Simoncelli gets first taste of RC213V
Maximilian Nagl Kurt Nicoll Bill Nilsson Jorgen Nilsson Graham Noyce Carl Nunn Johnny O Mara Zach Osborne
Maximilian Nagl Kurt Nicoll Bill Nilsson Jorgen Nilsson Graham Noyce Carl Nunn Johnny O Mara Zach Osborne
I was back out at Pala Raceway for something very special. I had already been there for four days for the Finale of the 2010 AMA MX season and the Awards Banquet.
But, as I mentioned, this was something special - the first official get together of Team USA for the 2010 Motocross of Nations. Team Manager Roger De Coster, racers Ryan Dungey, Andrew Short, Trey Canard, and all the support staff needed for an effort like this.

Ryan Dungey, Roger De Coster, Trey Canard, Andrew Short and Mitch Payton
I felt very privileged to be invited to such an event. I soon came to realize that the most unique and moving part of the day was seeing the look of real happiness, the feeling of true honor, and the comraderie for each person involved, as 'The Team' came together for the first time. It was contagious. They seem to be a real 'team' already, working together well, and have great things to say about each other. Again, it was contagious!
Michael Byrne Antonio Cairoli Trey Canard Håkan Carlquist Ricky Carmichael Danny Chandler Eric Cheney Alessio Chiodi
Troy Lee Designs / Lucas Oil / Honda is happy to announce that Tarah Gieger is racing under the tent for the 2011 WMA Series.

Photo: goongraphix
Tarah's out here in California preparing for the nationals already and she's looking stronger than ever!
Nicolas Aubin Rene Baeten David Bailey John Banks Mark Barnett Jonathan Barragan Andrea Bartolini Willy Bauer
This year's AMA Motocross Banquet & Season Celebration was held in a magnificent banquet room at the Pala Resort & Casino. The room was decorated beautifully, lined with motocross décor, as well as a stage decorated with the championship bikes and awards. The line-up of food, appetizers, desserts, and beverages was very elegant and delicious.
After dinner, the awards ceremony began. Jason Weigandt, along with Tim Cotter hosted the show. And of course Jason started it just like he does many of his shows - after slamming down an energy drink.
Jason went on to talk about each round of this summer's AMA Motocross Nationals, with a list of funny jokes pertaining to all the good and bad situations at each of the races. After that, the awards and trophies were handed out.
The night was filled with special memories, good times, and laughs. One poignant moment was when Kevin Windham accepted the award for 'Sportsperson of the Year'. Kevin always has a great way of expressing himself, but made a great comment towards his friend & the team manager, Mike LaRocco. He commented on Mike's motivation, that pushed Kevin to work hard and do his best ... it was touching, but at the same time very funny.

Kevin Windham accepted the award for 'Sportsperson of the Year'
Neil Hudson Ryan Hughes Georges Jobe Gunnar Johansson Peter Johansson Rick Johnson Gary Jones Mark Jones
John DeSoto Tony DiStefano Jamie Dobb Gert van Doorn John Dowd John Draper Doug Dubach Ryan Dungey
Veteran supercross and motocross rider, Justin Brayton joins the American Honda team for 2012. Brayton will join second-year factory Honda racer Trey Canard on the team and contest both the AMA Supercross Championship and AMA Motocross Championship aboard Honda's CRF450R race machines.
?I think 2012 is going to be an exciting year of racing for American Honda,? said Team Manager Erik Kehoe. ?Trey has demonstrated time and again he has what it takes to win. He finished on a string of podiums last year, including winning three Supercross? and was well in the championship hunt. Throughout his professional racing career, Justin has shown great speed in the 450 competition and he?s always a contender to podium or win. We are really excited to see what he can do on a factory Honda-prepared CRF450R.?Xavier Boog Damon Bradshaw Goat Breker Sven Breugelmans Larry Brooks Mike Brown Rick Burgett Jimmy Button
It's Thursday, September 15, 2011. We just arrived at the Motocross of Nations track in St. Jean d'Angely, France. Although only Thursday, lots of things are happening as the most prestigous MX race of the year gets ready to 'blast off'.
If you want to watch the Motocross of Nations, either live or VOD, you can do so thru Youthstream's video system, which is available here on Supercross.com: http://www.supercross.com/mx-gp-vod
On Saturday, Septebmer 17, there are five and half hours of video programming available. Noon to 5:30pm local time. That is 6am Eastern Time start, 3am Pacific Time start.
On Sunday, video programming starts at 1pm local time, which is 7am Eastern Time, and 4am Pacific Time.
Here is a page with all the links we think you'll find useful for the 2011 Motocross of Nations.
More coming from the 2011 FIM Monster Energy Motocross of Nations on Supercross.com every day!
Here are some photos to give you a taste of what's happening here in France. Tomorrow (Friday) all the teams and riders are expected to arrive, and we'll have our next report on that tomorrow:

Panorama of track at St. Jean d'Angely. Click on the photo to view the panorama in Full-Size.
More photos below:
Gautier Paulin David Philippaerts Mickael Pichon Jim Pomeroy Christophe Pourcel Sebastien Pourcel Wyman Priddy Alessandro Puzar
Antonio Cairoli Trey Canard Håkan Carlquist Ricky Carmichael Danny Chandler Eric Cheney Alessio Chiodi Jaromir Cizek
Ricky Carmichael Danny Chandler Eric Cheney Alessio Chiodi Jaromir Cizek Guy Cooper Paul Cooper Josh Coppins