Defending champion Team France has taken the top spot in qualifying at the 2017 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in Matterley Basin, Great Britain, as the Australian squad charged to an impressive third behind The Netherlands.

Out of the top nations, Team USA was fourth ahead of Great Britain, followed by Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Denmark and Estonia to round out the top 10.

Honda HRC’s Tim Gajser of Slovenia claimed victory in the premier MXGP class, who led for majority of the race after shifting into the lead in the early stages. France’s Gautier Paulin (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) was a close second, followed by newly-crowned world champion Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in third for Team Italy.

The top five was completed by Great Britain’s Max Anstie (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) in fourth after recovering from a crash with a lapper, finishing ahead of Belgium’s Jeremy Van Horebeek (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing). Australia’s Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha) fell just shy of the top five to complete the day in seventh.

Team Australia’s MX2 contender Hunter Lawrence (Suzuki World MX2) hole-shotted the quarter-litre division, leading for much of the race before being passed by AMA Pro Motocross 250MX champion Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) in the closing stages.

The Netherlands’ Brian Bogers (KTM) was third, as Spain’s Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Denmark’s Kjer Olsen (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) were fourth and fifth respectively.

In the Open class, Jeffrey Herling’s (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) continued his dominant form to capture the heat win for the Dutch squad, beating home France’s Romain Febvre (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) and Switzerland’s Jeremy Seewer (Suzuki World MXGP).

Former Australian MX1 champion Kirk Gibbs (KTM Motocross Racing Team) placed a highly-impressive fourth, edging out a hard-charging Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) who was credited fifth for Great Britain.

Racing for the prestigious event will take place on Sunday, where each rider will take part in two motos over a three-race schedule, while a B and C final will also be hosted as a last chance qualifier for the countries that didn’t transfer directly through.