Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson left his mark on the 2016 Motocross of Nations by securing a dominant start-to-finish victory in the combined Open and MX2 class race at Maggiora, Italy.
With his FC 450 powering him to a convincing holeshot Jason started pulling away from the rest of the field in Race 2 with only Jeffrey Herlings able to match the American’s speed around the heavily rutted Italian track.
Not giving in to any of Herlings’ attempts to pass him, Anderson stayed in front until the finish, managing to open up a comfortable gap after Herlings suffered a minor fall. Then moments after securing the win, Jason was landed on by another rider after crossing the finish line, which resulted in him having to sit out the final race of the day.
“I was really excited coming to this race to represent the US,” said Anderson. “After posting the fastest time in free practice I had a bit of bad luck in qualifying. I got hit from behind in the first turn and ended up hurting my leg. I decided to race on Sunday despite this injury. My first race went pretty well from the get go. I got the holeshot and started pulling away from the field. Midway through the race Herlings caught up and we had a pretty good battle for a couple of laps before he went down. After that I was just coasting to the finish to get the win. I was really excited to cross the line first but right after that I felt another bike landing on me. We’ve got everything checked out and I’m going to be OK. It’s just a bit of a bummer I couldn’t get out there in the last moto to help Team USA battle for the win.”
For Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl the 2016 MXoN ended prematurely after the German suffered a heavy fall during his qualifying moto on Saturday. Thankfully avoiding any serious injury Nagl decided not to contest Sunday’s final motos.
“Wrapping up the 2016 MXGP season with third overall I was really looking forward to this year’s Motocross of Nations,” stated Nagl. “Unfortunately, my run was cut short after a crash in Saturday’s qualifying moto. It all happened fast. I was coming through the pack and just before the finish line I chose a different line, hit a muddy spot and crashed. The pain in my back was so intense we decided to sit out the rest of the event. The pressure from the championship was off so I knew I could battle for race wins here at the Nations. To be honest I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t manage to show what I could do on Sunday. I’m also sorry I couldn’t battle for Team Germany. Luckily we avoided any major injury so soon I’ll be able to get back to racing and my preparations for 2017.”
Representing Great Britain, Max Anstie ended his time aboard Husqvarna’s FC 250 on a high note in Italy. Despite suffering two mediocre starts Anstie collected 18/22 results to help Team Great Britain earn seventh overall at the 2016 Motocross of Nations.
“It was nice to take part at the Motocross of Nations this year. Racing on the same track with the guys on the 450s makes the starts crucially important. To be honest I was a bit nervous coming into the final motos as I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I didn’t manage to get a good start in either of my two motos and that made things a lot harder for me. I did my best to help Team Great Britain but it just wasn’t meant to be. It’s been a long season of racing and I’m really looking forward to making a new start in 2017. Next year I will be racing Husqvarna’s FC 450 machine in the MXGP class. It’s a new challenge that I’m really looking forward to.”
