After being off of the bike all summer after suffering an injury, Tedesco struggled with arm-pump, starting strong but fading late in the motos. Most important, though, he didn't slip far in his class, and he rode smart, so his 6-9 moto scores helped earn the U.S. its 17th Motocross des Nations victory. His sixth-place score was actually second in the Open class with only Belgian Steve Ramon topping him.
Starting with Johnny O'Mara, American riders on small-bore machines have historically shocked the Euro riders with their speed. Add newly crowned Motocross Lites champion Ryan Villopoto to that legend. The youngster put in a memorable ride in which he combined speed, style, race smarts and team savvy. Villopoto may have been a new face to the Europeans at Matterley Basin, but his third-place-overall standing in the MX1/MX2 moto meant he finished behind only Everts and Stewart on their 450s! His average speed for the race was over 44 mph! That isn't top speed, but average speed, and 44 mph is tough to average on Los Angeles freeways, let alone on a muddy track you've never seen before. Villopoto was less than five seconds behind Stewart at the finish, and he and Stewart, who had to charge forward after a fall, recorded lap times faster than moto winner Everts' best lap. The races got faster as the day progressed, and RV's second-place finish overall in the MX2/Open moto required an average speed of over 45 mph! Class overalls are not really scored, since it is a team event, but RV had the best combined score of all the MX2 riders.
To say the news of James "Bubba" Stewart's first race overseas was interesting to the Euro fans would be akin to claiming men might be interested in women. No doubt many of the 85,000 fans who braved the weather and long lines were there solely for a chance to see Stewart and witness in person his atomic racing style. Stewart could hardly even move without having security hold back the throngs of chanting fans, and even his father was mobbed and followed with cheers of "Bubba's dad!" Still, in European minds at least, he needed to demonstrate to the world what a future champion he is.
The American team, as usual, was directed by five-time 500cc (now equivalent to the MX1 class) World champion and Suzuki motocross team manager Roger DeCoster. He collected six victories in a row with the Belgium team at the MXdN (making his debut in '69) before moving to the U.S. and helping the Americans to many of their 17 victories. In fact, without his selling the concept to Honda and compiling teams entirely composed of his Team Honda riders, there might not have been a first win, let alone a U.S. history of des Nations glory. But throughout the Americans' involvement in this team competition, DeCoster's native Belgium has remained a powerhouse. Although you could say that Team USA prospered at Belgium's expense, DeCoster has remained staunchly behind the U.S. effort.
In recent years, the U.S. and Belgian teams have been the consistent power players, with Britain, France and Italy having their respective brilliant years. As always, the Belgian threat loomed large. Ten-time World champ Everts placed side by side with MX1 regular Kevin Strijbos, who rode the smaller MX2 Suzuki RM-Z250 for this race while his Suzuki MX1 teammate Steve Ramon attacked the Open class. The Belgian team is directed by Joel Robert, a former champion racer and a factory Suzuki teammate and contemporary of DeCoster.
The British team held a home-court advantage-their cheering section composed the lion's share of the spectators-but with Billy Mackenzie (MX1), Carl Nunn (Open class) and the promising young Tommy Searle (MX2), this wasn't their strongest team. The French team boasted new MX2 World champ Christophe Pourcel, his brother Sbastien (MX1) and 34-year-old '06 MX3 World champion Yves Demaria (Open class).