“Welcome to Berlin” was emblazoned all over the o2 World arena as fans arrived for the first part of a NIGHT of the JUMPs Grand Prix double bill. Eleven riders from seven different countries were lining up for Round 2 of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship, including the German duo of Hannes Ackermann and Kai Haase. Berlin-born Haase was cheered on enthusiastically by his home crowd but went out at the qualifying stage in an anonymous tenth place. Having almost recovered from a debilitating back injury, Hannes Ackermann was on far better form than in the world championship opener at Kaunas but narrowly missed out on the final in P7.
Making his second guest appearance of the 2013 NIGHT of the JUMPs tour, Gabriel Villegas pulled out some decent tricks to finish eighth. American star Rich Kearns was evidently suffering from jetlag and disappointed the fans by failing to perform a single backflip. So it was all the more surprising when he triumphed in the ROCKWELL Time Best Whip.
High-jump specialist Massimo Bianconcini also went out at the qualifying stage. Winner of the preliminary round was David Rinaldo who put in a great run to come through just ahead of Petr Pilat. Remi Bizouard’s minor slip-up pushed him down to third place, while Libor Podmol will have been relieved to sneak into the finals in P5 after a dead sailor flip. Also qualifying in the Top Six were Jose Miralles and Brice Izzo.
The Best Trick Contest pitted two mountain bikers against two FMX riders. Pavel Alekhin performed a front flip which was bested by a tandem backflip from Petr Pilat. The fans could, perhaps, be forgiven for saving the loudest applause of the night for Australia’s First Lady of FMX, Emma McFerran, who pulled off a flawless backflip over the kicker ramp. It was the first time in NIGHT of the JUMPs history that a female rider had performed this trick.
Despite the mathematical impossibility, the six riders in the final were all looking to improve on their qualifying positions. A gamble that did not pay off for Brice Izzo and Jose Miralles who both flopped big time with dead sailors. Petr Pilat also committed minor errors in his final run, which dropped him down to fourth. Meanwhile, Libor Podmol staged an impressive fight-back, advancing from fifth to the top podium rung. This was due in no small measure to his maiden 360; some spectators thought he had overshot his double-up time, but the judges were satisfied that it was just inside.
Remi Bizouard delved deep into his repertoire of tricks, pulling out a Ruler and a Hart Attack Flip. But instead of a 360, he could ‘only’ manage a Whip Flip; Bizouard was visibly gutted to finish the event in a relatively lowly third position. David Rinaldo once again showed off some truly extreme jumps such as his new Heelclicker to Tsunami combo. In the double-up, he obviously hoped to pull off a Doublegrab Flip, but this petered out into a run-of-the-mill Superman Seatgrab Flip. But it was still enough for the runner-up spot, one point behind Podmol but one point ahead of Bizouard – the first time he has ever managed to out-perform his fellow Frenchman.
Friday’s victory saw Podmol take the lead in the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship. On the same number of points but still technically second is Remi Bizouard. Moving up to third place in the standings is David Rinaldo. But tomorrow is another day… That’s when the third round of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship will be contested at o2 World in Berlin. There are still a few tickets left for those fans who don’t like to plan too far ahead.
Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final
1. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 395 Points
2. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 394 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 393 Points
4. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 351 Points
5. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 341 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 312 Points
Results Qualification
1. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 332 Points
2. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 323 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 320 Points
4. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 316 Points
5. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 311 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 308 Points
7. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 299 Points
8. Gabriel Villegas CHL FMC KTM 299 Points
9. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 292 Points
10. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 224 Points
11. Rich Kearns USA AMA Kawasaki 211 Points
Results ROCKWELL Time Whip Contest
1. Rich Kearns USA AMA Kawasaki
2. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM
Ranking (after 2nd contest)
1. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 36 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 36 Points
3. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 28 Points
4. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 28 Points
5. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 20 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 19 Points
7. Dany Torres ESP RFME KTM 18 Points
8. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 14 Points
9. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 12 Points