For the first time in its eleven-year history, a full line up of thirty teams have entered for the Vets Motocross des Nations which takes place at Farleigh Castle this weekend.
Split into two categories, Evo MXdN and Twinshock MXdN a new innovation for this year is a qualifying race in each class whereby, following individual Timed Qualifying, Team start positions will be decided in the five lap encounter which takes place shortly after lunch on Saturday. It will be vital for teams to qualify in the top ten in this race as it will decide their starting positions in the four main races, which will then take place over the weekend.
Once again, the USA have sent a very strong team consisting of John Dowd, Ivan Tedesco, Doug Dubach and Mike Brown but they will face a strong challenge from Belgium who are fielding ex World Champion, Steve Ramon, Ken De Dycker, Sven Breugelmans and Filip Van Dijck. Kurt Nicoll will lead the British challenge in the Evo class, backed up by Stephen Sword, Phil Mercer and Mark Eastwood. In the Twinshock category fans will have a strong team of Wayne Butt, Terry House, Alex Rach and Rick Du Feu to cheer on around the sixteen-hundred-meter course. Teams from Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Finland, Holland, Australia, Ireland, Scotland and Wales could be the ones to upset the favourites with three out of the four riders needing to score points in every race.
The Team events will be backed up with supporting races with around one hundred foreign entries challenging for individual honours against Britain's best from the seventies, eighties and nineties.
A course change on the exit to the woods this year has been forced upon the organisers due to local restrictions, which means a new entry in the main spectator area, but of course this will be after the riders have tacked the famous Farleigh Steps, up and down.
The action starts at 9am on both days and Farleigh Castle is on the Somerset Wiltshire border with the postcode BA2 7RR.
Admission price details can be found on the official website
www.vetsmxdn.co.uk
Our picture, taken early this week, shows the course in prime condition ready for the action this weekend.