MXoN: Factory Yamaha stars shine at Nations - Tomac, Cooper, Ferrandis, Renaux, Geerts, Seewer and Coldenhoff talk RedBud
By Press Release on 26th Sep 22
MXGP Eli Tomac Dylan Ferrandis MXoN Jeremy Seewer RedBud Jago Geerts Glenn Coldenhoff Justin Cooper Maxime Renaux
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racings Eli Tomac and Justin Cooper helped Team USA to a thrilling home-soil victory at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in RedBud, Michigan.
Cooper conquered the pressure and the rain-battered conditions to win the MX2 class, while Tomac was second in the premier-class standings after a stunning race win and a sixth. Team France made a return to the podium as the silver medalists thanks to the results of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGPs Maxime Renaux and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racings Dylan Ferrandis. Renaux was victorious in the MXGP class ahead of Tomac and Yamaha teammate Jeremy Seewer, while Ferrandis ended a hard-fought weekend third.
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2s Jago Geerts made a stunning 450cc debut. The 22-year-old Belgian powered his YZ450FM to an impressive Qualifying Heat win, in which he took the checkers ahead of two of the fastest and most acclaimed 450cc riders in the world, Tomac and Seewer.
The 75th edition of the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations in RedBud, Michigan, was one for the memory bank. Tomac thrilled the home fans with a dominant start-to-finish victory in the opening race and a sixth in the final race after a mediocre start and a slight mistake.
At the same time, Geerts was again phenomenal. The young Belgian charged after the reigning ProMotocross Champion, Tomac, and posted the fastest lap of the race on his way to a thrilling second place in race one. He finished 55-seconds clear of Renaux in third and Seewer in fourth.
Proudly representing the United States of America, Cooper put the YZ250F through its paces at the rain-battered, deep and treacherous RedBud MX track. The American ace completed two back-to-back 30-minute plus 2-lap races against 20 of the world's fastest 450cc riders and another 20 of the world's quickest 250cc riders to finish as the best-placed MX2 rider with a 9-4 scorecard.
In the final race, MXGP and Open, Renaux stormed to an emphatic race win after inheriting the lead from his teammate, Ferrandis, on lap four. Ferrandis quickly regrouped and fought back to fourth, while Seewer rounded out the top five.
Geerts was 11th in the final race after two crashes on the opening lap and was classified fifth in the MXGP class overall.
Team USAs victory sees the Chamberlain Trophy make a long-awaited return to America for the first time since 2011. It also marks USAs 33rd podium finish and 23rd victory, from 39 appearances, strengthening its place as the most prosperous nation in history.
Next year the Motocross of Nations will take place in Ernee, France.
Rider Reaction
Justin Cooper (MX2 Class Winner - MXoN Winner Team USA): I had a lot of pressure this weekend. First, with the race being here in the US and then with how it went for me in 2019 was weighing on my mind. It was quite a stressful day, but I really had to focus. Today, I just did my best to hang with these 450 guys. Overall, it was a fun day, and the rain made it really tough to ride. After the result in the first race, I did my best to get off the gate good in the second race and get closer to the top five, which was something I was able to accomplish. It put our team in a good position, and I hoped it would take the weight off my teammates going into the final race, which it did. Everything went to plan, so I am super pumped. Ive just got to give it up to the team and my teammates.
Eli Tomac (2nd MXGP Class - MXoN Winner Team USA): First off, I just want to say Im so proud of my teammates. This event is truly a team event. There is no race like this. When we woke up to rain this morning, I thought uh-oh, this could really level the playing field, but we came through strong, even in these muddy conditions. We've waited 11-years for this. It's a long time to wait, so this is very special to us.
Maxime Renaux (MXGP Class Winner - 2nd Team France): Its a great feeling. This was not the result we were aiming for; we were here to win. But sometimes these things dont go as planned; Team USA was very strong today. In terms of my team, I was so happy with the team atmosphere this year. It was like having two big brothers. They gave me a lot of advice, so I want to thank them for that. Personally, this was an incredible day for me. My first MXoN on the 450cc and I won the MXGP class against some really big names.
Dylan Ferrandis (3rd Open Class - 2nd Team France): I gave everything today. I was not very lucky in moto one and then I threw away the win in moto two. I was a little bit disappointed with that, but I regrouped well and that helped us to second today. This was the best we could do. I would like to congratulate the home team, USA. They were very strong today and they had the crowd fully behind them, which just made me look forward to next year when we are on my home soil in France.
Jago Geerts (5th MXGP Class - 5th Team Belgium): Overall, I am happy about the weekend. It was really fun on the 450. Winning the Qualifying Heat yesterday was unreal, a little bit unexpected, but really nice. In the first race, I took the holeshot but made a small mistake, which let Tomac past me. I was able to follow Tomac for the whole race, so that was pretty good. I was happy with that. In the second heat, I had a good start but crashed twice on the first lap and only got back to 10th. I am still happy with my riding and my first race on the 450, it was just a fun weekend.
Jeremy Seewer (3rd MXGP Class - 9th Team Switzerland): I enjoyed this weekend a lot. Especially yesterday, when the track was dry, it was incredible. I had some good racing yesterday. The fans were amazing; it gives you goosebumps. Id say I had a solid day today. Nothing wow but also nothing bad. My riding was pretty good. I was consistent and didnt make any big mistakes, other than a small tip-over in race one. Other than that, it was a good day, and thats a wrap on this season, so I am just looking forward to having some days off.
Glenn Coldenhoff (13th MXGP Class - 7th Team Netherlands): I didnt have the best feeling this weekend, although it did get a bit better. I had wheel spin off the gate and then crashed on the first lap, so I had to start from dead last. I got back to 13th. In the second race, I messed up the start again, and then I got landed on by another rider and crashed. The bike was completely bent, and I could not continue. Its a shame to end the season like this, but I am happy to go home fit and healthy.
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