| Story and pictures by Oliver Franke/IFMXF.com |
Linz, 20th January 2012: NIGHT of the JUMPs kicked off a new season on Friday with an explosion of new tricks. Twelve freestyle motocross stars lined up at the Tips Arena in Linz for the first round of the UEM Freestyle MX European Championship.
Maxim Gregoire (FRA) and Kai Haase (GER), together with the two Austrian riders Thomas Wirnsberger and Martin Schenk, made it through the pre-qualification stage on Thursday to join the starting field of experienced title contenders: Javier Villegas (CHL), Remi Bizouard (FRA), Jose Miralles (ESP), Petr Pilat (CZE), Brice Izzo (FRA), Hannes Ackermann (GER) and Massimo Bianconcini (ITA ). And in Clinton Moore of Australia, fans had the chance to size up a NIGHT of the JUMPs newcomer.
In the showdown between the two local riders, Thomas Wirnsberger prevailed over Martin Schenk. Even so, neither progressed beyond the preliminary round. And despite premiering ‘The Volt’, this was as far as Maxime Gregoire got too. Yet at the same time, the young Frenchman showed clear potential for the future. Of the two German entrants, Hannes Ackermann just missed out on the final, qualifying seventh. Although Kai Haase had to settle for tenth place, he could at least console himself with a win in the Maxxis Highest Air contest.
Surprisingly, Red Bull rider Petr Pilat also went for an early bath after crashing out on his Tsunami Flip.
Brice Izzo opened the final in accustomed style, but a subsequent dead sailor flip left him floundering in sixth. Italy’s FMX legend Massimo Bianconcini shone with his extensive repertoire of tricks and will not have been disappointed to get his season off to a fifth-place start. NIGHT of the Jumps new boy and X Games medallist Clinton Moore performed a 360 and ‘The Volt’ on his final run but then ran out of steam on his other tricks to finish back in fourth.
Crowd favourite and Whip Contest winner Jose Miralles moved up from fourth in qualifying to earn himself a podium with Stallfish Backflip and other combos. But once again, Remi Bizouard and Javier Villegas were in a different league. The two World Championship rivals from 2011 were locked in close combat in Linz, with Villegas edging it on the night.
This means that the Chilean has gone into an early lead in the UEM Freestyle MX World Championship standings, followed by Remi Bizouard and Jose Miralles. But all of this may change again tomorrow when the next batch of European Championship points are awarded at NIGHT of the JUMPs in Linz.
FACTS
NIGHT of the JUMPs/UEM Freestyle MX European Championships
Linz, 20th January 2012 – Round 1
Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 393 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 376 Points
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 360 Points
4. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 351 Points
5. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 331 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 327 Points
Results Qualification
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 339 Points
2. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 326 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 315 Points
4. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 315 Points
5. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 302 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 297 Points
7. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 287 Points
8. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 285 Points
9. Thomas Wirnsberger AUT OSK Yamaha 274 Points
10. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 242 Points
11. Maxime Gregoire FRA FFM Yamaha 217 Points
12. Martin Schenk AUT OSK Yamaha 170 Points
Results Whip Contest
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha
2. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM
Maxxis Highest-Air
1. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 7,90 Meter
2. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 7,50 Meter
UEM Freestyle MX European Championships
Ranking (after 1st contest)
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 20 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 18 Points
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 16 Points
4. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 14 Points
5. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 12 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 10 Points
7. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 9 Points
8. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 8 Points
9. Thomas Wirnsberger AUT OSK Yamaha 7 Points
10. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 6 Points
11. Maxime Gregoire FRA FFM Yamaha 5 Points
12. Martin Schenk AUT OSK Yamaha 4 Points |
| Story and pictures by Oliver Franke/IFMXF.com |
Linz, 21st January 2012: Saturday’s freestyle motocross spectacular in the Austrian city of Linz was also the second round of the UEM Freestyle MX European Championship. In the battle for points, the twelve FMX riders were determined to showcase their most extreme tricks. The crowd were shocked to see Australian FMX sensation Clinton Moore take a tumble performing a 360. Maxime Gregoire (FRA) also came a cropper trying to pull off the Volt body varial, but undaunted, the Frenchman went on to claim victory in the ensuing Whip contest.
For the second day running, local hero Thomas Wirnsberger got the better of fellow Austrian Martin Schenk; he pulled off a Cordova Flip in the TAG Heuer double-up to qualify an agonising seventh and narrowly miss out on his first NIGHT of the JUMPs final. His loss was Hannes Ackermann’s gain, as the German rider put in one of his best runs in recent years. He was joined in the final by Brice Izzo (FRA), Jose Miralles (ESP), Petr Pilat (CZE), Javier Villegas (CHL) and Remi Bizouard (FRA).
The other German in the line-up, Kai Haase, may not have made it through to the final six, but will have been satisfied to take the Maxxis Highest Air trophy twice in a row, outclassing Italian step king Massimo Bianconcini on the night.
Having made it through to the final for the first time, Hannes Ackermann seemed overawed by the occasion, a dead sailor and other minor errors leaving him well adrift in sixth. Jose Miralles showed off a new Stallfish Backflip combo but in the end had to settle for fifth place. Brice Izzo, on the other hand, was really back on song. Last year’s winner at Linz performed a Superman Seatgrab Indy that left him just six points short of a podium finish. This went instead to the Czech backflip combo expert Petr Pilat, who summoned up his first Stripper Flip in a long time.
But as so often in recent months, the battle for the top podium spot was between reigning European champion Remi Bizouard and current world champion Javier Villegas. Neither was inclined to make any careless errors, and both were pulling out their best stunts. Ultimately, it was Villegas who held the advantage, just as he had the day before. He thus increases his lead in the European Championship standings, but will be conscious of Bizouard breathing down his neck in second place.
The third and last round of the UEM Freestyle MX European Championship is to be staged on 12th May at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, where the destiny of the 2012 title will be decided.
FACTS
NIGHT of the JUMPs/UEM Freestyle MX European Championships
Linz, 21st January 2012 – Round 2
Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 401 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 393 Points
3. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 387 Points
4. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 381 Points
5. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 378 Points
6. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 254 Points
Results Qualification
1. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 331 Points
2. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 325 Points
3. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 324 Points
4. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 316 Points
5. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 307 Points
6. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 300 Points
7. Thomas Wirnsberger AUT OSK Yamaha 280 Points
8. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 273 Points
9. Martin Schenk AUT OSK Yamaha 251 Points
10. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 241 Points
11. Maxime Gregoire FRA FFM Yamaha 208 Points
12. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 194 Points
Results Whip Contest
1. Maxime Gregoire FRA FFM Yamaha
2. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha
3. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM
Maxxis Highest-Air
1. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 7,00 Meter
2. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 6,50 Meter
UEM Freestyle MX European Championships
Ranking (after 2nd contest)
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 40 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 36 Points
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 28 Points
4. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 24 Points
5. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 24 Points
6. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 20 Points
7. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 19 Points
8. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 18 Points
9. Thomas Wirnsberger AUT OSK Yamaha 16 Points
10. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 12 Points
11. Martin Schenk AUT OSK Yamaha 11 Points
12. Maxime Gregoire FRA FFM Yamaha 10 Points |
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