Max Nagl, Ken Roczen and Marcus Schiffer - they are the most successful riders to date in the history of Team Germany in the prestigious FIM Motocross of Nations. On 30th September 2012, for the first time in the 66 years that the MXoN has been in existence, these three riders managed to win the Motocross World team championship title for Germany. The German national squad outclassed the international competition in Lommel, Belgium, to finally secure the coveted Chamberlain Trophy and set a milestone in the world of MX.

The MXoN was first contested in 1947 and has been a highlight event ever since, marking the end of the world championship season. Each country sends their three best motocross riders to take part. However, the numbers of riders from around the world competing in this event during the first few years were rather modest. The places on the podium were always dominated by riders from Belgium, Great Britain and Sweden, and the level of competition was too tough to allow the situation to alter much. However, a change did come about in 1968 when the Russian hosts won for the first time. Second place went to the German team from the former GDR, led back then by motocross superstar Paul Friedrichs with team-mates Helmut Schadenberg, Reiner Fischer and Heinz Hoppe. Friedrichs was at the time individual 500cc world champion with three titles to his name and one of the best motocross riders in East Germany, having won 20 GDR MX championship trophies.

However, motocross in the GDR failed to develop any further after 1973, and the East Germans did not send any more teams to the MXoN. Things did not change until 1990 after the fall of the Wall when East Germany's best motocross riders, Torsten Wolff, Hardy Schadenberg and Klaus-Jürgen Kuritz, were again represented in the Motocross of Nations.

There were two German teams in the line-up at the Swedish track in Vimmerby just a few days before German reunification, as the West Germans had always been quite successful at the Motocross of Nations ever since the seventies, regularly sending a team subsequently to the MXoN. The German national team shone with a third place in 1976 and took second position on the podium in 1978.

Names such as Herbert Schmitz, Hans Maisch, Fritz Köbele, Willy Bauer rode under the German flag at the time. They were joined by MX legend Adolf Weil, who was one of Germany's most successful motocross riders thanks to numerous grand prix victories and podiums, his 14 national championship titles, and, something that no other German rider before him had ever accomplished, his American AMA title win in 1973.

It was primarily riders like Dietmar 'Didi' Lacher and Roland Diephold who made up Team Germany in the eighties. They rode to third place on home turf in Gaildorf in 1985 along with Michael Heutz. Further podiums failed to materialise over the next few years, though, since the USA was dominating the world team championships. By 1993, American motocross riders had secured an incredible 13 titles in a row.

Apart from Dietmar Lacher, two more top riders, Pit Beirer and Bernd Eckenbach, put their stamp on the German team in the nineties and also made MX history. While the German national team achieved some excellent top ten rankings during these years, major success eluded them.

The great turning point finally came in 2009 when superstar Ken Roczen became the latest member to join the German national team. Together with Max Nagl and Marcus Schiffer, who had been part of Team Germany in 2003 and 2004, and Daniel Siegl, who acted as reserve for both Nagl and Schiffer, the Germans gained fresh impetus in 2009. Roczen, Nagl and Daniel Siegl (for Schiffer) caused a stir at the Italian Franciacorta circuit by finishing fourth, something that had not happened for years. Roczen, Nagl and Schiffer fought their way into third place in 2010, joining the party on the podium at Lakewood in America. The successful trio finally exceeded all expectations at the MXoN in Belgium in 2012 when they finally brought the much-coveted world title to Germany by taking victory on the day.

Whilst German riders were unable to repeat the success of 2012 with a seventh place in Teutschenthal, a P5 in Kegums, Latvia, and P9 at the French Ernée circuit over the next three years, they were always among the top ten teams at these top worldwide events. To mark the 70th running of the Motocross of Nations, the guys led by new team boss Wolfgang Thomas now intend to raise their profile once more. At the very least, Team Germany would like to finish in the Top Five at the Itlaian Maggiora circuit in 2016.