Torres and Izzo win NOTJ Basel
Pictures: Tobis Hannig / tobpix.com


We went to the NIGHT of the JUMPs FIM World Championship in Basel/Switzerland to capture some impressions of finest high-level Freestyle MX.

Click on thumbs to open the NOTJ Basel gallery :

Friday night
Izzo and Rinaldo in joint dominion of the air:
French one-two at NOTJ in Basel

Basel, 22nd June 2013: The last NIGHT of the JUMPs before the summer break left the audience in the arena (and in front of their PC monitors) baying for more. The ten freestyle motocross stars pulled out all the stops to maximise their championship points haul before the mid-season lay-off.

The fans in Basel’s Sankt Jakobshalle had already been treated to some jaw-dropping feats at the qualifying stage. Kai Haase showed off some new flip combos but nearly came unstuck on his Clickerflip over the Kickerramp, which effectively ruled him out of contention. Massimo Bianconcini seems to have recovered fully from his broken wrist and ran through his entire repertoire but could still progress no further than ninth. Hannes Ackermann was intent on making it through to the final, even pulling off a Tsunami Flip in the attempt, but an error on his Clicker Flip left him languishing in a frustrating seventh place.

Click Image to zoom  

Clinton Moore had even more cause to curse his luck: the Australian was heading for a certain appearance in the final when he crashed hard coming out of his Nac 360. The audience let out a collective gasp but were relieved to see him back on his feet after receiving brief medical attention. This left the way clear for Jose Miralles, Maikel Melero, Libor Podmol, David Rinaldo, Brice Izzo and Dany Torres to book the final six places.

Before that, however, the fans were treated to a breathtaking Rockwell Watch Best Whip contest, in which German rider Kai Haase prevailed over five other entrants with some with exquisitely lingering whips. The Maxxis Highest Air Contest was equal in every respect, as Massimo Bianconcini and Maikel Melero pushed each other to the limit. The Italian veteran finally took the trophy, clearing the bar at 9.70 metres.

The grand finale was then the ultimate showdown. Miralles was the only one who seemed to have run out of steam, which became apparent when he messed up one of his tricks. Maikel Melero, however, fought like a tiger, pulling out a Double Seatgrab Flip as the closing jump of his run. But with everyone on such great form, even this was not enough for a podium finish. For Libor Podmol, it was all about hanging onto his lead in the championship standings. He hoped that his LP Special Roll, his Tsunami Flip, his signature Underflip and Seatgrab Flip would do the trick, but his chance of a podium diminished as David Rinaldo displaced him from the hot seat. The diminutive Frenchman executed a Double Seatgrab Flip and various of his triple combos. He in turn was then forced to vacate the throne by the next Frenchman in line, as Brice Izzo put in what may well be the best run of his career to date, with perfect extension on his Tsunami, Underflip, Seatgrab Flip and Deadbody. He also undertook the maximum level of difficulty with new tricks such as the Cordova to Superflip and the Saranwrap to One-hand Seatgrab. The only contestant now blocking his path to victory was Dany Torres. The Spaniard included all his backflip combos, but for some reason left out the Rock Solid Backflip which he had been seen performing in free practice. This omission left the way clear for Brice Izzo to claim the winner’s trophy. With Rinaldo finishing as runner-up, the result was a French one-two.

The wider implications are that Rinaldo on 98 points has now overtaken Libor Podmol to lead the World Championship by a margin of two points. Reigning world champion Remi Bizouard, who is stuck on 72 points and trailing in fourth position, intends to be fit enough to contest the second half of the season and to mount a vigorous defence of his title.

NIGHT of the JUMPS now goes into a short summer break and will resume on 18th August with the seventh round of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship in Beijing. Meanwhile, Swiss freestyle motocross fans should mark the weekend of 28th/29th March 2014 in their diaries. That’s when NIGHT of the JUMPs returns to the Sankt Jakobshalle in Basel for the eighth successive year.

Saturday night
Spanish FMX tornado blows away opposition
in NIGHT of the JUMPs at Basel

Basel, 21 June 2013: After the freak weather in Europe on Thursday, another storm blew into Basel the following day with the arrival of the world’s Top Ten freestyle motocross riders in the Sankt Jakobshalle, all of them intent on scoring points towards the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship. This is the seventh occasion on which NIGHT of the JUMPs has been staged in the Basel arena, and with the championship campaign having reached an absolutely critical stage, the tension was running exceptionally high.

As early as the qualifying round, a whirlwind of tricks was unleashed. David Rinaldo, Dany Torres and Libor Podmol were cracking one backflip flash after another and almost threatening to bring the roof crashing down. Clinton Moore was also firing on all cylinders with his proprietary Volt, his Nac 360 and his version of the Tsunami Flip. Maikel Melero managed to book the sixth and last slot for the final round.

Despite excelling themselves on the evening, Jose Miralles (ESP), Hannes Ackermann (GER), Massimo Bianconcini (ITA) and Kai Haase (GER) missed out in the battle for the final.

Click image to zoom  

The storm clouds were brewing again as the finale got under way. The audience were ecstatic as both Rinaldo and Melero pulled off a Double Seatgrab Flip on their final runs. The surprise was great when even tricks of this magnitude were insufficient to secure them a podium finish. Libor Podmol also failed to make it into the Top Three, emerging uninjured after crashing into the barrier coming out of an Underflip Indy, but had the consolation of a tumultuous applause from the crowd.

The same outcome befell Clinton Moore as he executed a Seatgrab Flip, but he jumped straight back onto his bike to complete his run with a Nac 360, a Tsunami Flip and The Volt. This performance was rewarded by the judges with third place.

Brice Izzo celebrated a spectacular comeback in Basel with a new triple combo, a Tsunami Flip, an Underflip and various takeoff and landing tricks. Ultimately, though, the Frenchman was outgunned by Dany Torres who fired off a salvo of Paris Hilton, Oxecutioner and Lazy Backflip.

In the World Championship standings, Libor Podmol and David Rinaldo were the main beneficiaries of the injury-related absence of reigning world champion Remi Bizouard. Podmol has now taken the lead with 82 points ahead of Rinaldo on 80. Bizouard meanwhile slips back to third on 72 points.