Motor sports

Maikel Melero Claims FIM Freestyle MX World Championships

Night of the Jumps returned to the Frankfurt Festhalle on Friday after a nine-year absence. Eleven riders from five nations competed in the penultimate round of this year’s FIM Freestyle MX World Championship. Local fans were rooting for the three German contestants, Luc and Hannes Ackermann and Lukas Weis, but were also intrigued by the three-way battle at the top between current championship leader Maikel Melero, Libor Podmol and Remi Bizouard. And it was Spain's Maikel Melero who claimed the title of 2014 World Champion in the thrilling Saturday's finale.
27. 11. 2014

Frankfurt turned out not to be such a happy hunting ground for the 2010 world champion from the Czech Republic. In the third round of free practice, Podmol tried to pull off a Flair over the Quarter but slipped on landing and had to retire injured. He was instantly out of contention for the title and headed home early. The championship battle was thus down to a two-horse race between Melero and Bizouard who went to the final rounds separated by only eight points.


Maikel Melero


Remi Bizouard

The tension was already palpable in the qualifying heat, as failure for either would have brought a premature end to the title chase. But luckily for the fans, both were in excellent form to take them through to the final. The same couldn't have been said of the local riders though as the German contingent were out of luck. Hannes Ackermann missed out on the Top Six by a wafer-thin margin, Lukas Weis was ninth, and Luc Ackermann dropped to the back of the field after a hard fall on his Surfer Tsunami Flip.


Lukas Weis

UK veteran Jamie Squibb also went out at this early stage but at least took the victory in the LifeProof Best Whip contest. With the younger Ackermann still nursing his wounds, the Maxxis Highest Air was reduced to a two-horse race. But to the great delight of the spectators, Lukas Weis and Jose Miralles pushed the bar up to nine metres. The ultimate winner was Miralles due to fewer failed attempts.


Jose Miralles 

Next up was the championship showdown. Bizouard not only needed to finish ahead of Melero to land his fourth title, he also had to have three other riders between himself and the Spaniard to close the eight-point gap. So the Frenchman pulled out all the tricks in his extensive repertoire, including Ruler Flip, Cliffhanger Flip, Hart Attack Flip and Whipped Seatgrab Flip. For the double-up, Remi shrewdly selected the Body Varial to put himself in the hot seat and pile the pressure on Maikel.


Maikel Melero

The Spaniard opted for a safe run with Doublegrab Flip and various combos. He chose to omit the Flair which had ended in a tumble the day before, a tactic that proved to be the right one. Although his less than ambitious run was nowhere near strong enough to dislodge Remi from the hot seat, it was enough to keep him ahead in the standings, with only David Rinaldo splitting the two leaders on the night. After a long season, Maikel was a worthy champion. Remi not only took the win on the day with his fantastic Body Varial but also picked up the Rockwell Best Move Watch.


David Rinaldo

With this last competition of the 2014 season, NIGHT of the JUMPs now goes into hibernation. The new season begins on 10th January in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. A week later, the European Championship starts in Linz. The first world championship points will be awarded in early March at NIGHT of the JUMPs in Berlin. Stay tuned!

Final FIM Freestyle MX World Championships Ranking

1 Maikel Melero     ESP     Yamaha         146 Points
2 Remi Bizouard        FRA     Kawasaki       142 Points  
3 Libor Podmol   CZE     Yamaha         114 Points
4 Rob Adelberg      AUS     Yamaha         112 Points
5 Brice Izzo       FRA     Yamaha         97 Points
6 David Rinaldo    FRA     Yamaha         92 Points 
7 Petr Pilat     CZE     KTM              92 Points
8 Jose Miralles    ESP     KTM              82 Points
9 Dany Torres   ESP     KTM              80 Points
10 Hannes Ackermann      GER     KTM              74 Points
11 Luc Ackermann      GER     KTM              57 Points
12 Massimo Bianconcini   ITA      KTM              43 Points
13 Mat Rebeaud SUI      KTM              20 Points
14 Lukas Weis     GER     Honda            18 Points
15 Jamie Squibb     GBR     Kawasaki       16 Points

Photos: ©NOTJ

Source: http://www.nightofthejumps.com

27. 11. 2014

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