The world elite riders gathered in the Chinese capital for the seventh round of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship. Unfortunately, the state of the track meant that Saturday’s event had to be downgraded from a full-blown Grand Prix match to a seeding tournament contest for Sunday: a massive deluge in the run-up to the weekend had soaked the dirt in the arena, and the organisers were unable to get it dry enough for competition conditions. With the riders having so little time for practice, it was decided that a fair contest was not possible. Instead, the contestants were sent out to compete for their starting positions on Sunday.
However, the world-class field of Dany Torres, David Rinaldo, Libor Podmol, James Carter, Maikel Melero et al were determined not to deprive the spectators of a world-class performance. The rules for qualifying specified a sequence of seven tricks within a timeframe of two minutes. The format seems to have best suited Hannes Ackermann (GER), Jose Miralles (ESP), Maikel Melero (ESP), James Carter (USA) David Rinaldo (FRA) and Dany Torres (ESP) who duly advanced into the final.
Massimo Bianconcini (ITA) won an exciting Maxxis Highest Air Contest in which he was the only contestant to clear the bar at 7.0 metres. James Carter then whipped his way to victory in the Rockwell Watch Best Whip, and Emma McFerran laid on the first FMX display by a female rider on Chinese soil.
By the time the final came round, track conditions had improved significantly, which encouraged James Carter to execute a hyper-extended Tsunami Flip. David Rinaldo responded with a Seatgrab Indy Backflip. But surpassing everyone else on the night was Red Bull torero Dany Torres who pulled off a Paris Hilton Backflip, a Double Seatgrab Flip and his trademark Oxecutioner Flip. The judges deemed this run to be worthy of first place in the seeding order for Sunday’s competition when real world championship points will be at stake. As it is though, David Rinaldo continues to lead on 98 points with Libor Podmol trailing by only two. Tomorrow, the chasing pack will be out to dislodge the current leader when Beijing is again gripped by Grand Prix fever.
Results
1. Dany Torres ESP RFME KTM
2. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha
3. James Carter USA AMA Suzuki
4. Maikel Melero ESP RFME KTM
5. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM
6. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM
7. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha
8. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR Yamaha
9. Joel Brown AUS MA Kawasaki
10. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM
Results MAXXIS Highest Air
1. Massimo Bianconcini ITA KTM 7,00 Meters
2. Jose Miralles ESP KTM 6,50 Meters
2. Maikel Melero ESP KTM 6,50 Meters
Results ROCKWELL Best Whip Contest
1. James Carter USA AMA Honda
FIM Freestyle MX World Championships
1. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 98 Points
2. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 96 Points
3. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 83 Points
4. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 72 Points
5. Dany Torres ESP RFME KTM 64 Points
6. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 53 Points
7. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 52 Points
8. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 51 Points
9. Maikel Melero ESP RFME KTM 41 Points
10. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 39 Points
11. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 36 Points
12. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 22 Points
13. Gabriel Villegas CHL FMC KTM 16 Points
14. Rich Kearns USA AMA Kawasaki 10 Points
15. Martin Koren CZE ACCR KTM 7 Points