The biggest motocross race of the year, the Motocross of Nations (MXON), will be held in Ernée, France, on October 7th-8th, 2023. The Finnish team and the Zealanders outlined their respective lineups!
FINLAND:
The Finnish team for the race consists of Emil Weckman, Miro Sihvonen, and Jere Haavisto, led by team manager Kusti Manninen, just like in the past two years. Weckman, 21 years old, has been competing in the MX2 World Championship for the last two seasons as part of the French Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz team. Weckman currently holds the 13th position in the World Championship standings, and his best moto finish this season is a sixth-place in the Swedish round.
The Open class rider for the team, 24-year-old Jere Haavisto is the reigning Finnish champion in the MX1 class and is also leading this season’s series with a perfect points tally. This season Haavisto has participated in selected MXGP class rounds, with his best moto result being an 11th-place finish in the Swedish MXGP. Haavisto has represented Finland in the Motocross of Nations in 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022.
Last but not least, “veteran”, 24-year-old Miro Sihvonen, will compete in the Motocross of Nations in the MXGP class. Sihvonen’s best moto result in the MXGP class this season has been 17th in the Finnish MXGP round. Sihvonen has represented Finland in the Motocross of Nations in 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2022.
NEW ZEALAND:
The trio of Kiwi riders for the 2023 edition of the huge international event will be two MXoN stalwarts in the form of Papamoa’s Cody Cooper and West Auckland’s Hamish Harwood, with Oparau’s James Scott a first-time selection.
Team New Zealand finished 21st overall at the MXoN last season, when the event was staged in Michigan, in the United States, and on that occasion the riding trio was Tauranga’s Josiah Natzke, Waipukurau’s Rhys Carter and Tauranga’s Brodie Connolly.
A New Zealand squad has finished among the top 10 an incredible 14 times in 31 appearances at the event since they first attended, in Sweden in 1984 – including three times finishing on the podium – and that’s not bad for a country with an entire population less than that of many cities in the countries of most of their rivals.
