Berlin Freestyle MX: A Podmol Triumph

Night of the Jumps

What a fantastic finish to the NIGHT of the JUMPs weekend. The 6,800 spectators at Berlin’s O2 World saw reigning champion Libor Podmol make a perfect run to flip his way to victory in the third contest of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship.

On the second day of the "Berlin Air Show," the four German FMX hopefuls once again made a valiant attempt to please their home crowd and get past the qualification stage. Kai Haase performed two flips, while Lukas Weis forgot his injured shoulder to pull out a 360-Style Underflip.

Hannes Ackermann showed off his new Whip Flip, a Nac Flip to Heelclicker and a No-Hand Flip to One-Hand-Landing. All in all, a creditable performance from the trio, but still not good enough to get them into the final. By contrast, Fabian Bauersachs made a perfect qualifying run to go through as a worthy representative of the local contingent, joining the elite of Maikel Melero (ESP), Remi Bizouard (FRA), Jose Miralles (ESP), Javier Villegas (CL) and Libor Podmol (CZE).

Massimo Bianconcini took the honours in the Race & Style contest ahead of Saturday’s winner Kai Haase, who this time won the Maxxis Highest Air with a jump of 8.8 metres, relegating the previously dominant Maikel Melero to runner-up.

Fabian Bauersachs had to really pump himself up for the final, as the strain of competing at the highest level over two nights clearly took its toll. Although he finished sixth, this was still a magnificent result and his best of the season so far.

Maikel Melero went into the final having qualified third but was once again unable to defend his Freestyle Motocross position, slumping to fifth. Jose Miralles seemed to have a hangover after triumphing the day before, as he failed to even make it onto the podium. Meanwhile, the three top Freestyle Motocross spots were hotly contested by Remi Bizouard, Javier Villegas and Libor Podmol.

After Remi had already defended the hot seat twice, Javier sprung a sensation. With an incredible run, he brushed aside the two-time world champion and current leader in the standings. Now, only reigning world champion Libor Podmol could deprive him of victory.

With two underflips, Cliffhanger Flip and a Superman Seatgrab Flip Indy, Podmol ultimately prevailed against Villegas to finally get his season underway and begin making up lost ground on the leading Freestyle Motocross bunch.

The NIGHT of the JUMPs / FIM Freestyle MX World Championship just gets more exciting as the season wears on. In the three contests so far, there has been a different winner each time.

Remi Bizouard still leads the overall standings on 54 points, two ahead of Javier Villegas (52). Jose Miralles has meanwhile fallen back to third place on 50 points.

The next NIGHT of the JUMPs is down on the calendar for 14th May in Hamburg. The Freestyle Motocross riders can add more World Championship points to their tally on the weekend of May 20-21 in Basel (Switzerland). And Berliners can start planning for the next NIGHT of the JUMPs in the German capital, as o2 World has already been booked for March 16-17, 2012.

NIGHT of the JUMPs – FIM Freestyle Motocross World Championships

Berlin, March 6, 2011 – Round 3

Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final
1. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Suzuki 420 Points
2. Javier Villegas CHI AMA Yamaha 406 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 405 Points
4. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 392 Points
5. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 382 Points
6. Fabian Bauersachs GER DMSB KTM 348 Points
Results Qualifikation
1. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Suzuki 372 Points
2. Javier Villegas CHI AMA Yamaha 371 Points
3. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 365 Points
4. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 353 Points
5. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 350 Points
6. Fabian Bauersachs GER DMSB KTM 335 Points
7. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 335 Points
8. Romain Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 319 Points
9. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 317 Points
10. Massimo Bianconcini ITAL ACCR KTM 317 Points
11. Lukas Weis GER DMSB Suzuki 297 Points
12. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 279 Points

Results Race & Style Contest Freestyle Motocross
1. Massimo Bianconcini ITAL ACCR KTM
2. Javier Villegas CHI AMA Yamaha
3. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki

Results MAXXIS Highest Air
1. Kai Haase GER 8,80 Meter
2. Maikel Melero ESP 8,50 Meter
3. Massimo Bianconcini ITA 8,00 Meter

FIM Freestyle Motocross World Championships
Ranking (after 3rd contest)
1. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 54 Points
2. Javier Villegas CHI AMA Yamaha 52 Points
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 50 Points
4. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Suzuki 40 Points
5. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 36 Points
6. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 29 Points
7. Fabian Bauersachs GER DMSB KTM 28 Points
8. Romain Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 25 Points
9. Massimo Bianconcini ITAL ACCR KTM 24 Points
10. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 14 Points
11. Lukas Weis GER DMSB Suzuki 10 Points
12. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 10 Points
13. Vanni Oddera ITA ACCR KTM 6 Points
14. Ivan Zucconi ITA ACCR KTM 5 Points
15. Miki Monti ITA ACCR Yamaha 4 Points

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