More MX of Nations winners choose Dunlop than any other tyre

• Five out of seven races won on Dunlop 

• Dunlop Geomax MX12 grips winners in challenging conditions

• Coldenhoff continues late-season form to help Team Netherlands win at home

• Dunlop was chosen by winning KTM, Husqvarna and Yamaha riders

The 73rd running of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) took place this weekend at Assen. The historic venue fittingly played host to a home win, with Team Netherlands in dominant form. 

The MXoN rounded off the season by bringing together the top motocross riders from around the world to race for their country, rather than for rider and manufacturer honours. 

The event featured a battle of tyre manufacturers too, and Dunlop emerged from the weekend with the most wins. In seven races (including three qualifying races, a B-Final and three heats of the Final) Dunlop riders won five times.

Cooper and Jonass take qualifying glory

Justin Cooper was in imperious form on Saturday, dominating the MX2 qualifying heat to win by 6.2 seconds on his Yamaha. The 22-year-old from New York State was fastest in free practice and showed similar scorching pace in the changeable race conditions, underlining his dominance by being the only rider to lap below 1m 50s. Teen charger Jago Geerts upheld Belgian honour with a strong fourth place on his Kemea Yamaha.

One of the key building blocks to Cooper’s win was his stunning holeshot, aided by Dunlop Geomax MX12 traction: “I did a good job, I didn’t expect to come out first from that outside gate.”

In the MX Open qualifying heat, Team Latvia star Pauls Jonass took victory on the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna. Glenn Coldenhoff took third for Standing Construct KTM to support the Team Netherlands winning gameplan.

Sunday storms test riders and tyres to the maximum

On Sunday, heavy rain transformed the surface from dry sand to deep, wet and heavy-going terrain. Portugal’s Hugo Basaula (KTM) continued the Dunlop Geomax winning streak with an utterly dominant performance in the B-Final. He won the half-hour race by over 45 seconds, lapping all but eleven of his 35 rivals.

In the first leg of the main Nations races, which pitched the MXGP and MX2 classes together, Cooper’s run of form was hit by a first-lap crash, but a strong ride from Gautier Paulin to fifth kept the reigning champions, Team France, in contention. 

In the second Nations race, featuring a mix of Open class and MX2 riders, it was a Dunlop 1-2. Coldenhoff blasted into the lead in to thrill the home crowd, with Jonass muscling his way into second. Geerts, revelling in the grip and traction of his lighter, but less powerful, bike topped the MX2 runners in an impressive seventh overall.

In the final race, the Open class riders battled the MXGP runners. In heavy rain, Coldenhoff rode an epic opening five laps to climb from fifth to take the lead, at which point the sound of 38 bikes was drowned out by the roar of the home crowd. His win secured his country's MXoN title.

Dunlop Geomax MX12 - when the going gets tough

All Dunlop riders used the Geomax MX12. This tyre features a tread pattern optimised for tough mud and sand conditions and its enhanced traction and slide control was a factor in helping riders tackle the torrential Assen conditions. 

Eddy Seel, Dunlop Event Leader: “Congratulations to Team Netherlands for a brilliant home Motocross of Nations win. This was also a great result for Dunlop riders. Fifteen countries featured a rider who chose Dunlop Geomax MX12 for the difficult conditions. It was the perfect tyre for this tough terrain and we are proud to have taken more race wins than any other tyre brand. With three different manufacturers winning on Dunlop it shows the breadth and versatility of the tyre.” 

Looking ahead to 2020: Dunlop Geomax MX53 launched at MXoN

At their MXoN Press conference, Dunlop revealed the latest Geomax range addition, the MX53. This will be part of the brand’s portfolio for the 2020 MXGP and Supercross seasons. The tyre sits between the ‘super-hard’ terrain MX71 and the highly versatile MX33 in Dunlop’s wide Geomax portfolio.

The Dunlop Geomax MX53 features a range of new technologies with the goal of delivering winning performance on a wide range of terrain. The press release can be found here: 

OVERALL MXON TOP FIVE

1. Netherlands 

2. Belgium

3. Great Britain

4. Estonia

5. France

INDIVIDUAL DUNLOP WEEKEND WINNERS

MX2 Qualifying Race - Justin Cooper (USA) Yamaha

Open Qualifying Race - Pauls Jonass (Latvia) Husqvarna

MXoN B-Final - Hugo Basaula - (Portugal) KTM

MXoN Final Race 2 - Glenn Coldenhoff (Netherlands) KTM

MXoN Final Race 3 - Glenn Coldenhoff (Netherlands) KTM