2009 MXoN Champs: Team USA Posted: 10/04/09 It was a weekend full of doubters, but in the end Team USA managed to capture the team victory. The day was not without its drama and surprises, that much is for sure, but in the end the consistent finishes and lack of major mistakes resulted in an 8 point victory for the U.S. over France, with Belgium in 3rd another 9 points behind. 1602 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	The winners. Posted: 10/04/09 Team USA on the podium, flanked by Belgium on the right and France, minus Paulin. The win was a sweet one with maybe just a bit of luck thrown in (if that exists in racing), when several of the top players crashed in the first turn or straightaway in the day's final moto. 1694 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	The Real Story. Posted: 10/04/09 This is the biggest news of the day - Antonio Cairoli's broken DeCarli Yamaha didn't even make it to the first turn for the day's final moto. Cairoli locked bars with a Finnish rider heading down the start straight and went down hard, killing his bike in the process. Other riders who went down in the chain reaction were France's Paulin, Reed, Raulens and Mackenzie - all of whom were significant in the overall results. 1927 Views 2 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	Moto 3 Start Posted: 10/04/09 This is where the trouble began, with elbows flying right as the bikes went off the line. Frossard (4) and Philippaerts (15) were locked right out of the gate which may have ultimately contributed to the impending doom further down the straightaway. 1992 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes
The Showdown. Posted: 10/04/09 The first moto of the day was the one everyone was looking for - a "straight-up" match between the AMA Champ Reed and the FIM Champ Cairoli. To spice things up, Dungey was up there too. The result was a surprise to some, as Cairoli handled Reed's pressure for the duration and the two put a gap on Dungey. Going into their final moto together, Cairoli certainly seemed to have both of them covered in the speed and tenacity department. 1740 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	The Gap. Posted: 10/04/09 This is about as far as Reed fell behind Cairoli in the first race, with Dungey about double that distance back. The Italian was impressive for sure, as Reed was quite clearly pushing his hardest to catch the speedy champ. 1616 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	Dungey and Moto 3. Posted: 10/04/09 With a lot of key guys down on lap one, Dungey had only to deal with a speeding Jonathan Barragan (Spain) out front, who he'd already outpaced in their first moto of the day. After wearing him down, Dungey put the hammer down and opened a nice gap on Belgium's Steve Ramon, who also made it past the Spaniard and eventually finished 2nd. 1684 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	Tedesco, at speed. Posted: 10/04/09 Ivan Tedesco put in an impressive couple of rides once again in the MXoN. The 2nd race of the day (250/Open), he put on quite a display holding 2nd behind Paulin for almost the entire race. He eventually got passed on the final lap by a hard-charging and equallly impressive ride by Italy's David Philippaerts. 1539 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes
High Flyin' Posted: 10/04/09 The circuit had several big-sky hits, and this is an obligatory shot of such action. Ivan Tedesco demonstrating. 1578 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	Jake Weimer Posted: 10/04/09 A bit of a surprise was how well Jake Weimer didn't do in Italy. He seemed to be struggling with bike setup (headshake?) and fell several times throughout the day, twice in the sand section during his second race. His worst score (25th) was the team's throw-away, and his other score (8th) was at least in part due to his 26th gate pick for the first moto. He moved up through the pack well after a crummy start, and was in the fast group just behind the leaders after that. 1487 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	Gautier Paulin Posted: 10/04/09 Never heard of him? Neither had we, but the guy killed it in the second race of the day (250/Open). He stayed well ahead of Tedesco, and rode flawlessly out front to give France a point in the win column. Unfortunately, his crash in the first turn for the final race ended France's chances at a team victory. 1413 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	Marvin Musquin Posted: 10/04/09 The latest in a long history of uber-fast Frenchmen, World Champ Marvin Musquin was blazing fast all day too. He ended 5th overall on his 250F in both of his races, which made him by far the best finishing rider on a 250F. 1329 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes
Steve Ramon Posted: 10/04/09 In what was a spectacularly questionable decision, the Belgian federation chose Steve Ramon (who's been injured much of the year) for the team over a fast and healthy Ken DeDycker. Ramon did not disappoint, though, and rode very well all day and contributed to Belgium getting on the podium once again. He went 2-7 in his races. 1303 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	Jonathan Barragan Posted: 10/04/09 Spain's Barragan found himself up front in both of his motos, the result of great starts and just enough speed to stay up front for a while. Unfortunately, he seemed to tire out and dropped the anchor heavily in both instances, but hey - he's fast. He ended up going 4-12, which helped get Spain up to 12th in the team standings. 1287 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	Aigar Leok Posted: 10/04/09 Aigar Leok, one half of the racing Leok brothers from Estonia, found himself in good position several times throughout the day. He ended up solidly upper-mid pack while his brother Tanel did even better, snagging a 4th in his first race. 1333 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes	Look back Posted: 10/04/09 That's Marvin Musquin, giving a quick check over his shoulder at David Philippaerts, who was fixin' to pass him ASAP on his charge to the front. Both of these guys were impressive all day, and are without a doubt a couple of the fastest riders on any circuit, in the world. 2045 Views 0 Comments Rating: 0 Likes