| September 24, 2016
Qualifying day at the Motocross of Nations in Maggiora, Italy, is all about gate pick for the main motos tomorrow and after the MXGP, MX2 and Open races, it is France that will have the first option. Romain Febvre won his MXGP race, while Gautier Paulin came second in the Open class. Third member Benoit Paturel also impressed with a third place in the MX2 class but his result wasn’t needed as only the top two scores count towards the total.
France Tops Motocross Of Nations Qualifying
Not a good start for Team USA in Motocross of Nations qualifying in Maggiora. Photography by Hoppenworld.com
Unfortunately for Team USA, their day started off badly with the ballot giving them 30th gate pick for the qualifying races and it ended up getting worse from there. Cooper Webb crashed in the first race and struggled to restart it, eventually finishing 18th. Alex Martin fared slightly better but also made mistakes at critical points and could only make his way back to 9th place. At that stage there was a real danger that the team wouldn’t qualify, especially when Jason Anderson crashed at the beginning of the Open race. However, he swept through the field and ended up 14th which was enough to give the USA 15th gate pick for the races. Not a great result but the racing today proved you can get a good start from anywhere with Herlings and Cairoli getting holeshots from the outside on a Maggiora track that also seems slightly easier to pass on than in previous years.
Romain Febvre and Team France get first gate pick for tomorrow MXdN. Photography by Hoppenworld.com
2016 Motocross of Nations
Maggiora, Italy
Qualifying Results: September 24, 2016
MXGP Race Result
1. Romain Febvre (France)
2. Antonio Cairoli (Italy)
3. Kevin Strijbos (Belgium)
4. Tommy Searle (Great Britain)
5. Glenn Coldenhoff (Netherlands)
…
18. Cooper Webb (USA)
Cooper Webb had troubles restarting his bike after falling in the MXGP qualifier. Photography by Hoppenworld.com
MX2 Race Result
1. Jeremy van Horebeek (Belgium)
2. Jeremy Seewer (Switzerland)
3. Benoit Paturel (France)
4. Jorge Prado Garcia (Spain)
5. Brian Bogers (Netherlands)
…
9. Alex Martin (USA)
Alex Martin also faltered a bit but got his first MXoN race out of the way. Photography by Hoppenworld.com
Open Race Result
1. Jeffrey Herlings (Netherlands)
2. Gautier Paulin (France)
3. Dean Ferris (Australia)
4. Arnaud Tonus (Switzerland)
5. Shaun Simpson (Great Britain)
…
14. Jason Anderson (USA)
Jason Anderson also crashed but came up through the pack enough to ensure Team USA’s entry into tomorrow’s race. Photography by Hoppenworld.com
Nations Qualification
1. France – 3pts
2. Belgium – 4pts
3. Netherlands – 6pts
4. Switzerland – 6pts
5. Italy – 9pts
…
15. USA – 23pts
DAVID BULMER
