UK Teams take top honours in both the Twinshock and Evo classes of the Vets Motocross des Nations
The smell of two-stroke smoke and WD40 filled the air as moto legends from different eras and different countries lined up to do friendly battle on the old school scramble circuit for fun, nostalgia and of course, some serious national pride!
The Twinshock VMXDN class saw some tough competition for the two UK teams – Team Twinshock UK and Team North of England. One of the favourites going into the competition was Team Husqvarna International. Unfortunately for them however, a mechanical DNF in both races saw an end to Jeff Emig’s first day of racing and squashed his chances of collecting points.
Emig’s luck didn’t seem to improve on day two either, as after one lap the AMA Supercross champion hit the deck coming back through the start straight, landing on his injured shoulder, and having to call it a day. After the race Emig told DBR that “the VMXdN is a huge event with a great history. It’s great to see so many people attend but this year just wasn’t my year.” This left Team Twinshock UK, comprising of Barry Turnball, Wayne Butt, Terry House and Alex Rach, to capitalise on the opportunity and bring home the overall win after four outstanding races, ahead of Team Australia and Team Luxembourg.
In the main Evo VMXDN class, Team England, which consisted of Brian Wheeler, Kurt Nicoll, Mark Eastwood and Tom Church did their fans proud, fending off some serious challenges from the likes of Team USA and Team Belgium. All American heroes Mike ‘Down Town’ Brown and Doug Dubach were riding on incredible form and giving the British fans good reason to be nervous.
Unfortunately for Team USA it was not enough to stop the might of Team England, who were all riding like the legends they are. It all came down to the last race and after some unbelievable back and forth racing that showed true grit and determination, Kurt Nicoll and Tom Church managed to take second and third places respectively behind Neville Bradshaw giving them enough points for the overall top spot on the podium ahead of Team USA to the sheer delight of the adoring home crowd.
As always, the VMXdN proved to be one of the most entertaining races on the world motocross calendar. The fun-filled atmosphere, beautiful vintage bikes, 80s kits and passionate racing make the event truly unique and unlike any other motocross race out there.
You’ll be able to read the full story in the next issue of DBR.
