SEPT 10–MXDN STILL SET FOR COM PARK SEPT 27-29

Call your family, tell all your friends?it’s true! The 2002 Motocross Des Nations is coming to a track near you (or as close as it might ever get to you). Twenty-seven countries are set to race in a winner take all format for the once coveted MXDN. Why should I say ‘once coveted’? Let’s face it, the past few year’s MXDN has turned from one of the most sought events to hit the motocross world to a political fiasco encompassing mired down tracks and the top riders in the world electing to skip the event for off-season fun. O.k., so maybe it’s quite strange that the supposed best race on the planet is set for a brand new facility that hasn’t even seen the gate drop, but the race will be on home turf. The race might just be a washout (certainly not from rain this time, as Competition Park is nestled up against a mountain range in the desert), but Americans will have a chance to see the best in the world take their shots at Carmichael and the hometown boys.
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Speaking of Ricky Carmichael, the hype surrounding this year’s MXDN is slated for a Carmichael vs. Pichon battle. When hearing this, what went through my head? To put such a concept lightly, I think Carmichael might only be able to pull out a 15 second margin of victory over Mickael Pichon as opposed to the normal 20-30 seconds he usually won by during this year’s Nationals. Yes, Pichon is the World Champion and deserves plenty of credit for his accomplishments, but I’ve seen this ordeal before. Maybe the name Stefan Everts will ring a bell, when he was planning on crushing America on the wide-open European tracks, but ended up a gracious loser. American pride might be kicking in, especially since the tragic events of September 11th, but American motocross fans should make it their goal to back Carmichael, Ferry, and LaRocco by rooting for these guys on our home turf. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice to see the three American riders sweep the first three spots per race?
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However, you do have to look at some other possible contenders. There is no question that defending MXDN team will be tough with Suzuki riders Pichon and Tortelli, but also open specialist Yves Demaria is a trick up France’s sleeve. What about Belgium? They always have been in the mix, and will most certainly be in the mix with some big bore bikes. I’m really interested in seeing how the Australian team will do with newborn U.S. star Chad Reed, Andrew McFarlane, and Craig Anderson. Youth and inexperience will make or break these stars. Not to discredit any other countries competing, but you need three strong riders to pack a punch if you plan on winning the MXDN.
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This year’s race might be a barn-burner, and on the other hand, it could just be a flop. It will be an interesting showdown between Carmichael and Pichon, and my predictions might be way off-target. Stay tuned as the world’s best will collide on a flat hairpin turn track on September 27-29.

TEAM LINEUPS:

France
1 PICHON Micka‰l SUZUKI
2 TORTELLI S‚bastien SUZUKI
3 DEMARIA Yves KTM
Team Manager – ROBERT Olivier

Belgium
4 EVERTS Stefan YAMAHA
5 SMETS Jo‰l KTM
6 BERVOETS Marnicq YAMAHA
Team Manager – ROBERT Jo‰l

New Zealand
7 COPPINS Joshua HONDA
8 TOWNLEY Ben KTM
9 KING Shayne HONDA
Team Manager – McLEOD Michael

Great Britain
10 DOBB James KTM
11 COOPER Paul HONDA
12 NOBLE James HONDA
Team Manager – HERRING Rob

Germany
13 BEIRER Pit HONDA
14 ECKENBACH Bernd KTM
15 DORSCH Marco KTM
Team Manager – SCHULLENBERG Markus

Australia
16 REED Chad YAMAHA
17 ANDERSON Graig KTM
18 MCFARLANE Andrew KAWASAKI
Team Manager – BENN Gary

Sweden
19 ANDERSSON Stefan YAMAHA
20 JŽRVELŽ Petri KAWASAKI
21 KARLSSON Karl HONDA
Team Manager – LARSSON Lars-Erik

Portugal
22 RODRIGUES Joaquim KTM
23 GON€ALVES Rui YAMAHA
24 CORREIA Luis KTM
Team Manager – ASSUN€AO Rui

South Africa
25 LANGSTON Grant KTM
26 RATTRAY Tyla KTM
27 DUGMORE Colin KTM
Team Manager – CRICK Glen

Czech Republic
34 DOBES Josef YAMAHA
35 CEPELAK Jiri HONDA
36 KADLECK Michal HUSQVARNA
Team Manager – KRAJKOVIC Ervin

Slovenia
37 KRAGELJ Saso YAMAHAaha
38 JELEN Roman HONDA
39 SITAR Rok HONDA
Team Manager – RUS Slavko

Ireland
40 CROCKARD Gordon KTM
41 LYONS Adams TM
42 Mc CULLOUGH Philip KTM
Team Manager – RUSSELL Stephen

Spain
46 GARCIA VICO Javier KTM
47 BERNARDEZ Aaron TM
48 LANZA Oscar HONDA
Team Manager – VALLE Rafael

Italy
49 BARTOLINI Andrea HONDA
50 CHIODI Alessio YAMAHA
51 PUZAR Alessandro HUSQVARNA
Team Manager – FILIPPINI Fabrizio

Denmark
55 JORGENSEN Brian HUSQVARNA
56 JACOB Almar YAMAHA
57 BO VANG Jensen KTM
Team Manager – SJOHOLM Bjarne

Argentina
61 FERNANDEZ Jeremias YAMAHA
62 DEBERNARDIS Norberto HONDA
63 FREYTES Augusto
Team Manager – PESCE Claudio

Brazil
64 ASSUN€AO Roosevelt HONDA
65 BALBI Antonio HONDA
66 NASSAR Massoud HONDA
Team Manager – YASUDA Wilson

Canada
67 ROY Jean-Sebastien HONDA
68 MORGAN Blair HONDA
69 DUBE Marco HONDA
Team Manager – MARES Paul

Chile
70 ISRAEL Jeremias HONDA
71 GOMEZ Alfredo HONDA
72 HELFMANN Walter HONDA
Team Manager – FARNSWORTH Ron

Costa Rica
73 FONSECA Ernesto HONDA
74 ROBERT Adrian HONDA
75 LEON Cristian HONDA
Team Manager – AKIN Charles

Croatia
76 SIPEK Nenad YAMAHA
77 GORICKI Goran YAMAHA
78 LELJAK Marko KTM
Team Manager – BUCAR Nikol

Japan
79 NARITA Akira SUZUKI
80 ATSUTA Yoshitaka HONDA
81 ODAGIRI Kazuyoshi HONDA
Team Manager – SANO Katsuyoshi

Lithuania
82 GELAZNINKAS Arunas KTM
83 CEPURNA Gintaras KTM
84 BRAZAUSKAS Danas HONDA
Team Manager – MILEVICIUS Aurimas

Slovakia
85 KULHAVY Josef YAMAHA
86 BUCENEC Tomas SUZUKI
87 RUHO Erik HONDA
Team Manager – BRABEC Josef

Ukraine
88 MOROZOV Roman HONDA
89 ONIPCHENKO Sergey KTM
90 PASCHINKIY Oleksandr KTM
Team Manager – PASCHINSKIY Sergey

United States
91 CARMICHAEL Ricky HONDA
92 LAROCCO Mike HONDA
93 FERRY Tim YAMAHA
Team Manager – DE COSTER Roger

Venezuela
94 MACIA DE LA CABADA Fernando YAMAHA
95 NOVOA Eduardo YAMAHA
96 SANDOVAL Michel HONDA
Team Manager – SORONDO Ramon