2012 Motocross des Nations
# 2012 Motocross des Nations

The 2012 Motocross des Nations was a motocross race held on 29 September and 30 September 2012 in Lommel, Belgium.

## Preview

For the first time in the last few years it looked as though the deep and energy-sapping sands of Lommel may offer up a chance for the European teams to un-seat the United States and end their 7-year winning streak. The Americans entered as reigning champions, but had three riders who had never experienced this sort of sand before. 2012 AMA MX1 Champion, Ryan Dungey led the charge and had been rarely beaten throughout the American season. Blake Baggett, 2012 AMA MX2 champion and Justin Barcia had shown great speed throughout the season, whilst battling each other for the American MX2 crown.

The home team Belgium had three riders who were looking in great form, and most importantly for this event, consistent. Clement Desalle had had an injury free season and was the only real challenger to Tony Cairoli throughout the GP season. The same could be said of MX2 rider Jeremy van Horebeek, who finished in third place in the MX2 Grand Prix and was in his last year riding a 250cc machine before moving up to the MX1 class for 2013. The final member of the team Ken de Dycker had been picked up by KTM in 2012 to stand in for the injured Max Nagl, he stayed with the manufacturer once Nagl had returned and had played second fiddle to his world champion teammate Tony Cairoli throughout much of the season, when it looked as though he had the speed to beat him.

Cairoli himself had won yet another world title, mostly un-opposed, and led the Italian team which contained, Husqvarna factory rider and mid-pack MX2 runner Alessandro Lupino and Marchetti KTM MX1 racer Davide Guarneri. Neither could be described as sand riders though.

The MX2 world champion Jeffrey Herlings had an outside chance of taking to the top-step of the podium, but would have to carry potentially bad results from British Championship MX1 rider Marc de Reuver and fellow MX2 grand prix star Glenn Coldenhoff.

Germany had turned out their strongest team for some years. Max Nagl had spent the majority of the season out injured but came back with a bang in the final few rounds of the year. Ken Roczen had come back from a tough debut year in the United States, but had been picking up form and Markus Schiffer was capable of top 10 MX1 grand prix pace.

Last year's runners up France had a full strength team but weren't great in such deep sand, the same could be said for Great Britain.

Australia finished third in 2011, but where stricken by injuries to both Chad Reed and Brett Metcalfe, along with MX2 GP runner Dean Ferris. This years team consisted wholly of Australian Championship riders, and no-one knew how they would cope.

Injuries were a problem for many other teams. South Africa weren't expected to do as well as last year as they'd lost both Tyla Rattray and Gareth Swanepoel. Spain had lost number 1 rider Jonathan Barragan, Japan had lost both Yoshitaka Atsuta and Akira Narita, Finland legend Antti Pyrhonen had retired and Austria had lost both Pascal Raucheneker and Gunter Schmidiger.

For New Zealand legend and former MX1 world championship runner up Joshua Coppins this would be his last professional event before retirement.

Mongolia were scheduled to return to the MXDN but canceled at the last minute because of logistical reasons. An under-strength Brazil side were flown out to replace them but it was a team without any of its countries top 5 riders.

## Entry List

The entry list is taken from the official Motocross World Championship website.

| | Country | Nr | Rider | Class | Motorcycle |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | United States | 1 | Ryan Dungey | MX1 | KTM 450 |
| 1 | United States | 2 | Blake Baggett | MX2 | Kawasaki 250 |
| 1 | United States | 3 | Justin Barcia | Open | Honda 450 |
| 2 | France | 4 | Gautier Paulin | MX1 | Kawasaki 450 |
| 2 | France | 5 | Marvin Musquin | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 2 | France | 6 | Xavier Boog | Open | Kawasaki 450 |
| 3 | Australia | 7 | Lawson Bopping | MX1 | Yamaha 450 |
| 3 | Australia | 8 | Luke Styke | MX2 | Yamaha 250 |
| 3 | Australia | 9 | Todd Waters | Open | Suzuki 450 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 10 | Tommy Searle | MX1 | Kawasaki 450 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 11 | Jake Nicholls | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 12 | Max Anstie | Open | Honda 250 |
| 5 | Belgium | 13 | Clement Desalle | MX1 | Suzuki 450 |
| 5 | Belgium | 14 | Jeremy Van Horebeek | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 5 | Belgium | 15 | Ken De Dycker | Open | KTM 450 |
| 6 | South Africa | 16 | Richard van der Westhuizen | MX1 | Yamaha 450 |
| 6 | South Africa | 17 | Shannon Terreblance | MX2 | Kawasaki 250 |
| 6 | South Africa | 18 | Neville Bradshaw | Open | Honda 450 |
| 7 | Germany | 19 | Maximilian Nagl | MX1 | KTM 450 |
| 7 | Germany | 20 | Ken Roczen | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 7 | Germany | 21 | Marcus Schiffer | Open | Suzuki 450 |
| 8 | Spain | 22 | Joan Cros | MX1 | Suzuki 450 |
| 8 | Spain | 23 | Jose Butron | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 8 | Spain | 24 | Alvaro Lozano | Open | Honda 450 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 25 | Marc de Reuver | MX1 | Kawasaki 450 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 26 | Glenn Coldenhoff | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 27 | Jeffrey Herlings | Open | KTM 250 |
| 10 | Estonia | 28 | Gert Krestinov | MX1 | Honda 450 |
| 10 | Estonia | 29 | Priit Rätsep | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 10 | Estonia | 30 | Tanel Leok | Open | Suzuki 450 |
| 11 | Portugal | 31 | Rui Gonçalves | MX1 | Honda 450 |
| 11 | Portugal | 32 | Paulo Alberto | MX2 | Honda 250 |
| 11 | Portugal | 33 | Luis Correia | Open | Yamaha 450 |
| 12 | Switzerland | 34 | Arnaud Tonus | MX1 | Yamaha 450 |
| 12 | Switzerland | 35 | Jeremy Seewer | MX2 | Suzuki 250 |
| 12 | Switzerland | 36 | Valentin Guillod | Open | KTM 250 |
| 13 | Japan | 37 | Makoto Ogata | MX1 | Honda 450 |
| 13 | Japan | 38 | Junya Takenaka | MX2 | Kawasaki 250 |
| 13 | Japan | 39 | Yohei Kojima | Open | Suzuki 450 |
| 14 | Czech Republic | 40 | Filip Neugebauer | MX1 | Kawasaki 450 |
| 14 | Czech Republic | 41 | Milan Spicak | MX2 | Kawasaki 250 |
| 14 | Czech Republic | 42 | Martin Michek | Open | KTM 450 |
| 15 | Russia | 43 | Evgeny Bobryshev | MX1 | Honda 450 |
| 15 | Russia | 44 | Aleksandr Tonkov | MX2 | Honda 250 |
| 15 | Russia | 45 | Evgeny Mikhaylov | Open | Suzuki 450 |
| 16 | Italy | 46 | Tony Cairoli | MX1 | KTM 450 |
| 16 | Italy | 47 | Alessandro Lupino | MX2 | Husqvarna 250 |
| 16 | Italy | 48 | Davide Guarneri | Open | KTM 450 |
| 17 | Finland | 49 | Ludvig Söderberg | MX1 | Honda 450 |
| 17 | Finland | 50 | Teemu Lehtinen | MX2 | Kawasaki 250 |
| 17 | Finland | 51 | Niko Koskela | Open | Kawasaki 450 |
| 18 | Denmark | 52 | Nicolai Hansen | MX1 | Suzuki 450 |
| 18 | Denmark | 53 | Stefan Kjer Olsen | MX2 | Suzuki 250 |
| 18 | Denmark | 54 | Kasper Lynggaard | Open | Kawasaki 450 |
| 19 | Ireland | 55 | Martin Barr | MX1 | Suzuki 450 |
| 19 | Ireland | 56 | Graeme Irwin | MX2 | Yamaha 250 |
| 19 | Ireland | 57 | Stuart Edmonds | Open | Suzuki 250 |
| 20 | Austria | 58 | Marco Schögler | MX1 | KTM 450 |
| 20 | Austria | 59 | Lukas Neurauter | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 20 | Austria | 60 | Mattias Walkner | Open | KTM 450 |
| 21 | Sweden | 61 | Kim Lindström | MX1 | Kawasaki 450 |
| 21 | Sweden | 62 | Karl Olsson | MX2 | Honda 250 |
| 21 | Sweden | 63 | Filip Bengtsson | Open | KTM 250 |
| 22 | Latvia | 64 | Davis Ivanovs | MX1 | Kawasaki 450 |
| 22 | Latvia | 65 | Roberts Justs | MX2 | Honda 250 |
| 22 | Latvia | 66 | Lauris Freibergs | Open | Honda 450 |
| 23 | Slovenia | 67 | Matevz Irt | MX1 | Suzuki 450 |
| 23 | Slovenia | 68 | Tim Gajser | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 23 | Slovenia | 69 | Klemen Gercar | Open | Honda 450 |
| 24 | Puerto Rico | 70 | Gino Aponte | MX1 | Yamaha 450 |
| 24 | Puerto Rico | 71 | Zach Osborne | MX2 | Yamaha 250 |
| 24 | Puerto Rico | 72 | Kyle Chisholm | Open | Kawasaki 450 |
| 25 | Venezuela | 73 | Carlos Badiali | MX1 | Yamaha 450 |
| 25 | Venezuela | 74 | Hector Rodriguez | MX2 | Yamaha 250 |
| 25 | Venezuela | 75 | Humberto Martin | Open | Honda 450 |
| 26 | Norway | 76 | Kim Oiva Jarva | MX1 | Honda 450 |
| 26 | Norway | 77 | Even Heibye | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 26 | Norway | 78 | Magne Klingsheim | Open | KTM 250 |
| 27 | Brazil | 79 | Gabriel Gentil | MX1 | Yamaha 450 |
| 27 | Brazil | 80 | Rafael Silva Faria | MX2 | Yamaha 250 |
| 27 | Brazil | 81 | Marcal Müller | Open | Yamaha 450 |
| 28 | New Zealand | 85 | Joshua Coppins | MX1 | Yamaha 450 |
| 28 | New Zealand | 86 | Kayne Lamont | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 28 | New Zealand | 87 | Cody Cooper | Open | Suzuki 450 |
| 29 | Lithuania | 91 | Nerijus Rukstela | MX1 | Suzuki 450 |
| 29 | Lithuania | 92 | Matas Inda | MX2 | Kawasaki 250 |
| 29 | Lithuania | 93 | Vytautas Bucas | Open | Honda 450 |
| 30 | Iceland | 94 | Viktor Gudbergsson | MX1 | Kawasaki 450 |
| 30 | Iceland | 95 | Ingvi Bjorn Birgirsson | MX2 | KTM 250 |
| 30 | Iceland | 96 | Solvi Borgar Sveinsson | Open | Honda 450 |
| 31 | Greece | 97 | Panagiotis Kouzis | MX1 | Honda 450 |
| 31 | Greece | 98 | Dimitris Kotoletas | MX2 | Yamaha 250 |
| 31 | Greece | 99 | George Lliopoulos | Open | KTM 450 |
| 32 | Thailand | 100 | Kritsada Boonatee | MX1 | Honda 450 |
| 32 | Thailand | 101 | Trakarn Thangthong | MX2 | Yamaha 250 |
| 32 | Thailand | 102 | Chaiyan Romphan | Open | Yamaha 450 |
| 33 | Hungary | 124 | Mark Szoke | MX1 | Kawasaki 450 |
| 33 | Hungary | 125 | Erik Hugyecz | MX2 | Yamaha 250 |
| 33 | Hungary | 126 | Kornel Nemeth | Open | KTM 450 |
| 34 | Mongolia | 127 | Erdenibileg Khaliunbold | MX1 | |
| 34 | Mongolia | 128 | E Munkhbolor | MX2 | |
| 34 | Mongolia | 129 | Purevdorj Murun | Open | |

Note 1: Mongolia did not participate.

## Qualifying

### Qualified Countries

| Pos | Country | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Germany | 3 |
| 2 | Belgium | 4 |
| 3 | Italy | 6 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 7 |
| 5 | France | 8 |
| 6 | Great Britain | 9 |
| 7 | United States | 9 |
| 8 | Estonia | 12 |
| 9 | Russia | 12 |
| 10 | Australia | 14 |
| 11 | Portugal | 17 |
| 12 | Denmark | 23 |
| 13 | Sweden | 25 |
| 14 | Ireland | 25 |
| 15 | Finland | 26 |
| 16 | Latvia | 27 |
| 17 | Switzerland | 28 |
| 18 | Norway | 29 |
| 19 | Slovenia | 30 |

### Countries admitted to the B Final

| Pos | Country | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 20 | New Zealand | 31 |
| 21 | Czech Republic | 32 |
| 22 | Spain | 33 |
| 23 | Austria | 38 |
| 24 | Puerto Rico | 41 |
| 25 | Japan | 43 |
| 26 | Brazil | 43 |
| 27 | South Africa | 44 |
| 28 | Lithuania | 47 |
| 29 | Iceland | 51 |
| 30 | Greece | 53 |
| 31 | Venezuela | 54 |
| 32 | Hungary | 60 |

### Non-Qualified Countries

| Pos | Country | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 33 | Thailand | 61 |

## B Final

| Pos | Country | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | New $Zealand^1$ | 3 |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 12 |
| 3 | Lithuania | 23 |
| 4 | Puerto Rico | 23 |
| 5 | Austria | 24 |
| 6 | Spain | 25 |
| 7 | Japan | 26 |
| 8 | South Africa | 26 |
| 9 | Hungary | 30 |
| 10 | Venezuela | 31 |
| 11 | Iceland | 40 |
| 12 | Greece | 49 |
| 13 | Brazil | 52 |

Note 1: New Zealand won the B final which meant they qualified for the main races.

### Race

| Pos | Country | Riders | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Germany | Maximilian Nagl | 3 | | 6 | 25 |
| 1 | Germany | Ken Roczen | 5 | 4 | | 25 |
| 1 | Germany | Marcus Schiffer | | 7 | (14) | 25 |
| 2 | Belgium | Clement Desalle | 4 | | 7 | 29 |
| 2 | Belgium | Jeremy van Horebeek | 10 | (38) | | 29 |
| 2 | Belgium | Ken De Dycker | | 3 | 5 | 29 |
| 3 | United States | Ryan Dungey | 7 | | 9 | 39 |
| 3 | United States | Blake Baggett | (14) | 6 | | 39 |
| 3 | United States | Justin Barcia | | 14 | 3 | 39 |
| 4 | Netherlands | Marc De Reuver | 9 | | 17 | 44 |
| 4 | Netherlands | Glenn Coldenhoff | 15 | (39) | | 44 |
| 4 | Netherlands | Jeffrey Herlings | | 1 | 2 | 44 |
| 5 | Italy | Tony Cairoli | 1 | | 1 | 45 |
| 5 | Italy | Alessandro Lupino | (37) | 25 | | 45 |
| 5 | Italy | Davide Guarneri | | 5 | 13 | 45 |
| 6 | France | Gautier Paulin | 2 | | 8 | 47 |
| 6 | France | Marvin Musquin | (19) | 11 | | 47 |
| 6 | France | Xavier Boog | | 10 | 16 | 47 |
| 7 | Estonia | Gert Krestinov | 17 | | 18 | 56 |
| 7 | Estonia | Priit Rätsep | (20) | 15 | | 56 |
| 7 | Estonia | Tanel Leok | | 2 | 4 | 56 |
| 8 | Great Britain | Tommy Searle | 8 | | 12 | 56 |
| 8 | Great Britain | Jake Nicholls | 16 | (36) | | 56 |
| 8 | Great Britain | Max Anstie | | 9 | 11 | 56 |
| 9 | Portugal | Rui Goncalves | 12 | | 10 | 80 |
| 9 | Portugal | Paulo Alberto | (33) | 21 | | 80 |
| 9 | Portugal | Luis Correia | | 13 | 24 | 80 |
| 10 | Australia | Lawson Bopping | 21 | | 19 | 83 |
| 10 | Australia | Luke Styke | (26) | 20 | | 83 |
| 10 | Australia | Todd Waters | | 8 | 15 | 83 |
| 11 | Russia | Evgeny Bobryshev | 6 | | (33) | 93 |
| 11 | Russia | Aleksandr Tonkov | 18 | 12 | | 93 |
| 11 | Russia | Evgeny Mikhaylov | | 31 | 26 | 93 |
| 12 | Sweden | Kim Lindstrom | 24 | | 23 | 103 |
| 12 | Sweden | Karl Olsson | (32) | 18 | | 103 |
| 12 | Sweden | Filip Bengtsson | | 16 | 22 | 103 |
| 13 | Ireland | Martin Barr | 13 | | 21 | 106 |
| 13 | Ireland | Graeme Irwin | 23 | 22 | | 106 |
| 13 | Ireland | Stuart Edmonds | | 27 | (30) | 106 |
| 14 | Latvia | Davis Ivanovs | (28) | | 28 | 120 |
| 14 | Latvia | Roberts Justs | 22 | 24 | | 120 |
| 14 | Latvia | Lauris Freibergs | | 26 | 20 | 120 |
| 15 | New Zealand | Joshua Coppins | 11 | | 34 | 127 |
| 15 | New Zealand | Kayne Lamont | (34) | 33 | | 127 |
| 15 | New Zealand | Cody Cooper | | 17 | 32 | 127 |
| 16 | Slovenia | 134 |
| 17 | Norway | 151 |
| 18 | Denmark | 119 |
| 19 | Switzerland | 129 |
| 20 | Finland | 97 |

Note 1: Denmark and Switzerland both lost one rider through injury and Finland lost two, their scores are placed differently from the rest of the field who lost no riders.

