Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2013 - Dubai
Tuesday 16 April: Dany Torres' towering win next to world's tallest building
Spain’s Dany Torres beat defending champion Levi Sherwood after
first knocking out 2013 World Tour leader Thomas Pages in a
thrill-filled Red Bull X-Fighters event in Dubai to move ahead of the
flying Frenchman into first place after the second of six stops.
Dany Torres of Spain won a gripping battle of the champions at the
Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour stop in Dubai on Friday, as the 2011
World Tour winner narrowly defeated defending champion Levi Sherwood of
New Zealand by a score of 3-2 on a challenging dirt course.
Todd Potter and the world’s tallest building – the spectacular 828-meter Burj Khalifa.
France’s Thomas Pages won the Swatch Best Move award for his
crowd-pleasing "volt” jump that had him spinning in mid-air off the seat
of his bike to the cheers of 13,000 spectators. It was a thrilling
event at the Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, in Downtown Dubai, under the
patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council.
Torres
put in a masterful performance of freestyle motocross through three
rounds with his polished jumps of up to 15 meters high and 30 meters in
distance. It was the first win for Torres in the world's most
prestigious FMX series since Madrid in 2011 but he was reluctant to say
it made him the new title favorite this year after Pages dominated the
first stop. "The level of the top riders is so close this year,” he
said. "If you make just one mistake, you’re out. It’s difficult to say
who’s going to win the championship,” added Torres, who had a brilliant
run in the final against Sherwood. The on-form Spaniard, who also won in
Dubai in 2011, was beaten by Pages in the final at the 2013 season
opener in Mexico City last month but was able to turn the tables this
time on the flying Frenchman when they went head-to-head in a
spine-tingling semi-final showdown.
Pages, who had
dominated Qualifying, put in his a riveting performance with the "Volt”,
the "Special Flip” that has him doing a back flip off his seat while
the bike is in mid-air, and the 540-degree turn known as the "Flair.”
Pages had the crowd cheering as he nailed three of the most difficult
tricks known to mankind but he crash-landed on his last jump, a flip,
and was punished hard by the judges. "I just went for it,” said Pages.
"I pushed it but maybe pushed it too much and crashed. I’m
disappointed.” Among the enchanted spectators was Fabio Cannavaro, who
was the captain of Italy’s soccer team that won the 2006 World Cup.
The next stop is in Glen Helen (USA) on May 11.
Results:
1. Dany Torres (ESP), 2. Levi Sherwood (NZL), 3. Thomas Pages (FRA), 4.
Rob Adelberg (AUS), 5. David Rinaldo (FRA), 6. Libor Podmol (CZE), 7.
Mat Rebeaud (SUI), 8. Maikel Melero (ESP), 9. Josh Sheehan (AUS), 10.
Daisuke Suzuki (JPN)
Standings: 1. Torres 180
points, 2. Pages 165, 3. Sherwood 145, 4. Adelberg 110, 5. Josh Sheehan
(AUS) 65, 6. Melero 60, 7. Rinaldo 45, 8. Todd Potter (USA) 40, 9.
Podmol 35. 10. Rebeaud, 30.
Picture credits: Joerg Mitter, Predrag Vuckovic, Daniel Grund and Naim Chidiac
Dany Torres
Levi Sherwood