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Written by web mistress
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Tuesday, 28 November 2006 |
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Page 2 of 3
The Americans were led in England by the sensational James “Bubba” Stewart, filling in at team No. 1 for the injured Ricky Carmichael. He was joined by MXN veteran Ivan Tedesco and 17-year-old rookie Ryan Villapoto. Belgium, meanwhile, rallied behind its great champion Stefan Everts – winner of 10 world championships and a remarkable 101 grand prix events – along with Steve Ramon and Kevin Strijbos.
In the end, the result was satisfying for both camps: The United States scored its record 17th overall victory without a single individual moto win, while Everts closed his storied career with an individual victory in the featured MX1 class. The top three nations were the United States, Belgium and New Zealand. It was a great day for motocross that ironically unfolded less than an hour from Camberley Heath, site of the world’s first motocross event in 1924.
Everts has retired from active competition and American Superstar Ricky Carmichael will run an abbreviated schedule in 2007, but a stellar field can be expected at Budds Creek in September. Carmichael has made it clear that he wants to be part of one more Motocross of Nations team (he led the USA to victory in 2000 and 2005) before going into stock car racing full-time, and his presence alone will be enough to make the United States team formidable.
Riders from around the world will find a lot of changes at Budds Creek Motocross Park. The track has been the site of popular AMA National Motocross Series events since 1989, and promoter Jonathan Beasley will roll out the red carpet for the teams contesting the 61st Motocross of Nations. He recently devoted several days to intense planning at the track with representatives of the FIM, AMA and Youthstream, and work has already begun on an all-new start area and pit lane that will afford unprecedented viewing for fans. Numerous other modifications to the circuit will give the flowing, natural-terrain track a new look and provide fresh challenges for the competitors.
“Fans around the world still talk about the 1987 Motocross of Nations at Unadilla (New York), which was one of the toughest races in the 60-year history of the event,” Beasley commented. “Heavy rains turned a track that is always very rough into a brutal challenge. We will prepare Budds Creek to be a challenging modern layout that respects the sport’s traditions but lets riders demonstrate their full range of skills.
”Back in 1987, the American team of Bob Hannah, Jeff Ward and Ricky Johnson came out on top at muddy Unadilla and kept a winning streak alive that eventually reached 13 straight wins for Team USA. At Budds Creek, Team USA will go after its third straight victory as it tries to build a new victory streak on an ever-evolving international motocross scene that has seen many changes in the past 60 years.
From its creation in 1947, the Motocross of Nations was dominated by European influences into the 1980s. Up until that time, only a few pioneering Americans tested the international motocross waters. The late-60s arrival of Swede Torsten Hallman in the United States started things in motion that would change all of that. Along with Husqvarna importer Edison Dye, he began the process of morphing American scrambles racing into Euro-style motocross.
Dye’s creation of the Inter-Am Series, and the later establishment of the Trans-AMA Series, provided European stars with paid vacations in America and provided American riders with many a good old fashioned butt-kicking. But they learned from those early defeats, slowly but surely gaining speed and respect.
On July 4 of 1969, Gary “The Professor” Bailey became the first American to score an overall victory against the Europeans at California’s Saddleback Park. During the summer of 1972, Californian Gary Jones won the Inter-Am Series title. Early in 1973, Jim Pomeroy became America’s first grand prix winner with a popular Spanish GP win for Bultaco. That fall, New York dirt-tracker-turned-motocross-racer Jim Weinert became the first American to win a Trans-AMA Series event overall. Five years later, Bob Hannah became America’s first Trans-AMA Series champion.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 28 November 2006 )
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