This capped something of a weekend of bad luck for the Estonian team: medals taken away after the podium ceremony, a contentious yellow-flag penalty, and a crash in qualifying that left one rider in hospital.

The Estonian quad team, which finished second in qualifying and entered Sunday in pursuit of a medal, saw its day end in dramatic fashion. After the third and final race at the Motoclub Dardon Gueugnon, a little over 100 kilometers from Dijon, Estonia found itself third in the final standings for the second year in a row.

The team of Rasmus Sõna, Karl-Robin Rillo and Kevin Saar even took part in the awards ceremony on the podium, yet moments later the Estonians had their medals stripped and given to host nation France, who finished level on points with Estonia, instead.

The U.S. and Norway were first and second.

Estonian Motorcycle Sport Federation (EMF) vice president Kert Pääbo told Delfi on Sunday evening that after the podium ceremony, a French official approached them and explained that there had been a miscalculation of the points and that the third place actually belonged to France.

The competitors literally had to hand their trophies back to an organizer.

Pääbo questioned the validity of this, telling Delfi: "In addition, the penalty given to Kevin Saar in the first race for ignoring a yellow flag was questionable, because the jump in question was around a blind corner and, approaching the jump at high speed, there was no opportunity to see the flag," Pääbo added. "He was given a two-place penalty, and without it Estonia would have remained on the podium."

Pääbo said the EMF would also be submitting a formal complaint to the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM).

Rider Saar meanwhile said he "honestly [didn't] really have the words" after the incident. "After the third race, it was confirmed several times that we had finished third. We did the podium and everything. Then they came over and said there was a small problem and took the trophy and medal away. There had been some kind of error in the timing. And then, surprise, surprise, France got third place instead," Saar went on laconically.

"I've had quite a few similar experiences in France, so I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but it's still very disappointing. It really is," a disappointed Saar, who is a reigning world champion, continued.

"Something definitely has to be done. We have to discuss it now, but probably nothing will help. If the French decide something like that, that's usually how it goes."

Saar also suffered bad luck during the competition while it was ongoing. In the first race, he was given a two-place penalty in a yellow-flag zone, while a technical problem hampered him in the final race. "Coulda, woulda: If the second race had gone well, second place would have been secure. Third place would also have been very positive," he said.

There were two races in the sidecar category: Robert Lihtsa and Markus Lina finished ninth overall, Ülar Karing and Sten Niitsoo were 19th, while the Estonian team had to settle for eighth place among nine teams. Estonia finished fifth last year.

Meanwhile Estonia's third crew, Markus Normak and Tomass Dukulis, did not make it onto the track at all after a frightening incident in Saturday's qualifying. "Tomass and I crashed and a competitor came from behind and ran into me. After that, I blacked out and woke up in hospital," Normak said. "My thumb bone is broken, but it'll heal. There's a tire mark on my neck. If anyone wants to see what kind of tire the competitor was using, they can come and look at my neck."

The FIM SidecarCross & QuadCross of Nations is an annual international off-road team motocross event where national squads represent their countries in sidecar and quad racing

Next weekend, the Motocross of Nations round, a separate series, will take place in Ernée, also in France.

The original ERR Sport reportage can be viewed by clicking on the video player below.

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