Ricky Johnson on Team USA

American legend, Ricky Johnson has ridden his heart out for Team USA at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. Scoring race wins, individual wins and team wins he shared some thoughts after the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations at Redbud a few weeks ago.

Ricky Johnson: “They didn’t adapt to the track, or the riding styles, it’s a track, its dirt and it’s a competition and you have to adapt to what the conditions are, and the American riders didn’t at this edition of the Monster Energy FIM MXoN in RedBud. I felt there was too much pressure on the American team, to me they rode stressed out. Plessinger to me was screaming the bike, he should have shifted. I know he is a big guy for a 250, but still he was screaming it really hard. All three were really hard on the berms, they were just hitting them really hard. “

Johnson won’t hear all the excuses though, he knows that unless the Team USA rider look harder at their performances and try and change some things, then it is going to be difficult to be competitive in Assen in 2019, when the Monster Energy FIM MXoN is run in the deep white sand.

“The bottom line is, we got beat and for a lot of reasons, and not excuses, just it is what it is, we need to change some stuff, because the MXGP riders are unbelievably fast. I stood with Roger (De Coster) during some of the races, watching the rider’s styles of Herlings and Cairoli, and he was telling our guys (Team USA) the same thing he used to tell me (to change their styles to suit the circuit), and our guys back in the 80s.”

Johnson was impressed with the Saturday performances of Jeffrey Herlings, when he came from a long way back, and while he only went 3-1-2 for the weekend, he really showed how much better he is than everyone else in that Saturday charge.

“It was phenomenal, and I like Herlings, he reminds me and he wants to win all the time, and that can bite you. You have to be smart and right now, he has the World intimidated with his speed. I was also impressed with Antonio Cairoli. Had he not gone down in that first turn and he got hit hard, but he bounced back. It would have been great to see him and Herlings up front fighting, but it didn’t happen. Bottom line, very impressed with Jeffrey Herlings.”

Of course, 2019 is another year, and while Team France are the dominant team in the Monster Energy FIM MXoN, you can never count out the Dutch, Italian, and also Team USA among the others.