Motocross has a very special effect on spectators. The close proximity to the riders and especially the exhilarating atmosphere at every meeting make this extreme sport quite unique. The Motocross of Nations is a motocross festival in a class of its own, since people from all over the world travel come to experience this extraordinary event and enthusiastically support their fellow countrymen.

Around 70,000 fans were at the MXoN in Maggiora last year to follow the action-packed races. The stands were full to the brim with hardly any gaps in the crowd. Every motocross fan did his bit that race weekend, waving flags and posters, cheering loudly. It was very noisy the whole day long in Italy. Fans even set off fireworks in the colours of their national flags.

The atmosphere at such a top-class event is always amazing throughout with every fan cheering on his homeland, hoping to secure, just like the MX stars themselves, good positions in the standings. Team Germany celebrated their biggest success in 2012 when Max Nagl, Ken Roczen and Marcus Schiffer achieved the seemingly impossible by winning the coveted Chamberlain Trophy for the first time for Germany. Since then, the German motocross squad have placed in the Top Ten every year except in 2016 when the dream of a good result was shattered during qualifying. Max Nagl took a tumble, and another crash by Henry Jacobi in Sunday’s ‘B’ final made going through to the main heats impossible.

However, for the fans, it’s a bit like being married – you stick together through the good times and the bad. Although the frustration experienced by Team Germany was immense after the disappointing events at the MXoN in Maggiora, family and fans were there to cheer the boys up again, so that lack of success on the track hardly mattered in the end.

The 2017 MXoN will take place on the weekend of 30th September/1st October at Matterley Basin, England.