Massive season opener with premiere for The Volt as Villegas continues his winning streak

Scritto da Gianjey | 20 gennaio, 2012 10:00

Linz, 20th January 2012: NIGHT of the JUMPs kicked off a new season on Friday with an explosion of new tricks. Twelve freestyle motocross stars lined up at the Tips Arena in Linz for the first round of the UEM Freestyle MX European Championship.

Maxim Gregoire (FRA) and Kai Haase (GER), together with the two Austrian riders Thomas Wirnsberger and Martin Schenk, made it through the pre-qualification stage on Thursday to join the starting field of experienced title contenders: Javier Villegas (CHL), Remi Bizouard (FRA), Jose Miralles (ESP), Petr Pilat (CZE), Brice Izzo (FRA), Hannes Ackermann (GER) and Massimo Bianconcini (ITA ). And in Clinton Moore of Australia, fans had the chance to size up a NIGHT of the JUMPs newcomer.

In the showdown between the two local riders, Thomas Wirnsberger prevailed over Martin Schenk. Even so, neither progressed beyond the preliminary round. And despite premiering ‘The Volt’, this was as far as Maxime Gregoire got too. Yet at the same time, the young Frenchman showed clear potential for the future. Of the two German entrants, Hannes Ackermann just missed out on the final, qualifying seventh. Although Kai Haase had to settle for tenth place, he could at least console himself with a win in the Maxxis Highest Air contest.

Surprisingly, Red Bull rider Petr Pilat also went for an early bath after crashing out on his Tsunami Flip.

Brice Izzo opened the final in accustomed style, but a subsequent dead sailor flip left him floundering in sixth. Italy’s FMX legend Massimo Bianconcini shone with his extensive repertoire of tricks and will not have been disappointed to get his season off to a fifth-place start. NIGHT of the Jumps new boy and X Games medallist Clinton Moore performed a 360 and ‘The Volt’ on his final run but then ran out of steam on his other tricks to finish back in fourth.

Crowd favourite and Whip Contest winner Jose Miralles moved up from fourth in qualifying to earn himself a podium with Stallfish Backflip and other combos. But once again, Remi Bizouard and Javier Villegas were in a different league. The two World Championship rivals from 2011 were locked in close combat in Linz, with Villegas edging it on the night.

This means that the Chilean has gone into an early lead in the UEM Freestyle MX World Championship standings, followed by Remi Bizouard and Jose Miralles. But all of this may change again tomorrow when the next batch of European Championship points are awarded at NIGHT of the JUMPs in Linz.

NIGHT of the JUMPs/UEM Freestyle MX European Championships
Linz, 20th January 2012 – Round 1
Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 393 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 376 Points
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 360 Points
4. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 351 Points
5. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 331 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 327 Points
Results Qualification
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 339 Points
2. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 326 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 315 Points
4. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 315 Points
5. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 302 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 297 Points
7. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 287 Points
8. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 285 Points
9. Thomas Wirnsberger AUT OSK Yamaha 274 Points
10. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 242 Points
11. Maxime Gregoire FRA FFM Yamaha 217 Points
12. Martin Schenk AUT OSK Yamaha 170 Points

Results Whip Contest
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha
2. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM

Maxxis Highest-Air
1. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 7,90 Meter
2. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 7,50 Meter

UEM Freestyle MX European Championships
Ranking (after 1st contest)
1. Javier Villegas CHL FMC Yamaha 20 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Yamaha 18 Points
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 16 Points
4. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 14 Points
5. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 12 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 10 Points
7. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 9 Points
8. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 8 Points
9. Thomas Wirnsberger AUT OSK Yamaha 7 Points
10. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 6 Points
11. Maxime Gregoire FRA FFM Yamaha 5 Points
12. Martin Schenk AUT OSK Yamaha 4 Points

More information, pictures, videos:
www.NIGHToftheJUMPs.com.

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