French one-two in Basel

The last FIM Freestyle World Championship meeting 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. 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. Competition will resume on 18 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. Final
1. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 390 points
2. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 390 points
3. Dany Torres ESP RFME KTM 386 points
4. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 371 points
5. Maikel Melero ESP RFME KTM 365 points
6. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 310 points

Results: Qualification
1. Dany Torres ESP RFME KTM 348 points
2. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 340 points
3. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 338 points
4. Maikel Melero ESP RFME KTM 334 points
5. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 325 points
6. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 316 points
7. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 282 points
8. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 275 points
9. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 243 points
10. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 220 points

Results: MAXXIS Highest Air
1. Massimo Bianconcini ITA KTM 9.70 metres
3. Maikel Melero ESP KTM 9.50 metres
3. Kai Haase GER DMSB 9.00 metres

Results: ROCKWELL Best Whip Contest
1. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki

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