|
XDL Season Opener Lights Up Havasu - Bill Dixon Takes FMF Cup Win
Text: Randy Grube
Photos: Greg Gallup - Stuntcards.com
 Boy how the sport of stunt riding has changed. Just a few years ago it was mostly a frowned upon activity performed illegally on public roads. Today there is an established national championship entering its fourth season that is well supported by fans, sponsors, the industry, media and athletes. For someone that witnessed the first XDL competition in May of 2006, the progress is phenomenal. What started out as a rag tag collection of riders on mostly rat bikes is now a professional group of the top motorcycle athletes in the country; all on well-built and good-looking bikes. And the competition on the track has gotten more serious and entertaining at the same time.
The XDL Sportbike Freestyle Championship opened up the 2009 season with a blockbuster event in Lake Havasu City that included one of the largest athlete fields ever, a massive and loud crowd, new tricks, new competitions, new winners and the return of some familiar faces. Round 1 set the tone for the season and showed that sportbike freestyle and XDL are well on their way to becoming a mainstream action sports phenomenon.
The weekend opened under sunny but windy conditions with gusts up to 45 mph and temperatures well below normal. This sometimes made it difficult on the riders and certainly kept the event staff busy. But when the gates opened at 1PM a line of fans had already formed in anticipation of a good show and XDL didn't disappoint.
In the K&N Circle Challenge 30 riders lined up to show who could spin the fastest. The K&N Circle Challenge is a bracket competition that has two riders go head-to-head to see who can complete 10 circle wheelies first. The winner goes on to the next round until only two are left in the final bracket. Riders display an amazing amount of technical skill and diversity with some sitting, some standing and some, like eventual winner Shin Kinoshita exhibiting a unique, one-handed, over-the-bike style. Kinoshita has now won the last four K&N Circle Challenge competitions going back to the 2008 season, making him the one to beat. But according to Kinoshita skill alone doesn't guarantee a win: "This competition is getting so close. Ernie (Vigil) was fast this time as well and I think I got a little lucky. It takes luck to pull it off but I hope that every time I come over from Japan I can snag the K&N Circle Challenge win."
The Russ Brown Freestyle Burnout competition belonged to 2008 Rookie of the Year Brian Bubash who showed great balance and precision during the minute of his official run, then delivered an encore high-speed burnout around the whole track that culminated in a perfectly timed, massive blow out right as he passed start finish. This feat earned him thunderous applause from the crowd. Remarked Bubash on whether the trick was planned or not: "I brought an extra tire with me that was pretty worn out just so I could blow it out for the crowd because the crowd loves blown tires."
The Aprilia All Star Challenge continued to grip fans with a fantastic combination of racing and stunt riding skills. Riders had to complete a full speed lap around the 1/4 mile oval on the Aprilia SXV 4.5, then dive into the rolling burnout slalom section, turn around, scrape the tail, complete a target stoppie, another rolling burnout slalom, park the rear wheel on the wall and finally race back to the start line. The battle came down to Dan Jackson and Bill Dixon who were only about .5 seconds apart after the first run. Usually that is where the action stops, but the fans demanded an encore and in the second run Dan Jackson laid down a scorching time of :59.12, beating Dixon comfortably by almost 3.5 seconds. Jackson attributes the win to a new outlook: "Coming into Havasu this year I had a new attitude. I wanted to ride hard, be aggressive and just push it the whole time."
The newly renamed FMF Cup national championship competition showed that anyone in the top 15 can rise to the top and some familiar names came back into the thick of the battle. Maybe the biggest story was that '08 Champion Nick "Apex" Brocha was unable to compete due to a shoulder injury suffered in a training accident a few weeks prior. Just as remarkable was the sheer number of competitors attempting to qualify for one of the only 15 spots in the main event. Aaron Colton overcame bike problems to take the number one qualifying spot, picking up where he left off after Indy in '08. Colton would go on to finish 2nd. "I think what hurt me the most was that I got a little rough on the first part of the run then fixed that in the end which made up the points that took me to second." Among those to qualify were most of the regulars, but both Andy Niles and Dan Farris just missed the cut. Havasu marked the return to competition by Kane Friesen who qualified a respectable 10th and finished 13th in a strong showing after almost 2 years of absence from XDL competition. Chris "Teach" McNeil made the first step in what he hopes to be a return to his old form and an attack at the top spot by qualifying 4th and finishing 5th. He attributed his good finish to a bike that is finally dialed in, good bike control and a high level of aggression. Dan Jackson cracked the top five by nailing all his tricks, stepping up his drifting and exhibiting superb bike control: "Normally I plan out my run and practice it at the spot and the judges think I am not trying hard enough but it is because I have my run dialed in to a tee. This year I'm not even writing anything down. It is all freestyle. I just pulled out every trick where I was and thought right then what trick I needed to pull out and tried to make it flow from one the the other. That change was a little bit more stressful and a little bit more exhausting. I'll need to train harder and be on the bike more." Lin Eshalom from Phoenix earned a third place finish with an excitement filled run that included a barrage of wig-splitting combo circle wheelies, a jump from the ground to high chair, as well as a high speed wheelie while dragging the toes behind his bike. But the night belonged to '08 perpetual bridesmaid Bill Dixon who took the win in FMF Cup by going big, utilizing the entire space and exhibiting awesome bike control sitting backwards while executing his trademark switchback wheelies. Said a tired but happy Dixon: "I go into every event thinking I can win, but at this one in particular I had so many problems. My tire was a junk tire so I switched it. In Sickest Trick I broke my fairing stay, this morning I had to take my clutch basket apart. Other than that it went the way I expected because I practiced hard."
Bill Dixon took one more win in the Sickest trick competition by calling and executing a 12 o'clock switchback wheelie. He managed to just edge out Guru Khalsa who performed a never before seen suicide circle that had him holding the engine on the rev limiter while controlling the bike by feathering the clutch. In the Stuntride.com Tandem Demo the pairs of Kent Arnold and Randy Delozier and Bill Dixon and Destiny Peace worked together well to show off some never before seen moves. Team Battle finally saw Death Squad go down to the DS Killers in a close battle of precision riding.
The evening ended under the lights with an athlete meet and greet in which the many remaining fans, including a large throng of kids, had a chance to step on to the competition surface and meet the athletes up close. It was a weekend to remember, highlighted by a great competition and some of the best fans in the country. Rumor has it that Havasu 2010 is already locked into the schedule.
FMF Cup Points Standing (Top 5)
1. Bill Dixon 45
2. Aaron Colton 43 (includes bonus point for top qualifier)
3. Lin Eshalom 39
4. Dan Jackson 36
5. Chris McNeil 33
Aprilia All Star Challenge Points Standing (Top 5)
1. Dan Jackson 45
2. Bill Dixon 42
3. Brian Bubash 39
4. Rick Hart 36
5. Eric Pettit 33
K&N Circle Challenge Winner
Shin Kinoshita
Russ Brown Freestyle Burnout Winner
Brian Bubash
Sickest Trick Winner
Bill Dixon
Team Battle Winner
Death Squad Killers |
