MotoCross of Nations France obliterate the Motocross of Nations for second grasp of Chamberlain Trophy There was a Napoleonic quality to way Team France came, saw and utterly conquered the 2014 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations. 63,000 fans had to watch in wonder as the Monster Energy Kawasakis of Gautier Paulin, Dylan Ferrandis and Steven Frossard mullered the competition and took their country to the top of the podium for the second time in the 68 year history of this annual motocross extravaganza by a mighty ten points. Defending Champions Belgium and the most successful country to have owned the Chamberlain Cup, Team USA, walked the other steps of the box and were largely in the shadow of the Gallic trio. It seemed like barely a metre of turf or standing room could be found around the flat, compact and attractive Kegums facility; a staple Grand Prix venue since 2009. The Nations always generates an atmosphere like few other motorsport events and pulls in the die-hard fans to create a cauldron of expectation and tension. At the forefront of the show was MXGP star Paulin. Not content with just Pole Position on Saturday ‘21’ swiftly flew to the front of two from the three races in Latvia and was an undisputed master of this fixture. His ‘1-1’ delivered a super-low result for France in a competition where the least points means the biggest prizes. “It was an amazing experience and a perfect weekend for me,” the 24 year old said. “Those guys behind me [Ferrandis and Frossard] have been riding so well. This is just crazy. To win is so cool.” “For a while I’ve been looking to win both motos and dominate a weekend and I almost did it at Arco di Trento [Grand Prix of Trentino] but a stone ruined my engine and I was really sad. To come back from injury and win both at the Motocross of Nations…now I can be happy. There is really nothing more I can say right now.” Ferrandis made a memorable debut at the Nations. Running his KX250F against the bigger 450s his scorecard of 9-9 meant the Frenchies did not drop out of the top ten all day; remarkable in a field of forty riders each time. “I thought on Saturday that we were sure to be on the podium because I knew the work we had done during the week and the spirit of the crew,” Dylan said. “I was sure about what we could do. When I was watching the last moto I knew it would be good for us. With Gautier first and Steven fourth it was just the perfect result and we won by so many points.” Frossard – on the factory Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team machine – was the third member of the Tricolore triumvirate and was equally proficient. He posted a 2-4 in his races. “I thought we did a really good job,” he assessed. “My motos went well and I had a great start in the first and to finish second was good for the team. I pushed a lot in the second moto and when I saw Gautier was in front I stayed focused on keeping my position for the first step.” While France won for the first time since Namur, Belgium in 2001 there were other performances and other countries that shone through. Great Britain were desperately unlucky to miss their first podium finish this century after drawing on points with the USA. The Brits were a sure-fire third until Shaun Simpson suffered some mechanical trouble for the second time in one day. Dean Wilson was second place overall in the MX Open class on his Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki but the UK’s standout was Tommy Searle. Back on a 250 for the first time since 2012 Tommy went 8-4 to own the MX2 category…his achievement was bittersweet. “I’m really disappointed we didn’t make the podium,” he reflected. “We were sitting in third until Shaun’s chain snapped and that took the joy out of my individual win a bit because I wanted to be up there on the podium with the team. I did the best I could today. It has been a terrible year for me and I’m glad to end it on a good note.” Australia’s Chad Reed had a miserable time and a start-straight crash in the third moto ended his race practically the moment it had begun. Arnaud Tonus was part of Team Switzerland and their seventh position overall. The final champagne spray of the year saw the last drops of glory and sweat run down on the 2014 international motocross campaign. Save for the culmination of a few national series in Europe the off-road racing community will now turn indoors and towards Supercross. The Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas and the Bercy Supercross in Lille, France are just two of the ‘unmissables’ that will keep fans watching through the winter and until the sand, mud and loam of tracks begins to thaw and this utterly fascinating sport chimes into life once more.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:45:37 +0000
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