• Jeremy Seewer and Antonio Cairoli finish top 10 in the premier class
• The Desmo450 MX riders, sporting the colours of Team Italy and Switzerland, finish 6th and 8th at the MXoN
The 78th Motocross of Nations took place this weekend at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana, 70 miles from Indianapolis, on one of America's most iconic motocross tracks, under perfect weather conditions with temperatures nearing 30°C (86°F).
After making their debut at the Motocross of Nations with the Desmo450 MX on Saturday, Antonio Cairoli and Jeremy Seewer, both competing in the premier class of the season’s most important event, qualified eighth and 12th, respectively, for Sunday’s races. They lined up for the two motos facing MX2 riders in race one and Open class riders in race three.
With a strong beginning in race one, Jeremy settled into tenth on the opening lap, while Tony dropped out of the top 20 after a collision exiting the gate. The Swiss rider fought hard over all 16 laps to hold his position and crossed the line in 11th. The Italian, struck forcefully by another athlete during the chaotic early stages, crashed and rejoined in 37th with a sore hand. Gritting his teeth, Cairoli climbed back to 25th before heading to the medical centre for evaluation immediately after the moto.
Although he suffered a micro-fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his left hand, the nine-time World Champion chose to line up for the second race, delivering yet another display of determination and mental strength. Starting below the top 20 in race three, the Sicilian did everything he could to make up positions despite the pain, ultimately finishing in 13th, the highest of the Italian riders, and contributing to the national team’s sixth-place result. Meanwhile, Seewer, outside the top 30 at the first corner, mounted an impressive comeback to finish the final race of the year in 16th - a crucial effort towards Switzerland clinching eighth. In the individual MXGP standings, Jeremy finished seventh overall, as Tony secured 10th even though his entire day was hampered by his unfortunate injury.
Jeremy Seewer: “It was an interesting weekend, starting with different things on the bike and very positive in some ways. And then I also had to get used to different people setting up the bike. But, yeah, it ended positively in moto two, especially the last 15 minutes, which I think was some of the best riding I showed all year, so that was a little bit of a relief. Besides that, starts were not on point, especially in moto two, because I let my teammate go inside. We are working still, but I was pretty consistent, and Team Switzerland finished eighth, which is not too bad with the team we have. We know what we need to work on, and it seems we are surrounded by the right people to go in a good direction.”
Cairoli: “Happy again to race here on American soil. It's the first time for Ducati with the Motocross of Nations, which is something really special. The weekend started good yesterday, as I enjoyed a really good qualifying race. Today, the first moto got landed on by another rider and broke my hand. I had to really dig deep in myself to try to finish the first moto. Second moto, I got checked, got some painkillers and went for it. But I was really beat up and could only finish 13th. But I was in front of my teammate in the second moto and in front of my Ducati teammate, so in the end, not too bad, I have to say as in this condition I cannot wish for more.”
