FN I assume...Im sure we can go back into the FIM archives and see what kind of setups or rule exceptions were allowed.
nice little website for "MX" history simplified. http://motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/museum/exhibits/mx/history.asp
Interesting article. I didn't see anything saying that riders were required or encouraged to ride a bike from their home country but I can see how people could get that idea based on England's early domination and that the majority of motorcycles in the early days came from England. ^^ Things like this are always really interesting to me. I get a kick out of knowing why things are the way they are. Many times it goes back to some law or regulation somewhere and that's why we end up with certain classifications. We do a lot of rafting and when looking for a used raft for some friends I noticed that lots of boats in the "80's were made to 15 foot 11 inches instead of the more common 16 foot of today. A rafting buddy of ours told me that was because under Regan there was a luxury tax on all boats of 16 foot or larger. Thanks for the link 'taccio!
I hear ya on the starts and JM1 but I'm not sold on him not finishing outside the top ~6 unless he is coming from ~last place like he did a couple times this yr and finishing respectable ... EU has some very good riders of course but they all are not AC222 and their pool just might be shallow ... If they are so great, how did he win so many championships in a row? Remove JH84 from their 250s and what was left? He had the title wrapped up so quick this yr, it is still hard to understand why he lost it, again. If this race was important to everyone, our guys should be over there now ...Return for the USGP, and return for MXoN... And please, don't bring up money ...I can buy them airline tickets from my meager lifes' earnings ... Their sponsors can do it without ever missing those crumbs. Skip our home turf race? I'll just say BS with all the respect you guys need to help you not feel bad over my 2 letters.
I agree that JM1 is fast but i dont think JH84 fast but i dont think he is there.... but remember the foreign guys that ride here will be there too... Guys I see that could cause problems in MX2 for the US.... Musquin, Anstie (he is flying), Seewer, Gajser and Jonas The other problem I see is he will be out there with either MX1 or Open guys so he could really be buried behind guys that are going to be fast and not be easy to past.... All of France is straight speed with Paulin, Musquin, Febvre and Belgium Stribjos, Lieber and VanHornbeek, and GB with Simpson, Anstie and Wilson plus solo riders of Simpson, Bobryshev, Coldnhoff, Waters, and Ferris. It should be great fun to watch.... My only thought is if JM1 or Webb get a bad start which I would say at least 1 of their 4 motos will have one that it wont be like here where you basically fly up to top 10 in one lap then ease thru pack and finish top 3-5..... it'll be a fight against 250s and 450s....
Thanks for grouping all the names together; helps us old guys focus .... You left off the guy who can win every race he's in -- Maximilian "Max" Nagl - Ice 1 Racing Husqvarna MX Factory Team Rider and overall good guy. JM1 just whipped MM25 so I see no problem there but racing is racing ... Febvre is the champion over there ... Can't take anything away but AC222 and Desalle were not there in the racing... France sits on the top 2 places but look at the points difference between them... 100 pts? Don't remember how all this played out but that is a big gap. Might not be as many horses there as one might expect. And look at the results from the round in France ... One thing that did stand out from MM25 racing was that tracks he liked, he did very well on ... Others, maybe not so well ... -- Here is part of an interview Coop just gave ... He's all in and he likes his girls big, same as his bike. If he does hit the ground out there somewhere, he's gonna get up quick and remount! Q: Let’s talk about MXoN. That has to be a pretty big thrill to be selected to represent your country. Webb: It’s a dream come true! Even when I was a little kid, I knew what the race was and always thought it would be incredible to be selected to do that race one day. To be able to do it this year is an honor. It’s going to be a new challenge for me, as I’ll be lining up in the MX3 class aboard a 450, so I’m pretty excited. I’m stoked that Jeremy and I can represent Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha and of course Team USA with Justin (Barcia). Justin and I go way back and I’m just stoked on this good group of guys. I genuinely feel that we have a good shot at winning with us being so young and hungry. It should be good! Q: How are you getting along with the big 450? Webb: I like the big girl [laughs]. We’re getting it dialed in! It’s so completely different from the 250. The first few weeks we were just doing some minor testing to get a few things sorted out with factory Yamaha, who is building the bike. We’re just trying to figure everything out for me. I’m relatively small to be riding a 450, so a lot of their test specifications got thrown out the window because they test with guys that are taller and even a little heavier. Everything’s good, though. We’re pretty much dialed in and I like the bike. I think my style of riding fits the 450 well and we’ve still got a couple weeks to put the finishing touches on the bike. I’m just stoked! Q: You were kind of a surprise entry into the MXGP of USA at Glen Helen. When was that decided? Webb: It wasn’t as last minute as it seemed, but the biggest thing was figuring out if I’d be able to do it or not because of the hectic testing schedule we already have for MXoN. Yamaha had to build me two race bikes to be sent over to Europe and then I would need a practice bike. We had to make sure we had everything dialed in for the MXoN before we switched gears for the GP. We’ve got everything taken care of for France, so now we’re getting things taken care of for the GP at Glen Helen. I’ve wanted to do it from the beginning, but like I said, I just wasn’t sure if we would be able to pull all of that stuff off in time for the Grand Prix. I’m a huge follower of that series and I watch every round, so it’s intriguing to me. I think it’ll be a good warmup race, as well, since I’ll be racing against a lot of the Euro guys that’ll be in France. I’ll be able to get a first-hand impression as far as the schedule goes, too. I think this is going to be the perfect race to get our feet wet for the MXoN. Q: Since you’ve been following the GP series, then you know that a lot of the top guys are sidelined due to injuries. How do you think you’ll stack up at the GP? Webb: It’s hard to say. There are a lot of really fast guys that I’ve never raced with before so we just have to wait and see. Obviously I’ll be racing a 450 for the first time even though I did race the bigger bike in Japan last year, but this is going to be a much larger stage. And yes, we did Monster Cup on a 450, but that’s still in my comfort zone, so to speak being that it’s a Supercross race. It’ll definitely be interesting with guys like Cairoli that were expected to win from the beginning, but have been out due to an injury. I’m just hoping to mix it up with those guys. Plus, it’s at a track that I ride quite a bit, so that should play into my favor even though that track is completely different on race day. With a good start, I think our chances are good. I’m not going to say that I should be the winner, but I do expect a top five or even a podium finish. I absolutely think I can win, but I just don’t want to put too much pressure on myself.
Febvre just started ok and hung in there while Desalle and Caroilli started out fast and ended up crashing out leaving Febvre all alone in the lead.... But Febvre has showed lately he is a quality rider... Nagl is one of my favorites and always has..... I think AC and KD went out fast knowing RV was going to come on strong as the season went on.... but he obviously didnt make it that far..... Our team can either be really good or really bad.... Barcia should be solid and just hope out of the 4 moto starts for the 2 young ones they can pull at least 3 good ones.... if so it'll be a good dday for the US.....
We have three really fast guys. If they can keep it on two wheels they will do well. Decent starts and smart riding is needed. It can happen. I'm sure Decoster has them in line and can harness all that raw talent.
We are gonna need 'No.1', JB51, to finish top 3 and in front of part of the French crew ... They can't be allowed to go 1-2, 2-3 in finishes... I liked Coopers words above ...He's into racing these EU guys ...He wants this USGP action and the MXoN ... Yamaha sounds good with all the bikes ... Mikkola rode one after Husky... After last yr, JM1 has gotta want it also ... -- Nagl was the man till hurt ... He's the class of the EU guys unless our guys ride past him ...Don't think that is gonna be too easy ... I saw one interview with him and he was all jack-up over passing RV2 and AC222 in the same moto... They gotta race in MEX next and we'll get another look at Nagl then and can gauge how fit his riding is if their track is decent ...
Nagl is not fully back yet.... I hope he gets in shape in the next few weeks.... that Assen track was crazy
How's that USA team look now? Sorry, you do not have to answer that ... How do those EU 250 riders look now? How do our 250cc riders look now? Shoot, you don't have to answer those either .. Do the big bad wolf EU riders still scare you? lol ...
Webb looked great.... but and the big but..... He will be on a track he has never ridden and all those guys have for years and the ones he will be racing are the longtimers..... If he gets good starts like Ive always said he will do good if not itll be bad
