Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126981
Wi ~ ~ Last year's Motocross des Nations in Italy.saw a two wave start. The 125cc riders started in the second row directly behind one of their teammates. Depending on how many cou ntries participate, one of ei ther two rac e formats can be used. If less th an 60 riders are o n hand, suc h as in the case o f the 1985 Mo to cross d es Nations, a three moto, staggered class system was used. In one rnoto , th e 125 a nd 250cc classes would run together; the next mot o th e 125 and 500cc cla sses would race, a nd the final moto it would be the 250 and 500s. Riders would be sco red o nly aga inst their fellow cla ss com pe titors - the 125s would be scored against other 125s, th e 250s agai nst o ther 250s, and so '0 11. So, a rider on a 125 co uld actually finish fourth in a 125/ 250cc moto, beh ind three 250s, a nd still win hi s respective class . Each class would race two motos. In th a t year, Bailey rode a 500, Ward a 250 a n d 125cc National cha mp Ron Leqhi en , a 125.. Last year there were mor e th an 60 riders for the Mo tocross des Nati ons in Italy, so a differen t race form a t was used. Three mot os were run bu t all the 125, 250 a nd 500cc riders raced a t th e sa me ti me. T he sta rt i ng system, however , was a little unusual. Since th e start ing ga tes cou ld only handl e 42 riders, a two-line sta rt wa s used. Two riders from eac h cou nt ry would start on th e fir st ro w, and th e third rider (us ually th e rider on th e less-pow ered 125cc mot or cy- ' cles) would start 0 11 th e seco nd wa ve. That rider would line up directl y behind o ne of his front row teammates. Again , eac h ' rider would be scored against his fell ow class (125, 250 or 500cc) com pe ti to r. In th at year O 'Mara, who rode a 125cc Honda on th e winning U. S. sq ua d in Ital y, finished a remarkable second ove ra ll, beating all th e Europeans in both motos , despite sta rti ng on th e second row. It was a n amazing fea t. Bailey (500cc) a nd J ohnson (250cc) filled o u t the rest o f the team. The 1987 Mot ocross des Nations at Unadilla will feature the sa me format as last year's - three motos and a two-wave start. Each moto will last 30 minutes, and sta rti ng position s will be d eterm in ed by a drawing. Scoring will be th e same as a lways, using th e low-point scoring system. Each class winner will receive one point, two points for second , three for third and so on. Afte r the three motos, th ere will be a total of nine scores for eac h team , but only th e best six scores will co u nt. The team with the lowest points total wins. To identify which class :a rider is in, different colored number plat e ba ckings will be used . The 125cc riders will have white numbers on black backing; 250s whit e o n green , and 500s black o n yellow. This year 's U.S. Mot ocross des Nations team will consist of H onda 's Ri ck J ohnson (1987 250 a nd 500cc AMA National C ha mpio n), Kaw asak i 's J eff Ward (1987 Supercross Ch am pio n ) and former Supercross, 125 a nd 250cc AMA Na tio na l Champion, Suzu ki's Bob Hannah. Th e U.S. team manager will, once ag ain, be Roger DeCoster. Ward will ri de th e 500cc class, . while J ohnson and Hanna h will co m pete in th e 250 a nd 125cc classes. T he U .S. team will be up agains t 22 o the r co u ntries, in cluding th e Belgia n team wh ich will co nsist of two recen tly crowned 250 and 500cc World Champions, Eric Geboers and Georges jobe. T he team's third rider is form er 125cc Wo rld Ch a mpion Marc Velkenee rs. In 1982 a nd 1983 . Gebo ers a lso ca p tured 125cc World Ch a mpionsh ips, and J ob e was 250cc World Cha m pion in 1980 and 1983. Jobe will ride a 500 at U na dilla; Geboers a 250 and Velk en eers a 125. The Ne the rla nds team will al so be a top co nte nder a t Una di lla , T he team will be led by Kees Van der Ven , riding the 500cc class; J ohn Van Den Berk will .cam pa ig n th e 250s, and defending 125cc World Ch ampion Dav ey Strijbos will beon bo ard a 125. ,T eam manager for Netherlands will be four-time 500cc Carlsbad USG P win ne r Garrit Wolsink. Sweden could sn eak up a nd pull o ff a victory as well. Leif Persson (500cc), J orgen Nilsson (250cc) and Peter Hansson (l25cc) are top contenders in th e 1987 World Championship title chases, The American Team Ri ck J ohnson certainly has proven he sho u ld be o n the team after cl inch i n g tw o outdo or Nati onal Championships in 1987, including a second pl ace in th e Supercross series. J ohnson a lso blew a wa y all th e Europeans a t the 250cc USGP in H ollister, Cal ifornia, July 19, winning both mot os with ease. J ohnson has ridden two Mo tocross des Natio ns in 1984 a nd 1986. " It felt good to be o n th e team , " said John son. "The Mo tocros s d es Nations is so important becau se . you're representing yo ur co u ntry, not just you rself." " At Unadilla , " John son 'co n tinued , " I feel we have a good team. I' m happy with who we've pi cked. ". One o f th e most unique parts of th e MX des Nations is how ene m ies be come tea m ma tes. J ohnson and Ward are fierce com petitors on the track during th e Na tio na ls, but at Unadilla they will be on the sa me team. " I like that because it brings us a ll together to make one strong person. On the track there is less pressure because we won 't try to hold eac h o the r up or take a ny chances p a ssing each other, unlike a National. I know he (Ward ) won 't tak e me ou t, and he kn ows I won't take him ou t." J ohnson feels that having the homecourt adva ntage won't be that much o f a n ad vantage. " Sure, th e crowd cheering us on will help, but it a lso might mak e us relax too much ." " I think we have a good cha nce of winn in g," says Johnson, " bu t it won 't be easy. T he Belgian team is going to be to ugh, a nd Geboers is goi ng to be m y biggest worry. H e's Teal fast, a nd Unadilla is similar to what he rides o n in Europe. But I can bea t him because Unad illa suits m y sty le. It 's really ro ugh and is na tural terrain. " Just ab out the only rider keeping J ohnson honest a ll year long in the National s a nd Su percrosses is Kawasaki 's.Wa rd. Ward has p roven he ha s the speed to pressu re J ohnson, but ยท he has been nagged by injuries all year long. H e broke his a n kle early in th e year during a Su percross and has been bothered by it all season lo ng. Recently Ward has been slowed during the just co ncl uded 500cc Natio nal seri es wi th rib , tailbone and kn ee injuri es. " Up until th e fina l ro u nd of the 500cc Nationa ls, August . 23, three weeks prior to th e MX des Nations, th ese injuries have hampered Ward's performan ce. But Ward I S op ti mistic, and he says, " I will be 100% by Unad illa." T h is will be Ward's third Mo tocros s des Na tio ns, so he has experie nce o n hi s side . "This is definitely th e sing le biggest race ," says Ward, "an d it has the mo st pressure. 11