Slaw Dog
In a surprise to really no one, New Zealand is one of the first of many countries expected to pull out of the 2020 Motocross of Nations, which will now be held at Matterley Basin on September 27 after Ernee opted out of hosting due to severe restrictions related to COVID-19, which forbid mass public gatherings in France. Ernee is now scheduled to host the 2023 Motocross of Nations.
Motorcycling New Zealand motocross commissioner Ray Broad said “it made sense not to send our three-rider squad, plus mechanics and manager, to this year’s rescheduled event.”
“The health and well-being of our people was the most important consideration,” he said. “For our riders and support personnel to leave the ‘New Zealand bubble’ at this time would not be wise. There is also still some uncertainty about events in Europe at the moment, with the venue for the MXoN also being recently changed.”
New Zealand’s MXoN team manager Shayne King, said he “felt sad” that New Zealand would not be competing this year.
“I totally understand it, however, and we discussed this at length before coming to our decision,” said King.
“We have some amazing depth of talent too at the moment, with experienced riders such as Cody Cooper and Hamish Harwood still available to race, along with young rising stars such as Maximus Purvis and James Scott,” he continued. “All I can say is that we are looking forward to 2021 and sending a strong team then. We have some great talent here and it will be fantastic when we can showcase this talent to the world again next year. By taking a year’s break from this event, it will enable us to devote more time to preparation and build more resources for a solid campaign in 2021.”
Although nothing official has been announced, don’t expected Team USA to field a team for this year either, as travel restrictions and the resumption of the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will play a factor.
Main image: MXGP
