| Story & Pictures by Oliver Franke/IFMXF |
Togliatti, 16th June 2012: The first half of a NIGHT of the JUMPs double bill in the Russian city of Togliatti was rained off. The freestyle motocross stars had enjoyed bright sunshine during free practice, but as the seventh round of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship was about to get underway on Friday evening, the heavens opened, the arena was flooded and the evening’s programme had to be abandoned.
On Saturday, the weather relented at the Anatoly Stepanov stadium. The sunshine dried out the dirt which then provided a perfect playground for the first ever NIGHT of the JUMPS in Togliatti. Four Russian riders pitted themselves against the international freestyle motocross elite on the largest track yet constructed in the history of NIGHT of the JUMPS. They put on a brave display, cheered on by their home crowd, but ultimately, the only one of them who came close to qualifying for the final was Red Bull rider Aleksey Koleshnikov whose various flip combinations took him to eighth on the night.
The Italian duo of Massimo Bianconcini and Ivan Zucconi also exited in the preliminary round. Zucconi’s fate was decided by a dead sailor while ‘Bianco’ seemed to be saving himself for the X-Games and was not firing on all cylinders. Having said that, though, he did at least win the Maxxis Highest Air Contest at the expense of Lukas Weis.
The young German was not left ruing this defeat for long, as he subsequently won the Whip contest and even qualified for the final, just ahead of Hannes Ackermann. Although the Thuringian put in one of his best NIGHT of the JUMPS runs to date, he left out the transfer jump; Weis used it and finished four points clear of his fellow countryman.
Completing the line-up for the final were Libor Podmol (CZE), a fit-again Jose Miralles (ESP) and the French ‘Grande Armée’ of David Rinaldo, Brice Izzo and Remi Bizouard, all of them intent on claiming victory in the Russian Grand Prix of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship. David Rinaldo performed his first ever Lazyboy Flip in a final, but he ruined his chances with a dead sailor flip in the double-up, which consigned him to fifth place. ‘El Loco’ Miralles showed off his repertoire of tricks in accustomed style, even adding a Saran Wrap Flip, which persuaded the judges to reward him with fourth.
The three podium spots were fought over by Izzo, Bizouard and Podmol. Brice Izzo laid on his own version of a Lazyboy Flip and finished third. Remi Bizouard flipped his way through Ruler, Cliffhanger and Hart Attack, but still had to cede the top rung to Podmol whose Cliffhanger Flip, Underflip Indy and Seatgrab Flip Indy were deemed to be of competition-winning standard by the judges.
This victory for the Czech rider takes him onto 122 points and reduces the gap on championship leader Bizouard by two points. The Frenchman continues to lead the overall standings of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship on 132 points. Brice Izzo follows in third place on 102 points.
NIGHT of the JUMPS now takes a three-month summer break before returning on 15th September with a first-time fixture on Chinese soil. The cream of the FMX crop will then resume their competition for world championship points at the International Sports Arena in Guangzhou.
FACTS NIGHT of the JUMPs – FIM Freestyle MX World Championships
Togliatti, 16th June 2012 – Round 7
Results Final
1. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 443 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA RFME Honda 436 Points
3. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 430 Points
4. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 395 Points
5. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 373 Points
6. Lukas Weis GER DSMB Suzuki 358 Points
Results Qualification
1. Remi Bizouard FRA RFME Honda 400 Points
2. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 399 Points
3. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 388 Points
4. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 372 Points
5. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 371 Points
6. Lukas Weis GER DSMB Suzuki 354 Points
7. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 350 Points
8. Massimo Bianconcini ITAL PZM KTM 329 Points
9. Aleksey Koleshnikov RUS MFR KTM 318 Points
10. Ivan Zucconi ITA PZM KTM 276 Points
11. Vladimir Jarygin RUS MFR Honda 248 Points
12. Nikolai Ivankov RUS MFR Yamaha 243 Points
13. Michael Jarygin RUS MFR Yamaha 237 Points
Results Whip Contest
1. Lukas Weis GER DSMB Suzuki
2. Nikolai Ivankov RUS MFR Yamaha
3. Aleksey Koleshnikov RUS MFR KTM
Results MAXXIS Highest Air
1. Massimo Bianconcini ITA 7,80 Meter
2. Lukas Weis GER 7,50 Meter
FIM Freestyle MX World Championships
Ranking (after 7th contest)
1. Remi Bizouard FRA RFME Honda 132 Points
2. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 122 Points
3. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 102 Points
4. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 90 Points
5. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 63 Points
6. Massimo Bianconcini ITAL PZM KTM 59 Points
7. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 47 Points
8. Maikel Melero ESP RFME KTM 44 Points
9. Lukas Weis GER DMSB Suzuki 38 Points
10. Ivan Zucconi ITA PZM KTM 37 Points
11. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 34 Points
12. Martin Koren CZE ACCR KTM 21 Points
13. Gabriel Villegas CHL FMC KTM 15 Points
14. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 14 Points
15. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 12 Points |
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