There is no doubt, Team USA have been the most dominant team in the history of the Motocross of Nations. Winning streaks from 1981 until 1993, and from 2005 until 2011. Now without a victory since 2011, Team USA got to go home for this event on five occasions, the first was at Unadilla in 1987 (check out the race videos below), followed by Budds Creek in 2007, Thunder Valley in 2010, RedBud in 2018 and RedBud again in 2022.

The first Motocross of Nations I attended was in 1987 at a very muddy Unadilla circuit in America. I was so excited to visit this race, as the previous year, at Maggiora, Italy was (as everyone knows) one of the true classic MXoN events. Team USA had won in 1981, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86 and were going for their seventh straight victory, and at home for the first time.

Team USA had won comfortably the previous year, with three AMA legends Johnny O’Mara, David Bailey and Ricky Johnson beating the euros to a pulp. Anyway, Unadilla was a totally different story and while Team USA did win again, and continue their domination of this event, Team Netherlands came very close to beating them.

In the opening moto the Belgian and Dutch riders proved their worth in the mud, with Georges Jobe winning ahead of Kees Van Der Ven, and third was American Jeff Ward. Holland came out of that first moto with the points lead as their 125cc rider, Dave Strijbos finished sixth in the moto, with Belgians number two, Marc Velkeneers in 8^th, and Team USA rider Bob Hannah in ninth place.

Immediately following the moto, talk circulated through the paddock about riders being protested for riding outside some of the banners.

 “I know you cannot respect the banners 100% in these conditions.” DeCoster said. “But some of the riders were riding beside the track where you could be riding inside of it. So I brought it up to the jury people so they will do something about it in the second heat. There isn’t much we can do as far as the first heat, because just about everybody went off the track sometime.” There was no official protest filed.

The second moto it was Ricky Johnson who continued his brilliant form from 1986, as he won ahead of Eric Geboers, and a very impressive Hannah. While Velkeneers finished fifth to keep Belgium in the race, and John Van Den Berk was also impressive in seventh place, his team mate, Dave Strijbos was out of sorts and out of the top 15, meaning Holland suddenly had some problems.

Going into the all-important final moto, and all three nations were still in with a shot, and a throw-away race meant Holland could still get the victory.

That wasn’t to be though as Johnson and Ward finished 1-3, and as they had done throughout that golden era of American motocross, they won the event from Holland and Belgium. Van Der Ven and Van Den Berk finished 2-5, but it wasn’t enough to stop the yanks from victory. In the first turn of that critical moto, Johnson. and Ward almost collided.

“We touched each other,” said Johnson, “but Jeff let me go by down the straight. I looked over at him and he backed off and sucked in behind me. Then a 500cc rider, I think it was Jobe, passed Ward and almost took me out. I’m thankful Jeff let me by – that’s good teamwork. Right, and that was the thing, I was under the gun there. First moto Jeff Ward got his goggles blown off, and Bob Hannah got caught in the area called screw you and I remember saying to myself, I have to win both motos if we have a chance. With the mud and knowing how good Eric Geboers and the other were in the mud, I knew I had my back to the wall, but mud didn’t bother me, I just had a good plan for my goggles and I was the only one with goggles at the end of the race. We adapted to the track that day, as we did in 1984, when Roger (DeCoster) told me how good Andrea Vromans was in the sand and I watched him and tried to implement that in the race, we had to adapt back then also.”

“I let Rick by,” said Ward. “I knew he had just raced, so I wanted to follow his lines.”

In the next couple of turns, Ward was running sixth behind Van der Ven, Johnson, Geboers, Van Der Berk and Nicoll. On the same lap, Jobe ended Belgium’s hopes for the title when he went off the course and got banners wrapped around his rear wheel.

“It feels great to win,” said Johnson.”I didn’t want to make any mistakes. The next 250 was a ways back, and Van der Ven was up there, too. Roger (DeCoster) told me if they (Van der Ven and Van Den Berk) get two firsts, they could win the overall, so I didn’t want either one of them in front of me.” clutch lever. This win has to peak right up there with winning my first National at Carlsbad (California) and winning my first National Championship in 1984. This is something I can tell stories about when I’m an old man.”

“Those guys (Europeans) could’ve won it just as easily as we did,” said Ward. ” It was all up to the last moto. I’ve been in that situation before. We had to win.”

Unadilla, USA
September, 1987

Race 1 (125/500) top-15
1. Georges Jobé (Belgium/Honda 500)
2. Kees Van Der Ven (Netherlands/KTM 500)
3. Jeff Ward (USA/Kawasaki 500)
4. Kurt Ljunqvist (Finland/500)
5. Jean-Michel Bayle (France/Honda 125)
6. Dave Strijbos (Netherlands/Cagiva 125)
7. Ditmar Lacher (Germany/Honda 500)
8. Marc Velkeneers (Belgium 125)
9. Bob Hannah (USA/Suzuki 125)
10. Tonus (Switzerland/500)
11. Peter Hansson (Sweden/125)
12. Arto Pantilla (Germany/125)
13. Corado Maddii (Italy/125)
14. Svendsen (Denmark/500)
15. Stig Thingaard (Denmark/125)

Race 2 (125/250) top-15
1. Rick Johnson (USA/Honda 250)
2. Eric Geboers (Belgium/Honda 250)
3. Bob Hannah (USA/Suzuki 125)
4. Corado Maddii (Italy/125)
5. Marc Velkeneers (Belgium 125)
6. Arto Pantilla (Germany/125)
7. John Van Den Berk (Netherlands/Yamaha 250)
8. Roland Diepold (Germany/250)
9. Yannig Kervella (France/Honda 250)
10. Soren Mortensen (Denmark/250)
11. Peter Johansson (Sweden/250)
12. Peter Hansson (Sweden/125)
13. Michele Rinaldi (Italy/Suzuki 250)
14. Simo Taimi (Finland/250)
15. Pasi Hagstrom (Finland/Kawasaki 125)

Race 3 (250/500) top-15
1. Rick Johnson (USA/Honda 250)
2. Kees Van Der Ven (Netherlands/KTM 500)
3. Jeff Ward (USA/Kawasaki 500)
4. Kurt Nicoll (Great Britain/Kawasaki 500)
5. John Van Den Berk (Netherlands/Yamaha 250)
6. Eric Geboers (Belgium/Honda 250)
7. Roland Diepold (Germany/250)
8. Mortensen (Denmark/250)
9. Yannig Kervella (France/Honda 250)
10. Ditmar Lacher (Germany/Honda 500)
11. Peter Johansson (Sweden/250)
12. Romano Nannini (Italy/500)
13. Michele Rinaldi (Italy/Suzuki 250)
14. Giovanni Cavatorta (San Marino/500)
15. Dennis Birrer (Switzerland/250)

Nations top-3
1. USA (Rick Johnson, Jeff Ward, Bob Hannah)
2. Netherlands (Kees Van Der Ven, Dave Strijbos, John Van Den Berk)
3. Belgium (Georges Jobé, Eric Geboers, Marc Velkeneers)