2008 Motocross of Nations – Overview
Published October 7th, 2008
The biggest motocross race in the world, the Motocross of Nations, just concluded it’s 62nd version at Donington Park in England. Here is Supercross.com’s perspective on our time there for the most historic race in the sport.
We start with Thursday, September 25, when we got our first look at the Donington Park. Normally a road racing circuit, the facility is huge, with tremendous infrastructure. You could literally walk around all day without ever setting your feet down in actual dirt!
Below you’ll find lots of photos of the entire time we were there, but also, our first video is from Thursday, where Amanda talked to (Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo, and young local fan Leon), and what she saw as well (the new, 2-story pit lane structure)!
You can view Thursday’s video here at this link http://www.supercross.com/videos/watch/77/2008-motocross-of-nations-thursday
Next up was Friday, September 26. Friday was a lot of press conference activity inside the Media Center, with all the teams being introduced. Along with the photos below, you can watch the video from Friday – watch as James Stewart “officially’ tells Amanda who he will be riding for next year! The video also includes more James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto, Tim Ferry, Roger De Coster, Tommy Searle, Tyla Rattray and Chad Reed!
You can view Friday’s video here at this link http://www.supercross.com/videos/watch/78/2008-motocross-of-nations-friday
Next, it was Saturday, September 27 – time for practice and qualifying – the riders first time on the track!
James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto of the heavily favored USA team won their qualifying heats, and Kiwi Cody Cooper won the third heat. Tim Ferry did have a fall in his qualifying heat, finishing near 10th.
Earlier in the day, there were a few press conferences, one where each country’s gate choices were chosen by FIM CMS President Dr. Wolgang Srb, with the help of two blindfolded assistants. Team USA had the 19th pick on the gate, out of the 32 teams vying for the prestigious Chamberlain Trophy.
In another press conference, Youthstream President Giuseppe Luongo announced an agreement to bring a Motocross Grand Prix to Brazil starting next year, and plans to fully be involved in making ‘the world championship’ a true would championship with 18 Grand Prix events on all five major continents within the next few years.
And a third announcement stated that the 2009 Red Bull Motocross of Nations will be held at a great infrastructure location in Italy, where a brand-new circuit will be built.
The video has Amanda interviewing Dr. Wolfgang Srb, how the gate picks are chosen for the Motocross of Nations, action on the track from Saturday including James Stewart #1, Ryan Villopoto #2, Tim Ferry #3, Chad Reed #58, Josh Coppins #113, Tommy Searle #14, Tyla Rattray #35, and more. You can see Saturday’s video right here at this link – http://www.supercross.com/videos/watch/86/2008-motocross-of-nations-saturday
Sunday, September 28 – the actual running of the race! The day (and the entire week) was great weather for England – almost always sunny! There was a brief rain shower late Sunday morning, but overall – tremendous weather.
The results? Team U.S.A won the event for a record 19th time today, taking home the coveted Chamberlain trophy!
1st place – USA – 26 points (James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto, Tim Ferry)
2nd place – France – 31 points (Seb Pourcel, Nicolas Aubin, Anthony Boissiere)
3rd place – Belgium – 41 points (Steve Ramon, Ken De Dycker, Jeremy Van Horebeek)
4th place – Great Britain – 42 points (Tommy Searle, Billy Mackenzie, Shaun Simpson)
5th place – Italy – 45 points (David Philippaerts, Alex Salvini, Manuel Monni)
6th place – Australia – 55 points (Chad Reed, Michael Bryne, Brett Metcalfe)
7th place – Spain – 58 points (Jonathan Barragan, Carlos Campano, Alvaro, Lozano)
8th place – New Zealand – 63 points (Josh Coppins, Cody Cooper, Scott Columb)
9th place – Switzerland – 82 points (Juilen Bill, Arnaud Tonus, Gregory, Wicht)
10th place – Germany – 96 points (Max Nagl, Manuel Chittaro, Daniel Siegl)
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Sunday”s video includes – action and more of Team USA winning it’s record 19th Chamberlain Trophy, with the team of James Stewart, Tim Ferry, and Ryan Villopoto, managed by Roger De Coster! That video is here at this link – http://www.supercross.com/videos/watch/83/2008-motocross-of-nations–usa-wins
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Congratulations Team USA, the FIM, Youthstream, and all the competitors for a wonderful and very successful event!
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And of course, you can always see Amanda’s blog, and AmandaCam video here – http://www.supercross.com/home/amanda-onsite
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Photos by SX/MX Media Guru
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