2016 Aussie Motocross of Nations team

Australia's Motocross of Nations (MoN) team for the September 24-26 staging in Maggiora, Italy has been announced, with Dean Ferris, Kirk Gibbs and Jed Beaton the three riders.

Ferris (Yamaha) returns to MoN action in the Open class, at an event where he finished second overall in the MX2 class in 2013.

Gibbs, the reigning Aussie MX1 motocross champion, and Beaton will make their MON debuts, with the former to compete in the MX1 class and the latter in MX2.

Each rider competes in two races, and the team with the lowest overall score is the winner.

“We’re very happy with the team selected to represent Australia at this year’s MX of Nations. Obviously Dean has had a lot of experience in Europe and representing his country, and both of the other boys are at the top of their game at the moment so they’re all very deserving of their selection,” said Aussie team manager Gary Benn.

“Jed will race in Switzerland at the MXGP this weekend, and both Kirk and Dean have both raced MXGPs before so we feel that we have a very strong team for this year’s MoN.

“The MoN is always a different race because it’s a team event and you are forced to drop one of your worst results, so you need consistency – there’s not a lot of room for error. The way all three of the boys are riding at the moment, we’re confident we can achieve a positive result.

“Michael Byrne will also be heading over to support the Australian team and he’s raced the MoN himself numerous times so he’s great for the riders, especially the newer ones who don’t have as much international experience. Byrne actually rode at Maggiora when Chad (Reed) was over there for the MXGP, so his experience will be highly valuable to our team.”

 France has won the past two MoNs, winning last year's on 14pts ahead of America (16), Belgium (56), Estonia (66) and Switzerland (67). Australia (Ferris, Todd Waters, Jay Wilson) was seventh on 77pts.