grant – 137
9. Justin Brayton – 131
10. Kyle Chisholm – 100

Star Valli Motorsport, LLC. announced today that Tommy Weeck has joined the Rockstar Energy Yamaha-sponsored team as a substitute rider for an injured Kyle Cunningham. Weeck will campaign the 250 class on the Rockstar Energy Yamaha YZ250F, starting with the next AMA Pro Motocross round at the RedBud National.

“I’m really excited to get this opportunity,” said Weeck. “And I’d like to thank everybody with the Star Valli Motorsport team and Rockstar Energy Yamaha for this chance of a lifetime. My 21st birthday is Wednesday and this is the best birthday present that I could possibly ask for. I’m looking forward to racing the Rockstar Energy Yamaha YZ250, and I couldn’t be more excited about racing the upcoming Nationals.”

Cunningham injured his ankle earlier this year but still put in a solid effort, bringing home multiple top-10 finishes. Unfortunately, Cunningham damaged the ankle further at the recent Budds Creek National, and the Star Valli Motorsport team decided he should take time off to heal.

The next event for the Rockstar Energy Yamaha team is the sixth round of the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on Saturday, July 7th, at the RedBud National in Buchanan, MI.

An in-depth look at Broc Tickle’s day at Budds Creek last weekend where the young Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider performed superbly to finish 2nd overall.

Film: Austin White

Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Jason Anderson raced to his best result of the season at the fifth round of the Lucas Oils AMA Motocross ‘Lites” series at Budds Creek at Mechanicsville on Saturday aboard his RM-Z250.

Anderson rallied after a poor start to finish seventh in the first moto and then sixth in the second to bring home a commendable sixth overall for the day.

Said Anderson: “This weekend was good: I had a bad start in the first moto but came up to seventh. In the second moto I was running fourth and ended up coming-out with sixth in the moto. I was sixth overall and I felt more solid than I usually do, so this was a good day for me. We’re going to keep at it during the break and be fighting-strong for RedBud.”

Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki team-mate Blake Wharton is getting back into his 250 MX groove after missing last season due to injury. Although he got a less-than-stellar start in the first moto, Wharton came back to ninth. In the second moto, he crashed on the first lap but rallied to finish 18th. Overall, Wharton was 12th for the day.

“I rode pretty good in the first moto,” said Wharton. “But it was a rough weekend. You have them every now and then – sometimes more often than you want. But we’ve got a little break now, so we’ll rest up and come back strong for RedBud.”

Continuing to progress and improve in the 250 class, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Racing’s Hunter Hewitt went down at the start of the first moto and had to come from dead last. Even so, Hewitt made it from 40th to 25th. In the second moto he got off the line better and finished 15th and finished the day in 18th overall.

Said Hewitt: “Today was kind-of tough: In the first moto, I went down on the start and couldn’t re-start my bike. I came from last all the way to 25th. In the second moto, I just tried the best I could. I got a decent start and went all the way to 15th and stayed there. Now we’ve got a two-week break before RedBud, which is really much appreciated.”

Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Jessica Patterson currently leads the overall Championship points in the WMX class – which didn’t run at Budds Creek – and Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Martin Davalos continues to recover from a recent crash.

The next event for the Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki team is the sixth round of the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on Saturday July 7th at the RedBud National in Buchanan.

Team Yoshimura Suzuki Racing picked up another top-10 finish in the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championships at the Budds Creek National fifth round at Mechanicsville on Saturday.

Brett Metcalfe raced his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to two respectable moto finishes to bring home sixth overall, which moved him up to fifth in the title chase.

Metcalfe overcame two lacklustre starts by putting his head down and charging through the field: In the first moto, the Australian clicked off solid laps to get to eighth by the race’s end. In moto two, he came out even stronger and slotted into eighth by the half-way point. He rode aggressively for the remainder of the moto, moved into seventh and eventually sixth for a combined moto result of sixth overall.

Said Metcalfe: “It was a tough track. In moto one, I had a bad start and I came from a long way back to get up to eighth. During the break, I worked with the Yoshimura Suzuki team and we made some changes for the second moto. I needed a good start but I didn’t get it and I was back in 20-plus position. But I rode hard, the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 was brilliant; and I made good passes. Now, we have a break and I’m going to focus on my starts to be better at RedBud. I want to really put the hammer down to get the results I want.”

Yoshimura Suzuki team mate James Stewart continues to suffer from a wrist injury incurred in his recent crash at round three at Thunder Valley. Knowing the series was about to go into a two-week break before the next round, Stewart opted out of Budds Creek so he could focus on recovering and returning 100 per cent at RedBud.

“I was sorry to miss Budds Creek,” said Stewart. “I’m getting better, but I’m still not where I need to be to be racing. I’m just looking forward to being completely healthy in a few weeks so I can come back and race the way I was racing at the start of the season.”

Team Yoshimura Suzuki Racing’s next event is the sixth round of the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on Saturday July 7th at the RedBud National in Buchanan.

2012 Budds Creek MX 450 Results:

1. Ryan Dungey
2. Broc Tickle
3. Mike Alessi
4. Jake Weimer
5. Justin Brayton
6. Brett Metcalfe (Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450)
7. Josh Grant
8. Davi Millsaps
9. Andrew Short
10. Ryan Sipes

2012 AMA Pro Motocross 450 Standings:

1. Ryan Dungey – 236
2. Mike Alessi – 182
3. Jake Weimer – 179
4. Andrew Short – 154
5. Brett Metcalfe (Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450) – 142
6. Broc Tickle – 134
7. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450) – 116
8. Josh Grant – 111
9. Nico Izzi – 95
10. Justin Brayton – 93

Another brilliant edit from the gang at Racer X, this time its last weekends Budds Creek championship race that gets a remaster by Austin White.