The AMA has announced it will not send a team to this year's Motocross of Nations due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Motocross of Nations is scheduled to run September 25-27 in Matterley Basin, Great Britain. The U.K recently announced it will drop its mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors from more than 50 countries but leave the restrictions in place for travellers coming from the United States. Americans travelling to the U.K will still have to self-isolate for the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
It could be worse though, the European Union recently upheld a ban on travellers from the United States, even as it opened its borders to visitors from Canada, and 15 other countries.
As of 16 July, America has over 3.5million confirmed cases of COVID-19, 138,000 deaths and is recording more than 65,000 new cases daily.
In a statement issued today regarding the Motocross of Nations, the AMA said;
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association will not participate in the 2020 Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme Motocross of Nations, Sept. 25-27, in Matterley Basin, Great Britain, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“The health of our racers and staff is paramount, and current and future global travel restrictions make our involvement in an international event impossible at this time,” said AMA Supercross Manager Mike Pelletier. “The U.S. team effort to attend the Motocross of Nations each year is extensive, both financially and logistically. Even in normal times, preparing our best effort at this point in the season would be difficult.”
In addition, with the recently announced postponement of the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, rescheduled national rounds likely will conflict with the MXoN event.
“The AMA takes great pride in competing in the Motocross of Nations each year, and we appreciate the commitment of the athletes chosen to represent the United States on the world stage,” Pelletier said. “The AMA looks forward to returning to the MXoN in 2021 and bringing the Chamberlain Trophy back to U.S. soil.”
The FIM-sanctioned Motocross of Nations is a world championship team event. It features three-rider national teams competing for a combined score to determine the overall championship-winning country.
The U.S. team has won the Motocross of Nations 22 times and is the all-time leader in FIM MXoN overall team victories. All of those wins took place under the direction of AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Legend Roger DeCoster. The most recent time the U.S. Team won the MXoN was 2011.
ADB has approached Motorcycling Australia for comment on whether it will be sending a team to Great Britain for year’s MXoN in September. MA told ADB “While it is unlikely we will be sending a team we are leaving our options open as there are a number of Australian MXGP riders in Europe whom may have interest in competing.”