US Wins 2009 Motocross of Nations

The team of Ryan Dungey, Ivan Tedesco and Jake Weimer came from behind to capture the Motocross of Natios Chamberlain Trphy after trailing in third place heading into the final moto.

This definitely ranks near the top for me. It has been a dream to come over here and a real experience to be a part of this, never mind actually winning it, says Dungey. A lot of people told me what it would be like, but when you arrive here you cant help but be amazed. We had a good time and full credit to Jake and Ivan; I had a break between the motos but they went back-to-back and that takes a lot of heart and dedication. I am glad we could work together and pull this one off.

The Americans led after the first moto, which combined the 450cc MX1 and 250cc MX2 classes, with Italy second and Great Britain third. Dungey placed third riding a Suzuki in the MX1 class while Weimer was eighth in MX2 on a Kawasaki to establish the lead. MX1 World Champion Antonio Cairoli of Italy won the first moto, just 1.6 seconds ahead of reigning AMA Motocross Champion Chad Reed who competed for his native Australia.

The U.S. lost the lead after the second moto as Honda rider Tedescos third place in the Open class was offset by Weimers 25th place in MX2. Frances Gautier Paulin took the second moto while Italys David Philippaerts edged out Tedesco for second.

France led heading into the third and final moto with Belgium in second. The U.S., starting Dungey in MX1and Tedesco in the Open class, had a difficult task with two teams ahead of them. A crash soon after the start helped turn things around for the Americans.

A group of riders hit the dirt on the starting straight including moto winners Cairoli and Paulin who were forced to retire.

Spains Jonathan Barragan survived with the lead with Dungey on his tail. Dungey later passed Barragan for the lead and held on to a commanding 11-second victory of Belgiums Steve Ramon. Tedesco finished seventh to help push the U.S. over the top to its 20th title. France finished second while Belgium placed third.

The win vindicated Team USA which received criticism for not having top names like AMA Supercross Champion James Stewart, Ryan Villapoto and Mike Alessi.

We had a lot of pressure coming to this race as Team USA won the last editions, and I felt a lot of pressure. I was pretty happy with my first race, but in the second one I made a lot of mistakes and Im just thankful to my teammates, both of them rode amazingly well, says Tedesco. A lot of people in the US say that we were a B team but the B team won and I want to thank everyone in the team for the job we did together, including of course Mitch Payton and Kawasaki Pro Circuit. Its my first experience here in Europe, my feeling is really good and Im super-excited. The track was difficult, rutty and rougher than what we have in the U.S., but that was a great experience.

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