MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2011 The world’s top 12 freestyle motocross athletes converted Rome’s Stadio Olimpico into a modern Circus Maximus on Friday. In front of 45,000 spectators Nate Adams (USA) nailed the tricks to earn the title as the new Roman Caesar. Andre Villa (NOR) took second place and whiz kid Josh Sheehan (AUS) came out of nowhere to take third place in the third stop of the 2011 Red Bull X-Fighters Tour.The wave would not stop rolling through the Stadio Olimpico crowd as Nate Adams and Andre Villa were revving up for the start of the final showdown battle on two wheels. When it finally did, Adams got off 18 flawless jumps within the 120-second time limit to win over the five-member gladiator jury, picking up his fifth victory in the 11-year history of the Red Bull X-Fighters. “Now I’m going for the Tour title,” the 27-year-old American said afterwards. “It was the most difficult win in my career after I had a crash in Qualifying.”On the biggest FMX course ever built in Italy – with 11 kickers and 8 dirt landings – the athletes pushed themselves to their limits, jumping distances of up to 30 meters and as high as 15 meters. Co-favorite Dany Torres (ESP), who won in Rome last year, sent a shiver through the big crowd when he crashed at the end of a botched landing in the second round. His bike veered off the course and into a barrier. “I came here with five broken bones that weren’t quite healed but nevertheless won the Qualifying round,” he said. “Judging by the way my right ankle feels right now, I think I’ll be leaving Rome with six broken bones.” The Spaniard was nevertheless confident he would be ready to battle for the victory at the next stop in front of his home crowd in Madrid.Adams widened his lead in the overall 2011 Red Bull X-Fighters standings, following a third place in Dubai (UAE) and victories in Brasilia (BRA) and Rome, to 40 points over Villa. The Norwegian still has plenty of time to catch Adams in the three remaining stops in Madrid (ESP/July 15), Poznan (POL/August 6) and Sydney (AUS/September 17). Final Result Red Bull X-Fighters Rome 20111. Nate Adams (USA) 2. Andre Villa (NOR) 3. Josh Sheehan (AUS) 4. Blake Williams (AUS) 5. Dany Torres (ESP) 6. Eigo Sato (JAP) 7. Adam Jones (USA) 8. Robbie Maddison (AUS) 9. Javier Villegas (CHL) 10. Maikel Melero (ESP) 11. Massimo Bianconchini (ITA) 12. Clinton Moore (AUS) Standings (after 3 of 6 events): 1. Adams (USA/265 points)2. Villa (NOR/225)3. Torres (ESP/145)4. Maddison (AUS/135)5. Blake Williams (AUS/135)   DC spent the day with Maddo at his home, turned training facility, in Temecula, CA to chronicle what makes Maddo such an incredible rider and competitor. His dedication and drive are showcased in this spot. Most recently, Maddo put the finishing touches on the new foam pit in his front yard where he's been spending countless hours training for the X-Fighters competition series and Summer X Games 17. And proving that hard work does pay off, Maddo just took 2nd place at the X-Fighters Brazil event behind his neighbor, friend and DC teammate, Nate Adams.  
Colton Uduall 2nd at The Baja 500 In what is being called the closest ever SCORE Baja 500 overall motorcycle finish, Colton Udall and new team mate David Kamo, thought they had defeated JCR rivals and 1x plate-holders Kendall Norman and Quinn Cody. Colton, riding the 0x JCR HONDA CRF 450x in tribute of his late team mate Jeff “Ox” Kargola, crossed the finish line of the 454 mile race on the exact same second as last years champions Norman and Cody. There has been a more random time adjusted finish in the race, but never before has the contest come down to such a close match were both bikes rolled across the line together at precisely the same second. The 0x beat 1x by a time adjusted 30 seconds but the results were overturned the next day after “tracking review committee” (TRC) determined penalties had occurred. Never the less Udall did Ox proud dedicating the race to his fallen teammate in his first race back.   It’s been four months now since Team Honda’s Josh Grant has been able to swing a leg over a dirt bike. After injurying his knee and going under the knife at the beginning of the Supercross season, Grant has been sitting on the sidelines waiting to get back in action. We caught up with him today while he was spinning laps at Milestone MX Park during only his second day back on the bike.  | The Blog Archive 2012 (25)May (1)April (9)March (8)February (6)January (1) |
