MXGP

For the third time in a row rainfall and an inclement climate played a role in the shape and events of the Motocross of Nations: the biggest, most eagerly awaited and spectacular off-road race of the year.

The oldest closed-circuit motorcycle race in the world has been washed red, white and blue for the last five years but the stage for the 73rd Monster Energy Motocross of Nations could be splashed bright orange by 5pm this Sunday.

MXGP launched across a new frontier with the eighteenth and final round of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship. The Grand Prix of China brought the highest level of the sport to the country for the very first time, and the Fengxian area - south of the sprawling coastal metropolis - was home to a sandy, jumpy and challenging new track for the elite.

Turkish delight indeed. A seventh consecutive victory in the FIM Women’s World Championship – WMX – meant that rapid New Zealander Courtney Duncan made a formality of her very first crown in what was the fifth and final outing of the season for the fastest female off-road motorcycle racers.