MXoN 2023 - Looking Back
The 2023 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in Ernée, France, witnessed history as it boasted the largest crowd ever seen. With an astonishing 102,000 attendees over the weekend, the event's atmosphere was nothing short of unique and incredible.
This extraordinary off-track enthusiasm fuelled the riders to deliver a jaw-dropping performance on the track, making it a truly memorable experience for all motocross enthusiasts.
This 76th edition of the Motocross of Nations will go down in history as an astonishing all-round event that saw the home team, Team France rise above everyone to clinch the highly sought-after Chamberlain Trophy for the 7th time in their history.
“It’s unbelievable to win again," Romain Febvre said. "My fourth Nations and my fourth victory. I wasn’t completely comfortable with the track yesterday in Qualifying but I knew that I had the ability to turn it round today. I took a good start – second to Prado – in the first moto and then it was like a GP race with me chasing him down. He passed me back near the end and the fight was on.
"I knew I had to do something and I passed him again with two laps to go. Tom (Vialle) did more than we could expect to finish second in total to Maxime (Renaux) in the second race, so we just had to ride it home in the final moto. Each of us won in our class and we had a big gap to second. I’m so happy for the fans who were behind us so strongly all day; we rode as a team … and we won as a team!”
Australia’s second place was the team’s second podium in two years and the best result at the MXoN, as well as being the first podium for Dean Ferris on his sixth attempt at the race. Lawrence’s brother, Hunter, took 10-5 finishes as the team’s MX2 rider - this being his final race on a 250.
“The first race," Jett Lawrence said. "The start wasn’t too bad, I was there. I was in the top 10 and I thought I had a good chance of winning but I made an aggressive pass on the outside and went down. Starting dead last wasn’t ideal but I had a pretty good flow around the track and felt fit and didn’t get tired at all. My last six laps were the fastest so I was happy with that. The second moto I wanted to go out and win the thing. I had a decent start, around third, then I made a quick move for second and was chasing Kenny again like back in America. I felt at home, although he had a lot better lines than I did at the start so I was following him for a bit, but once I was able to get around him, I put my head down and flowed just like home. It was good to get the win and finish on a high.”
Now onto 2024, Matterley Basin, England in the first weekend of October. Four of five teams capable of winning and the classic of Prado vs Lawrence vs Gajser vs Lawrence vs Herlings vs Tomac vs Coenen vs Febvre vs De Wolf vs Vialle vs Webb vs Adamo and it just goes on and on.
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