Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.MOTOCROSS Nations Jerez, Spain 50th Annuailiotocross des JEREZ, SPAIN, SEPT. 22 fter two years of failing to live up to the world's expectations, Team USA returned to winning form on the steep hills of southwestern Spain, completely dominating the 50th Annual Motocross des Nations. The trio of Team Honda/1-800-COLLECT / Fox Racing's Steve Lamson and Jeremy McGrath and Team Kawasaki's Jeff Emig blitzed the competition in the infield of Jerez, Spain's Grand Prix road racing circuit, with each rider finishing atop his division in the three combined motos. The win marked the 14th time in 16 years that Team USA has been victorious in the event and the first time since the 1994 upset by England that ended Team USA's winning streak after 13 straight wins. In a crushing blow to European motocross confidence, Team USA, managed by multi-time World Champion Roger DeCoster, finished with a low score of nine points, less than half of second-place France's 21-point total. Defending race champion Belgium was third with 30 points, followed by Ger\0 many and Holland with 51 points ~ apiece. ,....... "Mission accomplished," summed up McGrath. "1 feel like we came over here and proved to everyone that we're still the best. They talked a lot of bullshit after we lost the last couple of years and I felt like it was time for us to step back up. We won all six motos, basically, so there shouldn't be too much arguing over who's the best for a little while." "This is probably the best d;ay of my life as far as racing goes," said Lamson, who put to rest the question of who's the best 125cc rider in the world for a little while by leading his class both times. "I've thought about losing last year's race many times and I really wanted to win today bad. It was always in the back of my mind. ow I guess I can let it go and think about today instead." '1 can't teU you how good it feels to come back and win this thing," said Emig, the only man to participate on both of Team USA's losing '94 and '95 squads. "This race has also been really important to me, even back when I was a little kid. To be considered for the team - to actually be here as part of the team - is really important to me. I'm just glad we didn't let the American fans down." Regarded by many to be one of the strongest teams America has ever sent the three riders are the 1996 U.s. ational Champions: Lamson in the 125cc class, Emig in 250cc and McGrath in Supercross - there was no doubt about the superiority of the Americans as a unit. Only French 125cc World Champion Sebastien "Dyno" Tortelli and Belgian 250cc Vice Champion Marnicq Bervoets were able to keep the Americans in sight in their respective divisions, but neither was able to beat his American counterpart. The scoring format was changed for the 1996 Motocross des Nations in an effort to make the racing more interesting. The program still called for a first moto with 125 and 500cc riders, a sec- ond moto matching 125 and 250cc pilots, and a 250/500cc finale: But rather than running classes together and scoring them separately according to class, all riders were figured into a first through 40th scoring system. For the record, McGrath went 1-1 in his two motos, Lamson 1-3 and Emig 35. Had the old scoring sy tem been in place, Team USA would have totaled six points, as each rider finished ahead of everyone else in his class all six times. The only other time that fea t had been accomplish~d was back in 1986 when Team USA's Rick Johnson, David Bailey and Johnny O'Mara dominated the event in Italy. Going into the 1996 race, few people doubted that it was time for the Americans to return to the top. After losing the '94 event in Switzerland and the '95 version in Slovakia, Team USA took a beating in the global racing press. And so did McGrath, who opted not to ride on the team those two years after a mediocre performance in his '93 Team USA debut. McGrath came back to the fold this year, eager to live up to his reputation as the world's fastest rider, and Lamson and Emig were both focused on avenging the '95 loss, of which they were a part. (Emig was a late replacement in the 500cc class for Kawasaki teammate Ryan Hughes, who was injured in the last 250cc ational of the year at Steel City in Pennsylvania and could not make the event.) Any Europeans who didn't think The U.S. MX des Nations team - Jeremy McGrath, Steve Lamson and Jeff Emlg returned to Its winning weys In Spain. Lamson (6) wheelles out of the gate et the start of the first 125/500cc moto; he came through the pack to win. they were in trouble certainly got the message in Saturday's free training sessions. The Jerez circuit was a remarkable track in that it was set high in the hardpack foothills above the road-racing circuit, yet had perfect soil after hundreds of truckloads of red clay were hauled in from 30 miles away. The organizers then used the dirt to shape eight or nine jumps around the hilly circuit, including one long downhill tabletop that started out as a quadruple jump. As several top European riders complained about the infamous" 0 Double Jump" rule that exists in FlM Grand Prix motocross, Lamson was blowing the crowd's minds with his heel-clickers and whip-its. McGrath and Emig joined in, and by the time the first practice was over, the bulldozers were on their way up the hill. The quadruple was altered to one long downhill tabletop, though the landing was more of a rolling ledge than . .anything. Still, the Euros complained to no avail while Lamson continued to disarm them Sunday morning with his high-wire act. "This is not the Supercross des ations," complained Belgian 500cc rider Joel Smets, "it's the Motocross des

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