The 65th edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations started today in the hard pack of Saint Jean d’Angely with the three qualifying races.

Team USA dominated completely the three heats and they will be the first ones to choose the starting gate tomorrow for the main event, while Team Australia qualified fifth after a mixed day of results for Chad Reed, Brett Metcalfe and Matt Moss.

Ryan Dungey was the winner of the MX1 qualifying heat, the rookie of USA team Blake Baggett dominated the MX2 race and Ryan Villopoto had no opponent in the Open class.

After the qualifying races all the 36 countries taking part in this year’s Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations were presented to the passionate crowd in Saint Jean d’Angely and they had the opportunity to hear some words from the top motocross riders in the world.

The first qualifying race of the day saw Eugene Bobryshev taking the holeshot in the MX1 class and put Russia at the front, but Ryan Dungey and Antonio Cairoli overtook Bobryshev already in the first lap and the Russian dropped quickly to the eighth position.

From then until the chequered flag, the American and the Italian had a dogfight for the lead and it was Dungey who crossed the finish line first with just one-second advantage over Cairoli.

Christophe Pourcel started from an initial fifth position, but he passed Bobryshev after three laps and succeeded in giving team France a third result in the first heat of the qualifying sessions.

Reed rode fifth behind Bobryshev most of the race, but he managed to pass the Russian and hand Team Australia a fourth final result. Tyla Rattray from South Africa completed the top five.

Team USA obtained another victory in the MX2 qualifying race thanks to the impressive performance of the rookie rider, Blake Baggett. The young American rider took the holeshot and pulled away until the chequered flag, crossing the finish line almost nine second ahead of Marvin Musquin from France.

Musquin did not have a good start but he moved up to the second position already in the second lap. However, it was too late for the French rider to catch Baggett, as he had already opened a consistent gap with his pursuers.

The third position was for Dean Wilson from Great Britain, who had to move all the way up from an initial ninth position. He admitted he made many mistakes during the heat, but all in all he was very satisfied with the third place.

Ken Roczen did not have a good qualifying race and he ended fourth ahead of Joel Roelants. The German started fifth, but he was already second after the opening lap. The FIM MX2 World Champion made then a mistake and dropped down to the seventh position and had to move all the way back again to hand Germany the fourth position.

Moss was in 10th when he had to enter in the pit lane due to a mechanical problem, but remains confident of a good showing for Australia on Sunday.

American Villopoto had no rival during the Open Qualifying race; in fact, after the American took the holeshot, he quickly opened a massive gap with all the other riders and nobody could stop him from winning the heat.

The big surprise in Open class was the impressive performance of Italian Davide Guarneri, who was selected just two weeks before the event to replace David Philippaerts.

Home rider Gautier Paulin had also a good start, but he was not fully comfortable with his riding today. However, Paulin is confident that tomorrow he can fight for the top positions and help team France to be on the first step of the rostrum.

BelgianKevin Strijbos started from the sixth position, but he had a great rhythm and moved quickly up to the fourth place. It was then, when he fought for the second position with Paulin and Guarneri, but he could not follow their speed and ended fourth.

After the bad result Australia got in the MX2 qualifying heat, Metcalfe went to the grid knowing that his country qualification for the main event was only depending on his performance. The Australian did not let his team down, and obtained a solid fifth place.

2011 FIM Motocross of Nations
St. Jean d’Angely – France

MX1 Qualifying Results:
1. Ryan Dungey (USA, Suzuki), 23:46.461
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.308
3. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:46.425
4. Chad Reed (AUS, Honda), +0:52.778
5. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:54.664
6. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:59.299
7. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +1:01.397
8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:01.570
9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:29.250
10. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), +1:32.070

MX2 Qualifying Results:
1. Blake Bagget (USA, Kawasaki), 24:45.804
2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:08.876
3. Dean Wilson (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:11.331
4. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), +0:11.742
5. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +0:35.043
6. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:55.250
7. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), +0:57.149
8. Stefan Kjer Olsen (DEN, Yamaha), +1:09.391
9. Jose Antonio Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:15.543
10. Stuart Edmonds (IRL, TM), +1:16.750

Open Qualifying Results:
1. Ryan Villopoto (USA, Kawasaki), 24:46.792
2. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:07.704
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:08.708
4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:09.677
5. Brett Metcalfe (AUS, Suzuki), +0:11.170
6. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Yamaha), +0:24.849
7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:26.038
8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:43.333
9. Carlos Campano (ESP, Yamaha), +0:45.547
10. Martin Michek (CZE, KTM), +0:52.961

Nations Overall Qualifying:
1. USA
2. Italy
3. France
4. Belgium
5. Australia
6. South Africa
7. Great Britain
8. Portugal
9. Spain
10. Switzerland