Hear from the stars following the 2016 Motocross of Nations held in Maggiora, Italy.
Gautier Paulin: “I am so happy for the whole team today with this result – with my teammates Romain and Benoit, and Pascal and the whole federation. It’s really a team effort and without everyone we couldn’t make it. Thanks also to my Honda team for again all their work in preparing my bike so well and giving me the equipment for this result. The crowd were again just incredible today – you can never believe how many people follow us all over the world so I also want to thank them for all their support. My first race was good today but in the second I didn’t make the start and then got stuck in the pack, but the result today is just amazing. To win again is such a great taste – now we can enjoy the experience of three in a row.”
Kevin Strijbos: “It was good today and I did two decent motos. I messed up my start in the second moto but I had been riding well all weekend. I think that was one of my best races in a long time; even Lommel doesn’t come close. It felt really good. I had a nice flow and could push all moto. It was a shame that Belgium missed the podium but we all did our best: Jeremy won in MX2 and we knew it would be hard for Brent. It has been a difficult season with just one highlight. Lommel was about finding a rhythm but here was about going full-gas. We now have two weeks of testing ahead now. I’m happy.”
Jeremy Seewer: “It was a fun race as always and I enjoyed racing with such a big crowd. It didn’t end-up the way we wanted with the team but yesterday Guillod had a really bad crash and he was lucky he could even ride today. We finished sixth and Arnaud and I did some good motos and my riding was good. Third overall in MX2; I will be trying to change that next year! We have one more race to come and I will try to stay fit and prepare myself well for it. SMX will be something new for everyone.”
Jeffrey Herlings: “To go 1-2-1 in the qualifying and the two races is very good and I think I showed here I was one of the fastest all weekend. I showed a lot of speed so I’m very pleased about that, and it’s good feedback for next season. We need that because it will be our rookie season. We only spent four days on the bike so far, so to go 1-2-1 here I think is already pretty amazing. I’m looking forward to next season, to testing in the winter and developing the bike to suit me. KTM has a great 450 bike and I think we’re looking very good.”
Glenn Coldenhoff: “There were many strong teams here and many that could make the podium but yesterday I didn’t feel so good and made a lot of mistakes. But we qualified third so that was a confidence boost. I took the holeshot in my first race but as the race went on I got some arm pump. I had a good start again in my second race and I felt better but I still made some mistakes. In the end we got second and I’m happy for that.”
Jorge Prado: “Yesterday was really good and I was fourth in the qualification. I started first and rode pretty good. But I was only competing against the 250s so it was easier than today riding against the big bikes. Actually I had two good starts but then I struggled in the corners, and I think mentally also. It wasn’t my best riding but I enjoyed it and I look forward to next year.”
Antonio Cairoli: “The weekend started perfectly yesterday, I was leading the qualification heat with good confidence but then I hit the ground pretty hard and this morning when I wake up I was really sore and painful everywhere and I didn’t feel ready to race. I heat my head, my shoulder and my leg but then actually I rode well, the pace was there, I just miss some minutes on the bike that should be there because I was closing the gap with the lead in both moto but it was just not enough but even if I win it was not changing anything to Italy. Ride in front of this crowds today was a great emotion and even if we have been far from the podium I’m happy about the commitment of all the team, giving their best.”
Jason Anderson: “I was really excited coming to this race to represent the US. After posting the fastest time in free practice I had a bit of bad luck in qualifying. I got hit from behind in the first turn and ended up hurting my leg. I decided to race on Sunday despite this injury. My first race went pretty well from the get go. I got the holeshot and started pulling away from the field. Midway through the race Herlings caught up and we had a pretty good battle for a couple of laps before he went down. After that I was just coasting to the finish to get the win. I was really excited to cross the line first but right after that I felt another bike landing on me. We’ve got everything checked out and I’m going to be OK. It’s just a bit of a bummer I couldn’t get out there in the last moto to help Team USA battle for the win.”
Romain Febvre: “I didn’t realize that we had won when I passed in the final lap, I just saw the sign very quickly that we were in second place. It’s a great feeling to win again. I was riding like at the beginning of the season this weekend, and to start Sunday with a win is unbelieveable. I just felt so free on the YZ450FM.”
Jeremy Van Horebeek: “I won MX2, but the goal here was for the national team, so it’s a pity that we missed the podium. Michele and the team really did an awesome job to get the YZ250F ready for me, and I’m happy for the result. It’s a big atmosphere here at the Motocross of Nations. Every year is better and better, new people, a new country. I really enjoy the race.”
Cooper Webb: “I’m proud of the way we turned things around from Saturday. We struggled a bit with qualifying and getting used to the track here, and we raced really well on Sunday. The crowd here in the Motocross of Nations is so amazing and it’s a great feeling out there to race for them and hear their support. But it’s going to take a long time to get over what happened in the race today, and I’m really crushed to go out like I did.”
Valentin Guillod: “It’s the biggest event in the world of motocross, with all of the fans supporting their country, so it’s awesome. The track is a bit slippery but it’s very fast. In the qualifying race I cut my hand and got five stitches when somebody hit me full gas in the first lap, and so I wasn’t able to ride at my top level. I’m disappointed because I can ride faster than what I did today.”
Alvin Östlund: “It’s a lot of spectators and always nice to be on the track for them, and there’s also a lot of good riders on the track, so it’s tough. In qualifying I had a really good start, but we found out today the settings were a little bit off, so we changed them for the second race and did a lot better.”
Benoit Paturel: “For me the experience here was great, and I want to thank my teammates and the mechanics for perparing the bike this week on the track at Maggiora. All season we worked together with Jacky Vimond my trainer and the mechanics to improve in MX2 and to get better. Today at Motocross of Nations was a good day for me and a great day for Yamaha and France.”
Brent Van doninck: “In my first heat I crashed twice, first was small but the second was pretty big, and I hurt myself and my head. But I didn’t get any points. In the second race I crashed again, but I got back on and got some points. I had one week to get used to the YZ450F, but it was difficult to race for me because I am a YZ250F rider normally. I really like it, and I like the Motocross of Nations even more, but I would like to race it again next year with more time on the bike first.”
Alex Martin: “We were in the hunt down to the last lap today, and it’s no secret that we had a lot of adversity yesterday and today. But it’s a really cool event to be part of and have two top 10 finishes today. Congrats to Team France and Team Netherlands today, this was a great weekend and I’m proud to take part in it.”
Max Nagl: “Wrapping up the 2016 MXGP season with third overall I was really looking forward to this year’s Motocross of Nations. Unfortunately, my run was cut short after a crash in Saturday’s qualifying moto. It all happened fast. I was coming through the pack and just before the finish line I chose a different line, hit a muddy spot and crashed. The pain in my back was so intense we decided to sit out the rest of the event. The pressure from the championship was off so I knew I could battle for race wins here at the Nations. To be honest I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t manage to show what I could do on Sunday. I’m also sorry I couldn’t battle for Team Germany. Luckily we avoided any major injury so soon I’ll be able to get back to racing and my preparations for 2017.”
Max Anstie: “It was nice to take part at the Motocross of Nations this year. Racing on the same track with the guys on the 450s makes the starts crucially important. To be honest I was a bit nervous coming into the final motos as I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I didn’t manage to get a good start in either of my two motos and that made things a lot harder for me. I did my best to help Team Great Britain but it just wasn’t meant to be. It’s been a long season of racing and I’m really looking forward to making a new start in 2017. Next year I will be racing Husqvarna’s FC 450 machine in the MXGP class. It’s a new challenge that I’m really looking forward to.”
Pascal Rauchenecker: “My goal coming into this year’s Motocross of Nations was to help Team Austria get the best possible result. Overall, it’s been a great event for me. I took my time to get used to the extra power of the FC 450 in qualifying so I could push a lot harder on Sunday. The Nations is such an amazing event. It feels so special racing in front of thousands of fans from all over the world. For me it’s been a blast. Team Austria managed to qualify for the finals and I went on to wrap up the day with two good results. I’m heading back home now to continue my preparations for the International Six Days Enduro that’ll take place in Spain in two weeks time.”
Evgeny Bobryshev: “Overall I’m pretty pleased with today. The result in race one wasn’t what we wanted, but before that the position wasn’t so bad. Just I was feeling a little stiff on the bike and had a bit of arm pump. But I’m happy with race two – the start was bad and I was so far down the order, but the feeling on the bike was really good and I could keep pushing to finish sixth which was more than I thought was possible after the start. It’s a shame to be just outside the top ten, but that’s how it goes. It’s been a really great event though with all the passion and energy from the fans, and congratulations to Gautier and Honda for their title today.”
Arnaud Tonus: “It was a good weekend for me, my second race on a 450. In the first race I got a good start and even though I had some arm pump I still managed to finish in fourth position; our bike was probably too aggressive for this kind of track, but the schedule for this special race is too tight to do much testing. In my second race my start was not as good; I found a good rhythm for fifteen minutes but then it was more difficult as I’m not used to the 450 and haven’t raced in Europe for two years. I really enjoyed racing on the 450; it suits my riding style pretty well and I’m happy with my second position overall in the Open class this weekend.”
Tommy Searle: “Luck just wasn’t on my side in the first race. I surrendered our team’s best gate to my teammate so I was in the pack, but on the first lap some guy just stopped dead at the bottom of a hill and I hit him flat out. The bars were bent and I banged my right forearm so I couldn’t attack. I timed my start perfectly in the second race and could race top four easily all moto. Febvre dived inside me at the last corner and I could have stopped him, but our team had a pretty unhappy weekend and he was going for the Nations so it would have been unfair to block him.”
Vsevolod Brylyakov: “I was quite good on the track, but never got a good start this weekend. I know the bike is good, but I didn’t race for a few months due to my injury and my feeling was not so good for the start; that’s a point we need to work this winter. I made a lot of passes in both races, but it was not really easy against the 450s so you had to change lines, to do something different to make the passes stick. I’m pretty happy to finish in the top ten of the MX2 class for my comeback race; I showed that I’m back in good shape. I never stopped working physically during my recovery period and the team was pretty happy with my results today even if I was expecting better.”
