GLEN HELEN USGP

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Romain Febvre clawed his way back after Josh Grant built big leads in both motos.
Romain Febvre clawed his way back after Josh Grant built big leads in both motos.

A variety of different dramas played out this weekend at Glen Helen Raceway. It was the return of the USGP, but it could have gone by many other names. The MX2 World Championship was decided, it was a season saver for Josh Grant, it showed that Americans really do care about what happens in Europe, and it was vindication for Glen Helen President Bud Feldkamp, who had been licking his financial wounds since the last USGP, four years ago. The crowd this time was big, energetic and enthralled. As for the main question that is supposed to be answered any time American and European riders meet, the results were inconclusive. There were  American and Euro winners at the end of the weekend.

The two biggest winners were the newly crowned world champions. Romain Febvre clinched the MXGP title two weeks ago and then put an exclamation on the achievement by taking the overall win at Glen Helen. And Tim Gajser took the MX2 points chase down to the wire, wrapping up his new title in the last moto of the last race of the year. Gajser was fourth in the second moto at Glen Helen, three places ahead of his main rival, Pauls Jonass.

Jessy Nelson had a perfect day Sunday and claimed his first GP win.
Jessy Nelson had a perfect day Sunday and claimed his first GP win.

As for the Americans, they won three out of four motos, took the MX2 overall and were the fastest qualifiers in both classes. In the MXGP class, Josh Grant, who is motivated to find a new ride after the demise of TwoTwo racing, was unquestionably the fastest man. He won the qualifying race and the last moto, but a twisted ankle and a third place finish in moto one put him in second overall behind the determined Febvre. Cooper Webb was fast as well in his first 450 Pro race, pulled two holeshots to eventually finishing third overall. Troy  Lee Racing’s Jessy Nelson led almost every lap of the MX2 class after letting his teammate Shane McElrath win the qualifying race on Saturday. Behind him, the Gajser versus Jonass battle played out rather anticlimactically. Jonass found himself buried in the pack in both motos and never really challenged Gajser, who finished fourth overall and took his crown.  Nelson, Chris Alldredge and McElrath made the first MX2 podium an all American affair, while Nelson and McElrath were followed by Swiss rider Valaentin Guillod in moto two.

The question of whether or not America’s finest riders were in attendance is debateable. Our 2015 champions weren’t there, but no one can say that we had slackers. Cooper Webb and Jason Anderson had proven themselves to be the the best of America’s best in the closing races of the 2015 season. And there were great expectations from Davi Millsaps and the AMA riders who weren’t American, namely Dean Wilson and Marvin Musquin.

In the end, the rider who gained the most credibility was Grant. He was fast, tough and gutsy. No one expected him to go that fast, but they should have. It was, after all, his track, and he’s done this before.

Cooper Webb had a great 450 debut and looks promising for his upcoming MX of Nations ride.
Cooper Webb had a great 450 debut and looks promising for his upcoming MX of Nations ride.
Glen Helen can call the 2015 USGP a success. The crowd wasn't as large as that of the National, but it was big enough.
Glen Helen can call the 2015 USGP a success. The crowd wasn’t as large as that of the National, but it was big enough.
Josh Grant had amazing speed, but clearly had trouble maintaining his pace throughout two motos.
Josh Grant had amazing speed, but clearly had trouble maintaining his pace throughout two motos.

MX2

Pos Nr Rider Nat. Fed. Bike Race 1 Race 2 Total
1 79 Nelson, Jessy USA AMA KTM 25 25 50
2 70 McElrath, Shane USA AMA KTM 20 22 42
3 92 Guillod, Valentin SUI FMS YAM 16 20 36
4 243 Gajser, Tim SLO AMZS HON 15 18 33
5 99 Anstie, Max GBR ACU KAW 18 13 31
6 65 Alldredge, Chris USA AMA KAW 22 8 30
7 91 Seewer, Jeremy SUI FMS SUZ 13 16 29
8 151 Kullas, Harri FIN SML HUS 14 14 28
9 41 Jonass, Pauls LAT LAMSF KTM 11 15 26
10 6 Paturel, Benoit FRA FFM YAM 8 12 20
11 152 Petrov, Petar BUL QMMF KAW 10 10 20
12 128 Monticelli, Ivo ITA FMI KTM 2 11 13
13 64 Covington, Thomas USA FFM KAW 9 4 13
14 189 Bogers, Brian NED KNMV KTM 5 7 12
15 33 Lieber, Julien BEL FMB YAM 12 0 12
16 98 Vaessen, Bas NED KNMV SUZ 6 5 11
17 10 Vlaanderen, Calvin NED KNMV KTM 1 9 10
18 321 Bernardini, Samuele ITA FMI TM 3 6 9
19 388 Leith, Brandan USA AMA KAW 4 3 7
20 172 Van doninck, Brent BEL FMB YAM 7 0 7

MXGP

Pos Nr Rider Nat. Fed. Bike Race 1 Race 2 Total
1 461 Febvre, Romain FRA FFM YAM 25 22 47
2 35 Grant, Josh USA AMA KAW 20 25 45
3 175 Webb, Cooper USA AMA YAM 22 20 42
4 215 Wilson, Dean GBR AMA KTM 14 18 32
5 259 Coldenhoff, Glenn NED KNMV SUZ 15 15 30
6 777 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS FSM HON 12 16 28
7 21 Paulin, Gautier FRA MCM HON 13 13 26
8 89 Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL FMB YAM 9 14 23
9 100 Searle, Tommy GBR ACU KTM 8 12 20
10 312 Anderson, Jason USA AMA HUS 18 0 18
11 118 Millsaps, Davi USA AMA KTM 5 11 16
12 17 Butron, Jose ESP RFME KTM 6 10 16
13 222 Cairoli, Antonio ITA FMI KTM 16 0 16
14 28 Rattray, Tyla RSA MSA KAW 4 9 13
15 39 Guarneri, Davide ITA FMI TM 7 6 13
16 125 Musquin, Marvin FRA AMA KTM 11 0 11
17 47 Waters, Todd AUS MA HUS 2 8 10
18 111 Ferris, Dean AUS MA HUS 3 7 10
19 101 Townley, Ben NZL MNZ HON 10 0 10
20 56 Gibbs, Kirk AUS MA KTM 0 5 5

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