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
Last year's MX des Nations winning team: U. S.A. 'sJohnny a'Mara (left to right) Rick Johnson and David Bailey. Johnson will be back this year. Wh enever I' ve go ne over for th e MX des ' Nations, one .of us gets sick because of nerves. T his race has more th an just a Nati on al Ch ampionship a t sta ke. You're ridin g for your count ry, a nd you can 't give up, no matter wh at . It 's like th e Ol ympics." Controversy surrounds the AMA's deci sion to select Bob H annah as th e third member of the U.S. team. " I hate politics," says Hannah, " bu t if they want me to ride, I'll ride." ' . The AMA had a tough decision in selecting a 125cc ride r. The choices were 1986 a n d ' 87 125cc AMA National Champion Micky Dymond, former 125cc National Champion Ron Lechien and former Supercross and 125cc National was shocked when he was told he'd be rid ing a 125. H e sho u ld be shoc ked, he hasn't ridden a 125 in five years. Hannah isn 't too pl eased. " Dymond deserves to go," says H annah, " but I'm glad I'm going. I'ITj not so sure I'm th e right choice to ride a 125, but I'm going to ride th e best I ca n. On a 250 I can beat a nybody in the world, but I never said I co uld win on a 125." ''I'm still pumped I'm going: I hate the politics, but it 's my Job. Politically, this could hurt me, bu t I'm pumped, even on a 125. They pi cked me and that's it. " Hannah, 30. has p roven th is year, though, that he can still ride fast. In Southwick, Massachusett s, Han- Rider entry list UNITED STATES .Rick Johnson (Hon) 500cc Jeff Ward (Kaw) 250cc Bob Hannah (Suz) 125cc ENGLAND Kurt Nicoll (Kaw) 500cc Rob Herring (Yam) 250cc Greg Hanson (Yam) 125cc ITALY: Claudio De Carli (Hon) 500cc Michele Rinaldi (Suz) 250cc Corrado Maddii (Hon) 125cc FINLAND Kurt Ljungqvist (Yam) 500cc Pekka Vehkonen (Cag) 250cc Mika Kouki (Yam) 125cc NETHERLANDS Kees Van der Ven (KTM) 500cc John Van Den Berk (Yam) 250cc Dave Strijbos (Cag) 125cc SWEDEN , Leif Persson (Yam) 500cc Jorgen Nilsson (Hon) 250cc Peter Hansson (Kaw) 125cc 12 Champion Johnny O 'Mara. Many peo ple feel that Dymond should be on the team since he is th e curre nt 125cC' National Champion , but th e AMA went with Hannah. The AMA chose H annah mainly for three reason s - Hannah has a p ro ven rec o rd a t Unadilla; h e' s experienced and the AMA's mailroom was flooded by letters from fans asking tha t he be p u t o n th e t eam. But Hannah figured if he was pi cked to ride , that he 'd be on a 250, so he nah won the second 250cc National mo to and fin ished second overa ll to Rick J ohnson. On the right track,", Hannah is up to speed, and Unadilla is his track . " T he Belgi an team is goin g to be dynamite," says H annah, "T hey 've got a lineup, buddy, a nd I wouldn't bet my money aga ins t th em no matter what., All I kn ow is th at Una dilla is th e best track, a ll my friends are going to be there and I'm go ing to give it everything I got! " • " AUSTRALIA Craig Dack (Hon) 500cc David Armstrong (Yam) 250cc Glen Bell (Yam) 125cc FRANCE Patrick Fura (Hon) 500cc Yannig Kervella (Hon) 250cc Jean-MicheIBayle (Hon) 125cc GERMANY Dietmar Lacher (Hon) 500cc Roland Diepold (Kaw) 250cc Arto Panttila (KTM) 125cc SAN MARINO Giovanni Cavatorta (Hon) 500c Roberto Costa (Hon) 250cc Walter Bartolini (Hon) 125cc DENMARK Ole Svendsen 500cc Soren Mortensen 250cc Stig Thinggaard 125cc SWITZERLAND Jean-Charles Tonus (KTM) 500cc Denis Birrer (Suz) 250cc Beat Flury (Yam) 125cc SPAIN Pablo Col omina (Hon) 500cc Luis Lopez (Hon) 250 _ Jose M. Gonzalez (Hon) 125 . CANADA Glen Nicholson (Yam) 500cc Jeff Surwall (Kaw) 250cc Doug Hoover (Hon)d.25cc GREECE John Yannis Ethimiou (Hon) 500cc Christos VassiIiadis (KTM) 250cc Lefteris Karetsos (Hon) 125cc . YUGOSLA V'IA Saso Simcic 500cc Marfan Avbeij 250cc Bernard Urbanija 125cc BELGIUM Georges Jobe (Hon) 500i:c Eric Geboers (Hon) 250cc Marc VeIkeneers (Hon) 125cc NEW ZEALAN D Darryl King (Hon) 500cc John Penny (Hon) 250cc Shane King (Hon) 125cc