THE MONSTER ENERGY FIM MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS NUCOR INDIANA GRAND PARADE TAKES OVER TOWN IN #MOTOVILLE!

Crawfordsville, Indiana (USA) – The second part of the Friday at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana was full of excitement.

Firstly in the Teams’ Press Conference, it was Australia up first as defending Champions, and the ever-upbeat Jett Lawrence was looking forward to the contest, while Hunter Lawrence down-played the notion of any home advantage due to the bike-time that everybody will get tomorrow.    

Team France took to the stage next, and Team Manager Gautier Paulin took the chance to pay homage to new World Champion Romain Febvre in a gracious gesture that brought a round of applause from those present. Febvre himself told of his surprise that the circuit looked “bigger and wider than on TV”, and that it shouldn’t take much getting used to for the MXGP regulars.

Team Italy Team Manager Thomas Traversini and his younger riders are happy that 40-year-old legend Antonio Cairoli is able to lend his experience to the squad, while Team Netherlands rider Kay de Wolf raised some humour as he told of how he asked Haiden Deegan, absent from injury, if he was just “afraid of getting taken out!”. Team Germany looked happy with new MX2 World Champion Simon Längenfelder, and their previous title winner Ken Roczen, although Kenny did state that he would have liked more bike time prior to the event.

Team Slovenia’s Tim Gajser would not be drawn on his chances of repeating his win at last year’s Nations, and Team Latvia were enjoying having all of their top riders healthy for once. 

Then the home nation, Team USA, took to the stage.  Team Manager Mike Panettiere acknowledged the challenge of having to replace two-thirds of his team with a week to go, but Eli Tomac repeatedly stated “We’re ready”, and looked eager to begin the job at hand!

Team Spain also looked ready to go with their “new Capitan” Ruben Fernandez, and finally Team Belgium manager Joel Roelants exclaimed his delight that he has finally been able to select their strongest line-up without injuries getting in the way.  Lucas Coenen seems fired up to prove himself against the biggest names in the sport.

Then the day concluded the best way possible. If you never thought that the sport of Motocross could take over a whole town, then you would never have believed the sights and sounds of the Monster Energy FIM MXoN Nucor Steel Indiana Parade that brought the streets of Crawfordsville, renamed Motoville for the weekend, to an absolute standstill in celebration of the 78th Edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations rolling into the area!

We’re not just talking of a little sideshow here.  The main route through the centre of the city, home to over 16,000 people in the state of Indiana, was closed down to allow the 37 teams to slowly parade through the city centre and greet the hordes of fans that flooded the streets of Crawfordsville!  This was far more than just a parade of teams, however, but more of a raw celebration of the passion for Motocross and off-road motorcycle racing that has become part of the lifeblood of the area.

A stunt motorcycle show warmed the crowds up, as the public address system relayed the announcements of MXGP-TV Commentators Paul Malin and Jason Thomas, as well as the interviews conducted by MXGP-TV Presenter Lisa Leyland, around the main streets.  The first vehicle was a classic pink and white convertible, ferrying the Grand Marshall of the event, Jeff Ward, towards the interview stage. 

The first country to come through was Team Honduras, enjoying their moment in the spotlight, but the crowd were only just getting warmed-up.  American legends Ricky Carmichael and Jeff Stanton soon followed to show their appreciation for the incredible atmosphere and the history of the event. Team FIM Asia, Costa Rica, and Mexico showed their excitement and got their vehicles bouncing with their enthusiasm.

Interspersed with the teams were groups like the Southmond Marching Band, the Crawfordsville High School cheerleaders, and even vehicles with dignitaries like FIM President Jorge Viegas.  The Yamaha BLUCRU riders were also part of the procession, with some of them on their race bikes, revving them up amongst the crowd who doubtlessly enjoyed a healthy dose of two-stroke exhaust fumes!

Thousands of fans lined the streets, generating so much noise that the townsfolk also leaned out of their apartment windows to enjoy the spectacle.  The horns, chainsaws, and even sirens only got louder as the big teams started to come through.  Team Japan talisman Jo Shimoda drew some massive cheers as he revved up a chainsaw for the fans, and this became something of a pattern!

Legends like Jeff Emig and Ryan Villopoto also got interviewed in the build-up, before current riders like Martin Barr, Isak Gifting, Lucas Coenen, Camden McLellan, Antonio Cairoli, and Ken Roczen also spoke to Lisa and raised the bar with the crowd, in a wonderful two-way drip-feed of adrenaline and excitement for the coming weekend’s racing!

The final three nations of Team Netherlands, Team Australia, and finally Team USA brought massive applause and celebration with them, especially with the host nation’s leading rider Eli Tomac grabbing phones to take selfies, chainsaws and horns to make noise, and generally firing up the crowd at every opportunity possible!  After Glenn Coldenhoff and Jett Lawrence had their interviews, the entire American team of Tomac, Justin Cooper, and RJ Hampshire spoke to Lisa and worked the atmosphere up even more, although they all found it impossible to hear each other among the noise of the fans!

With the home nation moving through, the town cleared itself with impressive speed, and the town returned to normality very soon.  For any Motocross fan present, however, they will never quite forget the day when the sport took over a whole city, and the area rejoiced in the passion for the sport.  That was indeed one very special day!

Today’s events, including the press conferences and the Teams’ Press Conference and Team Presentation , are available to watch on MXGP’s YouTube channel.

Check all the photos from the event HERE