Roger De Coster has been leading Team US in the MXoN for more than 40 years
We have to go all the way back to 1981 at the Lommel circuit. Team USA showed the Grand Prix riders for the first time that they were good enough to win a Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. Roger De Coster wanted to send a team to Belgium and selected his Honda factory team riders Johnny O'Mara, Danny Laporte, Chuck Sun, Donnie Hansen and David Bailey.
With full support from Honda America, the young team arrived in Belgium early and there was a sense of confidence that this young American line-up had enough to attack the Belgian sand specialists.
“Our team went to Europe very early,” De Coster recalled. “We went to sand courts and practiced and practiced and practiced. We initially had a lot of engine problems because we had no experience riding on that kind of sand in the US. But we worked our way through it and by the match in Lommel we were ready.”
Although the American team had mechanical problems, De Coster felt that the Honda machines of the 1981 season were special and with a little extra work he could easily give his team a result and give the Grand Prix riders the surprise of their lives. deliver.
“We saw the potential in the Honda engines and team members for this event. However, our boys were not winning at that time. Suzuki had Mark Barnett who won the 125 class and the supercross. And Kent Howerton on Suzuki was strong in the 250 class. Our team consisted of Johnny O'Mara, Chuck Sun, Danny LaPorte and Donnie Hansen. Towards the end of the year, our results started to improve. We thought 'now we have to go to the Nations'.”
De Coster, a Belgian legend in the sport, wasn't comfortable bringing a team that would beat his beloved Belgians, but a job is a job, and he was 100% committed to bringing the Chamberlain trophy to America with his Honda team.
“I had problems with myself to some extent because it felt strange to come and represent the US. I had always tried to win as a rider for Belgium. In the Trophee des Nations, as a member of the Belgian team, I was part of the winning team ten years in a row. We also won six times in the open class (500cc – Motocross des Nations).”
More than 40 years later, De Coster takes Team USA to Redbud. After a decade in which the Americans could no longer win, his motivation remains the same as in 1981. Victory is the only goal, and who knows, the old veteran can share the taste of champagne with Team USA again this year.
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