Vialle aiming to capitalize on home turf advantage for Monster Energy Motocross of Nations

Sunday, October 8, 2023. The Monster Energy Motocross of Nations. The 76th edition of the Olympics of Motocross, the historic race, held since 1947, is staged a short distance from Le Mans, France at the Ernee Motocross Track.

Before more than 50,000 spectators, Team France took the measure of 37 other motocross nations. Joining teammates Romain Febvre and Maxime Renaux as a member of Team France, two-time MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle raced to eighth place finish in the opening MXGP+MX2 combined race.

In combined race number two, Vialle returned to place runner-up in the MX2+Open race. The overall winner of the MX2 classification will return to the legendary Circuit Raymond Deny in northwestern France this Sunday climb onto the Honda HRC Ouen bike and join teammates Febvre and Mathis Valin in trying to win the event on home soil.

“It is one of the best races of the year,” he said. “Especially being French and we’re racing in France. It’s going to be crazy. There are so many people coming to watch the race. As a rider, it is really impressive to see so many fans. Everyone is really cheering. It’s all pretty awesome.

“I have a lot of good memories from 2023. I won the 250 class, and we won as a team. All weekend was so good. I have a lot of good memories from it.

“So yes, it’ll be a busy weekend again. It will be my first time on the 450 doing the Motocross of Nations. This will be quite different, but I’m ready for it. I had a good end of the MXGP season and was fighting for the wins and was on the podium quite a bit. It’s been good, so I’m pretty fit at the moment. I feel good on the bike, so I’m ready to have a good weekend.

“Romain Febvre is also on top of his racing. His speed is really good. We’ve been battling each other the last couple of races, and we both feel really good on the bike, so I think for the races for the team, this is the best that we can wish for. I think we can be good in the 450 class and in the 250 class, Valin is riding really good. He had a pretty big injury and he’s coming back from it. I saw him ride today and he was actually looking really good, so I’m excited for the race.”

Finishing up his first year with the Honda HRC Petronas team, 2026 has been a very strong campaign for Vialle and he looks to continue with that momentum into France this weekend.

“It has been good with Honda,” said Vialle. “I adapted to the bike really well and quickly at the same time. I like the bike and everything has been great. It is important and I feel motivated to ride the bike.

“And it is not easy moving from 250 to 450 and changing brands. I mean I was riding with KTM pretty much my whole life. Changing to Honda was not always easy, but I think I did well. In a couple of months I was able to adapt to the bike at the highest level."

Vialle explained what he’ll be up to when the off-season hits immediately following the Motocross of Nations.

“I’m going to ride a little bit of supercross coming this winter,” said Vialle. “From there, I’ll just have some time off for about a month and then starting to train again for next year.

“Hopefully, I can have a good winter training. Obviously, I will know the bike a little bit more by next year. We also know how to adapt quickly to the tracks. Hopefully, we can fight for the championships next year. I’m training to be up there, and I will do my best. If I have a good winter and a strong off-season, I believe we can fight for the world championship.”