With the 2022 Motocross of Nations only days away, I figured it would be a good time to take a look at the last time the MXoN event made its way to the Red Bud track, in Michigan. It honestly seems like only yesterday, because the last stop at Red Bud was only in 2018. I haven’t checked, but that has got to be one of the shortest intervals between hosting the annual celebration of Motocross.
I’ve covered the Red Bud AMA National several times over the years, so I thought I knew what to expect, but that 2018 MXoN was unlike any event I’d covered at that track. Plenty of rain made for an extremely soft surface, and riders were struggling everywhere. I know Red Bud owner, Tim Ritchie, claims he didn’t add any sand to the track for the race, but it sure looked a lot sandier than any other time I’d been there.
With the track an easy trip from Canada, there were plenty of Canadian fans to cheer on our team, and in the end, they would just crack the top 10 with 10th overall, on the strength of Colton Facciott’s 9th in the first moto.
Here’s a look at a few photos that tell the story from the day…