Proudly representing Team USA, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson unquestionably 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.
But following a hugely unfortunate incident moments after securing the win, Anderson was landed on by another rider after crossing the finish line. The collision left the 450 pilot out of the final moto of the day.
The most prestigious race in the annual motocross calendar once again proved to be an incredible sporting event with thousands of fans from all around the world filling the Italian hillside circuit of Maggiora.
Battling his way through a challenging weekend of racing Anderson was left with a mountain to climb after a crash early in Saturday’s qualifying race, which left him with an injured leg. In pain, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider nevertheless put in a hugely impressive performance during Sunday’s second moto.
With his FC 450 powering him to a convincing holeshot Anderson started pulling away from the rest of the field with only newly-crowned World MX2 champion Jeffrey Herlings able to match the American’s speed around the spectacular and in places 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. Unable to contest moto three, Anderson saw Team USA claim third overall at the 2016 Motocross of Nations.
“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 [Jeffrey] 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 okay. 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.”
