Amid tales of queues, access and some impatience with the first major test of volume for Maggiora Park this weekend there was also a celebration of the special place that the facility holds in the annals of the sport and the devastating effect that the American Dream Team of Bailey, Johnson and O’Mara had thirty years ago around the same hills and would reverberate around the sport in the following years. The veterans themselves sat alongside Youthstream President Giuseppe Luongo, FIM dignitaries and Maggiora Park owners and revitalisers Paolo Schneider and Stefano Avandero in the welcoming press conference. “I still smell the dirt and the 500s when I was chasing them on that 125,” said Johnny O’Mara. “I was on top of my game that weekend and I think we all brought our A-Game; that day we were perfect. For me this is a magical place. Is there a circuit that compares to this? Not really.”
“This is emotional for me because that was the best time of my life,” said David Bailey. “That was my first year with Honda and we were 1-2-3 in the series; there were good races and I learned so much from those two guys,” said Johnson in a lengthy discourse. “Italians either love or hate you: there is no in-between. But it was great to be a part of that history and this new version of Maggiora has everything much better.”
Johnson was not exaggerating. Maggiora looked immaculate, groomed and prepped to within inches of the posts. The large back section had been newly added to the layout. “We worked a lot on the track to make it longer, more modern and more spectacular and bigger to accommodate more public,” said Avandero. “We also wanted to increase the safety and the logistics access. Everything is on a larger scale.”
“Being three years with the MXGP and now taking on the Nations is not so easy but I think we are ready to make a good event this year,” said Schneider. “We are improving with experience every single year and I think for this meeting we have the best possible track we could have at Maggiora. It is going to be really exciting.”
Many in the press corps have been tipping The Netherlands for a podium spot on Sunday but faith in the Orange trio of Jeffrey Herlings, Glen Coldenhoff and Brian Bogers – who have all shone at one time or another in MXGP this season – was shaken a little during the official presentation. Team Manager Marcel Hartman downplayed expectations with hopes towards a top five finish. The team did not give off a unified air; Herlings (at the Nations for the first time since 2013) commented that he was there to represent Red Bull KTM and spoke of individual goals while also sporting a KTM shirt rather than that of the Dutch Federation like his teammates. There was a degree of apprehension from the MX2 Champion at such a high-profile first competitive outing on the 450SX-F.
The vibe was a contrast to the collective feeling transmitted from reigning champions France. Manager Pascal Finot remarked that the crew had been together for most of the week, training, riding and hanging out while forging the kind of team spirit that saw them sail to the Chamberlain Cup twelve months ago.
Finot was gracious – and perceptive – enough to comment that there was no standout ‘favourite’ for the 2016 edition and the French were not as emboldened as Ernee last year where they carried the advantage of boisterous home support.
Tony Cairoli received a singsong to mark his 31st birthday and it is hard not to see the Sicilian figuring at the front for victory at some point on Sunday. The last time the Nations occurred on Italian soil was the scene of his epic duel with Chad Reed at Franciacorta in 2009; still one of the best races we’ve had the pleasure to watch and in which 222 was victorious.
Cairoli may have completed his thirtieth year but he still has to rack-up some appearances for Team Italy in order to catch Estonia’s Tanel Leok. Also 31, the KTM rider has opted for the MX2 class for his country and last rode in the smaller category back in 2001 at Namur, Belgium where he steered a 125cc two-stroke. Leok’s sixteenth Nations outing must be some kind of record; only Josh Coppins’ resilient presence for the Kiwis must come close.
Another fancied trio were the Swiss. Valentin Guillod, Arnaud Tonus and Jeremy Seewer. “We had this same team two years ago…but not with the same level of experience,” said Guillod, who is almost certain to be competing on the Yamaha for the final time in Italy. “Valentin has just had his first year on the 450 and so is better prepared because in the past he always had to switch to the bigger bike,” reasoned Seewer, citing one of the facts that could make the difference for the red-and-white collective.
MXGP World Champion Tim Gajser’s absence due to a sore shoulder and hip as a result of a practice crash this week was a shock Friday morning. Gajser rode at the Nations in 2014 with a fractured vertebrae but was under doctor’s orders to rest for a fortnight and thus his participation at SMX and also the Monster Energy Cup is now on the line.
As ever there was discernible interest for the most successful Nations squad on the list. Team USA have polished the Chamberlain silverware twenty-two times and the echoes of Bailey, Johnson and O’Mara means even more pressure on the shoulders of Jason Anderson, Cooper Webb and Alex Martin. “Team USA has won a lot of Nations so I wanted to be feeling good and riding good and now I’m not so nervous,” said Husqvarna’s Anderson as the rookie of the team. “I’ve played the MXGP video game and watched YouTube but nothing does these hills justice!” he joked. Martin has appeared twice due to passport flexibility to represent Team Puerto Rico but this was his first in the distinctive red and white shirt. “It is night-and-day difference; a really big step up,” the Yamaha rider said. Double AMA Champion in 2016 and Americas MXGP winner Webb stated that he’d “learned a lot” from his 2015 Nations baptism at Ernee and that there was “fuel on the fire” to win again for team and for the first time since 2011.
The final part of the build-up happens tomorrow (Saturday) at 09.00 local time with the ballot to decide gate positions for the Qualification Heats and then free practice begins afterwards.
