Thor Race Report Motocross Of Nations 2009
10/13/2009
The 4th October 2009 witnessed one of the largest motocross events in history, as the best riders from around the globe came together in Franciacorta, Italy, to go head to head in the 2009 Red Bull Motocross of Nations. Amongst the pinnacle of riders that the 90,000 fans came to admire were Thor's global stars Chad Reed (Team Australia), Josh Coppins (Team New Zealand), Jake Weimer (Team USA), Tyla Rattray (Team South Africa) and local hero David Philippaerts (Team Italy). The crowds and teams were all greeted by the Italian sunshine and a truly world class circuit that made for amazing racing all weekend
In the opening, nail biting, race the MX1 and MX2 riders lined up to go head to head. What the crowds had really come to see though was the 2009 AMA Motocross Champion, Chad Reed, and 2009 MX1 World Champion, Tony Cairoli, battle it out for supremacy. As the gate dropped Cairoli rocketed out the blocks, powering across from his outside gate pick to grab the hole shot. Exiting turn one Cairoli had the edge, however Thor's Chad Reed was right on his tail, the crowds were in for a treat! As the riders rounded out the opening lap it was Cairoli up front with Reed not giving an inch, Coppins was in 8th, Weimer in 11th, and Rattray down in 17th with a lot of work to do. Within the opening laps, Reed shot past Cairoli and did his best to open a gap, however Cairoli responded immediately by repassing Reed for the lead. The crowds roared as the leaders battled each other lap after lap, but in the end it was Italian Tony Cairoli that took a well deserved victory, crossing the finish line less than 2 seconds ahead of Australian Chad Reed. Coppins put in a solid ride to get through to 6th position, Weimer had an incredible ride on the 250F to get through to 8th and Rattray pushed his way through to 13th position. In race 2 it was the MX2 riders up again, after just a short break, this time though they would battle it out with the Open class riders. Another star studded line up, with some of the favorites to win being: David Philippaerts (THOR), Gautier Paulin, Ivan Tedesco, Max Nagle or Steve Ramon. As the gate dropped it was French sensation Paulin who took the hole shot, closely tracked by Team USA's 'Hot Sauce' Tedesco. Italian, and local favorite, Philippaerts was down in 11th place. Out front Paulin looked like he was on rails as he pumped out blistering laps around the spectacular circuit, edging a small gap on Tedesco. A little further down the track Philippaerts had the crowds cheering as he was slicing his way through the competition. Philippaerts was lightning quick, but would he be able to catch and pass Tedesco who was starting to drop off from Paulin? By the mid way point Philippaerts was into 3rd place and catching Tedesco fairly quickly. With one lap to go, Philippaerts had closed the gap to just under 3 seconds. With the crowds erupting, the THOR hero had everyone in awe as he posted the fastest lap time of the entire race, getting onto the back of Tedesco, and with just 2 turns to go blocked his way past to take an astonishing 2nd place.
With the final and deciding race of the day lining up on the start line, it was looking likely that Italy would take the Chamberlain Trophy away from Team USA, with a good chance of France mixing it up too! The gate dropped, and as the swarm of MX1 and Open Class riders hurtled into the first turn disaster struck for many of the top teams. Race favorite and 2009 World Champion Tony Cairoli was in the middle of a huge crash that left his machine in pieces. A dejected Cairoli walked away from the circuit as silence fell amongst the huge crowds. Team Belgium's Desalle was also a victim of this crash, putting a huge damper on their chance of victory. Just a few turns later yet another pile up would see France's hopes of lifting the trophy dashed, as Paulin was left grounded and taken off the circuit in an ambulance. With Dungey escaping unscathed and up in 2nd place it looked like Team USA had pulled it out the bag. Before long the super fast Dungey had worked his way into the lead, as Team Belgium's Steve Ramon raced his way into 2nd, keeping a steady gap on the race leader. With all the opening lap mayhem, Reed was down in 24th whilst Philippaerts and Coppins sat in 7th and 8th places respectively. Philippaerts once again rode superbly, fighting his way through to 3rd place behind Ramon, whilst Coppins came through to 6th and Chad Reed clawing his way through almost the entire pack to get into 9th place by the chequered flag.
Team USA had done it yet again!!! The fast and consistent team of Dungey, Tedesco and Weimer(THOR) did their country proud as they took to the top step of the podium, draped in stars and stripes and holding the Chamberlain Trophy. 2nd place was awarded to Team France whilst Team Belgium stood on the 3rd step of the podium.
2010 will see the MXoN head across the Atlantic to Colorado, will anyone be able to surpass the Americans on home soil?
Final Standings - 2009 MXoN
- USA 22
- France 30
- Belgium 39
- Germany 55
- Great Britain 55
- Italy 59
- Australia 73
- Estonia 78
- South Africa 84
- Switzerland 88
- New Zealand 89
- Spain 92
- Portugal 112
- Brazil 122
- Denmark 123
- Ireland 126
- Latvia 130
- Finland 132
- Netherlands 133
- Sweden 143