Gdansk, 26th November 2011: The return of NIGHT of the JUMPs to Poland could not have been more spectacular. Javier Villegas (CHL) and Remi Bizouard (FRA) sought to outbid each other with amazing tricks in the tenth round of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship at the ERGO Arena in Gdansk. In a breathtaking final, the Frenchman prevailed to keep alive his slender chance of overturning the Chilean’s 19-point lead in the championship.

Thirteen riders from eight nations lined up for the qualification stage. Local hero Artur Puzio performed a clean Miniflip but then, just like fellow countryman Michael Daciuk, was reduced to the status of spectator for the rest of the evening. They were joined by reigning World Champion Libor Podmol (CZE) who had to reduce his repertoire after sustaining an injury in his previous world championship outing. Veterans Massimo Bianconcini (ITA) and Fabian Bauersachs (GER) also had to bid the crowd a fond farewell after the preliminary round. The ‘Italian FMX Stallion’ at least had the consolation of winning the Race & Style contest and then beating off the challenge from high jump record holder Alastair Sayer to take the Maxxis Highest Air trophy. The rider from Botswana had an evening to forget, just missing out on the final in P7 and taking a tumble in the Step-up Contest which left him with a very sore arm.

Jose Miralles, who is currently placed third in the championship rankings, also failed to qualify, but at least he had a good excuse: his luggage arrived only after free practice, giving him virtually no opportunity to warm up. So the Top Six on the night were David Rinaldo (FRA), Brice Izzo (FRA), Petr Pilat (CZE), Maikel Melero (ESP) and of course the two championship front-runners Villegas and Bizouard.

Rinaldo went first, putting in an Airplane and a solid Superman Seatgrab Backflip that would normally have been good enough for a podium finish, but the diminutive Frenchman’s last jump ended as a Dead Sailor. A similar fate befell Maikel Melero who performed two Cordova Flips in his final run, finishing fifth despite premiering his versions of the Cliffhanger Flip and Double Seatgrab Backflip. Red Bull rider Petr Pilat has recently become a podium regular: after taking third place in Ostrava, he missed out on another top-three finish in Gdansk by only four points. This honour went instead to Brice Izzo who put together a superb final run consisting of Miniflip, Cordova Flip and Superman Seatgrab Indy Flip. Brice really seems to have returned to form after his severe injury earlier this year.

But the main bout of the evening was still to come. Villegas and Bizouard were not inclined to do each other any favours and waged a battle worthy of this decisive stage in the Freestyle Motocross World Championship. Villegas went first with Tsunami, Superman Seatgrab Indy and Suicide Flips plus Nac Underflip. Bizouard countered with Ruler, Cliffhanger and Hart Attack Flip. The panel adjudged the Frenchman to have prevailed on the evening, thereby trimming Villegas’s championship lead to 19 points.

The next batch of championship points will be awarded as early as Sunday evening. The FMX pros then start all over again in the ERGO Arena Gdansk, vying for supremacy in the eleventh and penultimate competition in the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship. This event will also be broadcast live on Motors TV and via internet on www.NIGHToftheJUMPs.com (4pm - 5pm GMT).

Gdansk, 27th November 2011: Over two successive NIGHT of the JUMPs staged at the ERGO Arena in the Polish port city of Gdansk, spectators were thrilled by a double bill of the best in freestyle motocross sport. On Sunday night, Remi Bizouard (FRA) once again took all 20 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship points, thereby narrowing Javier Villegas’s (CHL) current lead to 17. So at the end of a highly successful weekend in Poland, the Frenchman goes home with maximum haul of 40 championship points.

As Alastair Sayer (BOT) sustained an injury the day before, only twelve FMX riders contested the qualifying round on Sunday. And with the exception of Brice Izzo (FRA) who came of his bike attempting a Miniflip, it was the same line-up of finalists as on Saturday: taking Izzo’s place was Jose Miralles, alongside Maikel Melero (ESP), David Rinaldo (FRA), Petr Pilat (CZE), Villegas and Bizouard.

German rider Fabian Bauersachs in P8 finished two places higher on the leader board than the night before. Local hero Artur Puzio (POL) followed up a Miniflip with his own version of Long Distance Flip on Dirt, which sadly ended in a crash. Still on the mend after injuring himself quite badly earlier this year, Libor Podmol finished tenth, a creditable result in the circumstances.

Massimo Bianconcini (ITA) put in a good run and was unlucky to miss out on the final by just seven points. But the Italian once again dominated the side contests after his double triumph on Saturday, claiming victory in the Whip contest and in the Maxxis Highest Air on Day 2.

The Top Six stepped up a gear for the finale, pulling out their most spectacular tricks. Jose Miralles pleased the crowd with a Saran Wrap Flip, while David Rinaldo performed an Airplane with super-clean extension and Maikel Melero showed off his new Doublegrab Flip. But even stunts of this complexity were not enough to deprive Petr Pilat of third place: the Red Bull rider has now taken his second podium in the last three contests.

But this was of minor interest once Javier Villegas rode out onto the track. If the Chilean could see off the challenge from Bizouard, he would then wrap up the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship on the night. Villegas summoned up all his best routines: Pastrana Trick with No-Hand Landing, Tsunami Flip and a Suicide Flip Lookback in which he almost touched the rear protective board with his helmet. But he was ultimately undone by a botched No-Hand Landing. Bizouard was once again firing on all cylinders, finishing three points ahead thanks to consummately executed Ruler and Hart Attack Flips.

The upshot of which is that the destination of this year’s FIM Freestyle MX World Championship trophy will not be known until the final round of the competition on 17th December in Sofia. Remi Bizouard is still behind Villegas in the overall standings but his double victory this weekend has reduced the deficit to 17 points. So maximum tension is guaranteed for the NIGHT of the JUMPs premiere in Bulgaria, which is also the closing round of the championship.