P126
CN
III EMPIRE OF DIRT
P
robably 15 years ago now,
I had my thoughts about
how we could make the
Motocross of Nations even more
competitive and more fun to
watch. I've written about it be-
fore, but as the years have gone
by, it's only become more ap-
parent to me that this idea would
work very well. And it doesn't
have to replace the Motocross
des Nations' current format
(although I think it should), but
it could be its own standalone
event instead. It could be called
the Trophee des Nations after
the event that used to be a big
deal but no longer exists. Or,
we could call it Trophee des
Regions, which might be even
more accurate.
First, here are the primary
issues I see with the Motocross
des Nations today. One, many
countries have one or two really
great racers on the team, but
without three of them, they have
almost no hope of ever winning
the event. Team Italy over the
years is an excellent example
of this when Antonio Cairoli is
healthy. To date, only these 10
countries have ever won the
event: Great Britain (16 times),
Belgium (15 times), Sweden
(seven times), the Soviet Union
(two times), Czechoslovakia (one
time), the USA (22 times), Italy
(two times), France (six times),
Germany (one time) and The
Netherlands (one time). Two of
those countries don't even exist
THE MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS
COULD BE BETTER
Why do we still have three classes in
the Motocross of Nations? Is it time
to look at a revised format?
BY STEVE COX