Italy conquer 2002 Motocross of Nations!

Team Italy won the 2002 Motocross of Nations in Bellpuig, Spain this afternoon and lifted the prestigious 56 year old trophy for only the second time in the history of the event, beating both Belgium and Finland.

Andrea Bartolini, Alessio Chiodi and Alex Puzar, all former World Champions with a collection of six titles between them, were the pre-competition favourites and justified their acclaim with solid performances in the 'A' final main event.

Bartolini and Chiodi, members of the squad that triumphed in 1999 in Brazil, crossed the finish line in second and third respectively to score 5 points in total - the lowest haul - and therefore the grand prize. Puzar's ninth place finish was discarded thanks to the rule that allowed each team to drop one result.

12 Nations, each with a trio of riders, filled the 'A Final. Javier Garcia Vico won the 30 minute and 2 lap moto in dominant fashion in front of an excited 10,000 crowd after an aggressive opening lap in which he passed Bartolini and sent the Spanish fans wild. Sadly for the factory KTM rider his team-mates Oscar Lanza and Aaron Bernardez could only take 12th and 29th positions respectively; meaning the home team finished fourth, which is still their highest ever MX of Nations standing.

Belgium collected the runner-up prize thanks to an excellent ride by Peter Iven, who came back from a first lap position of 13th to pass team-mate Danny Theybers for fifth. Third member Manuel Priem was 33rd. The Flemish one-two in the middle of the top ten secured Belgium's second consecutive second place finish.

Jussi Vehvilainen grabbed fourth in the race and along with Marko Kovalainen's eighth place allowed the Finn's to grace the final spot on the podium. Antti Pyrhonen wasn't far away in 11th.

Under more glorious weather the highlights of the day were Italy's efficient teamwork and Vico's triumphant surge in front of enthusiastic spectators; culminating a busy weekends work for the 500cc World number three. Last year's winners France finally earned sixth place with Thierry Bethys' tenth position the best of the bunch. Gordon Crockard suffered a bad start after riding a faultless race in the semi-final heat and could not recover sufficiently to rise higher than 16th for Ireland.

The final top ten of the 2002 Motocross of Nations reads: Italy, Belgium, Finland, Spain, Sweden, France, Estonia, Czech Republic, Ireland and Switzerland.

"My condition wasn't great because I entered this race after my holidays!" joked Bartolini. "So after 10 minutes I could not stay with Vico and later on I could see that Chicco was getting closer and closer. I just made sure that I finished and that Italy could win the Nations."

"You cannot compare this to our 1999 win," added team-mate Chiodi. "Although every race is a different story. We were the favourites before the event began because there were not so many riders here, but today I pushed at the same level as if I was racing Pichon, Everts or any of those guys. A race like this is never easy."

"This is my first Nations victory," smiled Puzar. "Of course I have to thank Alessio and Andrea who made the good race! It was difficult for me because I was on a bigger bike than my usual 125 but it is satisfying to be up here."

Earlier in the day Latvia took 13th place overall after winning the Nations 'B' final. Portugal?s Rui Gon?alves won the actual moto, in which only 4 teams took part, by 33 seconds over Lauris Freibergs for Latvia. Aigars Bobkovs? third place finish meant that Latvia gained the two best finishes and claimed the honours.

2002 Motocross of Nations - Results.

A Final:
1. Italy - 5
2. Belgium - 11
3. Finland - 12
4. Spain - 13
5. Sweden - 20
6. France - 24
7. Estonia - 33
8. Czech Republic - 40
9. Ireland - 43
10. Switzerland - 47
11. Slovenia - 50
12. Denmark - 63

B Final:
13. Latvia - 5
14. Portugal - 10
15. Venezuela - 11
16. Germany - 11
17. Morocco - 0