In his first ever appearance at Night of the Jumps, Taka Higashino performed exceptionally well in the FIM judging format and finished in a respectable 3rd place, showing why he is one of the world’s best riders. Taka unleashed a huge Tsunami backflip, coupled with the California Roll which he invented and completing his run with a hair-raising Rock Solid Indy Back Flip.
Taka Higashino snatch the Lifeproof Best Whip victory away with style.
The final saw an impressive run of Maikel Melero claiming a solid 2nd place in a pressure filled event, proving why he was the 2014 overall World Champion. Melero broke away from the field as the only rider to perform the Flair in his run, and landing his own version of the California Roll with a side-saddle take-off for extra technical points.
Jose Miralles claimed another Maxxis Highest Air competition over his main rival and multiple champion, Massimo Bianconcini with a wrist-jarring height of 10 meters.
However it wouldn’t be enough to defeat the final French rider of the night, David Rinaldo. David led the way from qualifications and into the final, where his night culminated in a late change of mind before the final run to switch his tricks around and add both of his body varials, the Volt and California Roll, inside the regular time limit and to finish with a Double Grab Indy Flip for the Double Up. A brave decision, needing to maintain concentration through the run with an incredible depth of tricks and it was enough to impress the judges to secure David’s second FIM FMX World Championships event in a row.
Check out the show's best tricks below.
1. Maikel Melero - 78 Points
2. David Rinaldo - 76 Points
3. Rob Adelberg - 66 Points
4. Libor Podmol - 56 Points
5. Remi Bizouard - 42 Points
Photos: © NIGHT of the JUMPs
Source: http://www.nightofthejumps.com
