MXON RedBud, USA | Photo Report

October 11, 2018

by Dawn McClintock If you have ever been to a Motocross of Nations race you understand the whole experience of witnessing it in person. I've been to a few in the USA and a few in Europe and UK. You will be hard pressed to find an event outside Europe that has the same wow factor of "being there" but looking at last weekend at RedBud, Michigan, I think we can safely say that's the closest you will get to feeling that same vibe you get overseas. The fans were plain nuts! Coupling the wildness of the fans with the staggering amount of mud and the intense battles on the track, it set the stage for memories that you will have for the rest of your life. For the riders the mud really was the game changer. The US team who was favoured to be in the podium was a tad lack lustre, much to the dismay of all the American fans who lined the fence. I hope a greater respect was gained for these tough European GP riders who know how to get the job done on less than ideal days in less than ideal conditions. These guys were just on a whole different level. I had my money on the guys from The Netherlands to take the win but luck wasn't on their side. They had two exceptional rides from Herlings and Coldenhoff but holding them back was their MX2 guy Viaanderen. We will see what these guys have for the world come 2019 when MXON is on their home turf in Assen. Sure and steady wins the race and hats off to Team France who took the overall and only a few slim points separated them from Team Italy. For the Canadian team we knew the rain was coming and we knew we couldn't have sent better riders to contest the world in a mud race. The Canadian team proved that they could run up near the top with the big dogs and while a few hiccups with crashes and bike issues kept them from showing their true colours, these guys should be happy with how their weekend went. Canada ended up with an 11th but without a doubt this was Canada's best ride as far as dicing it up with the world. For young Jess Pettis this meant his first ever time on Team Canada and he didn't disappoint. He qualified well and had a few early moto crashes that prevented him from riding up where we know he should have been but he put his head down and pushed his way through the pack to have some solid finishes for the team. Congratulations Jess and Team Canada for a job well done. Here are a few images from the Canadian camp. See you guys in Assen!