Phew, that was close! Thanks to Eli Tomac, team USA are still coming to Matterley Basin to take on the world at the MXoN and they still have the star power coming to make everyone around the world watch!
Just last week we thought it was Cooper Webb who saved team USA but now it is also his teammate, and the guy he battled bar to bar with for a supercross title, Eli Tomac, who has put his hand up to keep team USA at the event and importantly, keep them with a big chance of winning!
Ironically, after the Deegan controversy of the team not wanting to go and Star charging the ACU a decent amount of money for Anstie’s bike, it is Star Yamaha that have saved the day for team USA with two 450 champs stepping up to the plate to join former Star Yamaha rider, Aaron Plessinger as the trio to challenge for the MXoN victory.
All three are AMA champs of course, this is no B team even if it turned into a last minute team. Tomac is flying right now as we saw in SMX, AP was flying outdoors and looked much better in Vegas with his healing shoulder than he did in the previous two rounds, and Cooper Webb loves the fight and will be a force to be reckoned with on that fire-breathing Star 250 Yamaha, probably the best 250 machine in the world. (Jeremy Clarkson voice).
Make no mistake, this team is a contender for not just a podium but a win. Only defending champs France can bring a team with three champions, in their case, three world champs and they still probably start as favourites with Dutch in the reckoning a well and of course Australia with the Lawrence boys.
But don’t rule out team USA with the three fighters who know how to win and, in some ways, having less pressure than normal. They are already heroes in America’s eyes for going, they’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain now. That’s dangerous for everyone else, because all three know how to win.
With Tomac v the Lawrences v Roczen v Herlings v Prado v Renaux v Febvre v Gajser in the final moto of the weekend, the MXoN is offically on! (Hopefully there are no injuries at the Spanish GP).
