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CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE A ll motocross fans worth their salt know of course of the Motocross des Nations and even some veteran fans recall the Trophee des Nations. Hardcore fans might even recall the short-lived Coupe des Nations. In the earlier incarnation Moto- cross des Nations was for 500cc machines, Trophee for 250s and Coupe for 125s. But while scanning the photo collection of the late great photographer and racing journalist Henny Ray Abrams, I came across an intrigu- ing set of negatives which were marked "Trophee des Marques." That led me to research the event and as it turns out it was frustrat- ingly difficult to find anything about it. As I write this story I still feel like I only know a small portion of the story of the Trophee des Marques. Hopefully someday I'll discover the complete story of the event, but it was such an interesting concept I felt I needed to at least write about what I found. The Trophee des Marques was a pre-season event held in March, in which each manufacturer would field their best motocross riders and it was brand versus brand. So, it was Suzuki teams versus Honda teams versus Kawasaki, etc. Interestingly, the top brands often fielded a couple of teams to increase their chances of winning and to give opportunities for more riders to compete and warm up for the GP season. The only two Motocross des Marques that I actually found extensive info on were the 1982 and 1983 editions. The Trophee des Marques featured top GP rid- ers and even at times some AMA MX riders in the mix. The races were held in Vorselaar, Belgium, just outside of Antwerp in northern Belgium. While crowd estimates weren't mentioned, photographs show a large turnout. Now here's where the research gets sketchy. The 1982 coverage indicates that that year was the 6th Annual Trophee des Marques. That means the competition began in 1977. Emails to the FIM, mes- sages on motocross Facebook pages and calls to riders who participated resulted in minimal in- formation. I failed to find how long the competition continued after 1983, if at all. It appears the roots of the des Marques went back to 1974 when Vorselaar first hosted a pre-season International Motocross event. The first International at Vorselaar featured 250cc machines. It was won by Belgium's own Sylvain Ge- boers on a Suzuki with a 2-3 moto finish. Fellow Belgians Jaak Van Velthoven (5-1) on a Yamaha and a rider named Roger DeCoster (6-2) P120 TROPHEE DES MARQUES Marc Velkeneers (14), Harry Everts (1) and Jo Martens funnel into the loamy first turn at the 1982 Trophee des Marques. PHOTOGRAPHY BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS