NIGHT of the JUMPs #4/2015

NOTJ eMagazin 2015

#4/2015

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M A G A Z I N E

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EDITOR: Marko Manthey ART DIRECTION: Pigmentart design PHOTOGRAPHERS: Marko Manthey, Christoph Schulz SUBMISSIONS: info@notj.de ADVERTISING: c.schulz@notj.de / p.mundin@notj.de NIGHT of the JUMPs Magazine is selfpublished regularly in Berlin, Germany.

The publisher will not accept responsibility or any liability for the correctness of information or opinions expressed in this publication. All rights are reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole or part, without the prior permission of the publisher. Enjoy this magazine for what it is and respect the photographers that help make it happen.

OTHER SOCIAL ACTIVITIES: www.facebook.com/NIGHToftheJUMPs www.youtube.com/NIGHToftheJUMPs twitter.com/NIGHToftheJUMPs instagram.com/nightofthejumps And www.nightofthejumps.com

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EDITORIAL WHERE TO STEVE COLUMN EVENT BASEL MAXXIS HIGHEST AIR LIFEPROOF BEST WHIP

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5.9.

TOURS / FRANCE 23.5.

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BERLIN / GERMANY HAMBURG 12.-13.6.

MUNICH 25.4. / GERMANY 21.11.

KRAKOW / POLAND

14.11.

23. - 24.10.

TICKETS AUF WWW.NIGHTOFTHEJUMPS.COM

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EYE CATCHER 14

The Steve Sommerfeld Colum for NIGHT of the JUMPs FMX Travel – Basel One of the greatest rewards of becoming a professional Freestyle Motocross rider, is the ability to get paid to ride a dirt bike and be flown all over the world. For the most part, this is awesome, and some guys probably even take the opportunity for granted.

Arriving in Basel, Switzerland for the 6th and 7th rounds of the FIM World Championships, you can see why sometimes the riders and crew need to take just a little time to check out the cities they are visiting. Basel looks absolutely unreal, clean streets, amazing buildings, many date back to older than the 15th century! Heck, even the Basel Rathaus (the City Hall) is completely painted in deep red frescos by famous painters including Hans Holbein who became one of the most famous painters and also worked for the English King Henry the 8th in the 16th Century.

And while some of the riders, judges and crew were able to check out this city which lies on the crystal clear Rhein river, others found the not so glamourous side to travelling. On this particular weekend, the French Air Traffic Controllers had called a strike, which meant no planes were able to travel through French Airspace. This had huge ramifications for riders coming from Western Europe and flying into Switzerland, which borders France.

David Rinaldo had to hitch a ride with Libor Podmol as he was driving back through, Remi Bizouard decided to fly the day of the event, which is a risky move but he arrived just in time for practise. But for the current leader of the FIM World Championships, Maikel Melero was unable to fly from Madrid, Spain to Basel. NOTJ tried to re-book flights on another airline in the hope it would work, but that flight was also cancelled straight away.

For Melero, he had no other option than to pack his bags and drive from Madrid to Basel. The only problem is, he had already driven 300 kilo-

metres to get to Madrid. To make it to Basel, he would have to then drive a further 1,600 kilometres. With only his father with him in the van, they drove all through the night, some 17 hours of driving as fast as they could.

Basel was a two day event, and when Maikel arrived in the morning just in time for practise, he looked absolutely stuffed. Maikel explained to us that even when he was sitting down on his bike, it felt like he was still moving. With a lack of sleep and exhaustion, Maikel rode practise but it was evident the tiredness had taken its toll with a lacklustre performance.

Come show-time at 8pm Friday night and you would never suspect the ordeal he had. Maikel looked great, only a couple of tricks didn’t have the same style and extension as we would normally expect, but he still finished in second place just behind David Rinaldo! Melero was so close to completing the nightmare with a dream run, but was only a few points behind. With this result, Maikel was close to losing his championship lead over Rinaldo.

However at the second nights event on the Saturday, with a good night’s sleep, Maikel was able to show why he is still the 2015 current World Championship leader and produced a near flawless run, starting with his normal Double-Up trick, the Side-saddle take-off California Roll and then finishing with a new trick for him, the 540 Flair Nac Nac on the Quarter Pipe. It was just enough for Melero to beat David Rinaldo and push his lead out by a few extra points.

It finally became the fairy tale ending for Melero, despite all the travel drama before the event, he was able to hold onto his lead in the championship but he didn’t have any time to visit the beautiful city of Basel. To top it off, he then had to drive the 1,900 kilometres back home. Albeit with a lot less stress on the way back.

Congratulations Maikel, we salute you!

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Spring has sprung in Switzerland, and the World Championship series was heating up inside the St Jakobshalle arena when the riders battled again at the 6th round of NIGHT of the JUMPs. Before the event kicked off, many of the riders were affected

by French Air-controller strikes which stopped all flights going through

B A S E L 2015 PREVIEW

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French air-space, consequently forcing riders to miss their flights and find alternative transport, but the most affected rider was none-other than the current World Championships points leader, Maikel Melero. Melero’s flights were cancelled not once, but twice and he was then forced to drive 1,900 kilometres through the night to arrive in Basel 2 hours after practise had begun.

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Hannes Ackermann - „Take Off“

DAVIDE ROSSI 18

The qualifications on Friday evening was filled with drama, and a very close battle between the two Italian’s, Leo Fini and Davide Rossi who showed they have stepped up their riding since the European Championship qualifier in Linz. Further candidates for the Finals have been Germany’s Hannes Ackermann, USA’s James Carter and Jose Miralles.

James Carter - „One Hand Seatgrab“ 19

The Spaniard, Miralles makes the best qualifier run and, would go through to the final. He piece together a smooth run and secure 5th place on Friday nights overall ranking.

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In the final, the crowd witnessed the only crash of the night from the Czech star, Libor Podmol, who took a dirt sample when over-rotating his Surfer Take-off Flip to Tsunami on only his second jump of his run.

Podmol had pushed through from a mid-week training injury and was lucky to avoid any further injury in this mishap. Rob Adelberg (AUS) and Remi Bizouard (FRA) battled for 3rd place, the Australian didn’t put a foot wrong, pulling out an impressive run with uber smooth style on technical tricks like the ‘Sideshow to Side Saddle landing’ and huge Christ Air to No-hand landing without a bar check.

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ROB AND LIBOR Synchro Contest

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Remi wanted to prove a point in Basel and seek revenge for his 5th place in Tours 2 weeks earlier, with perfect extension on Cliffhanger, Shaolin and Tsunami Flips, coupled with the technical Volt body varial in the Double Up. Remi’s run filled with some of the biggest tricks in the sport to secure his place on the podium in 3rd.

REMI BIZOUARD Tsunami Scorpion Style

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MAIKEL MELERO

It wouldn’t be enough for Remi to close the gap on the 2015 break-away riders, 2013 World Champion David Rinaldo and 2014 World Champion Maikel Melero. Melero (ESP) had to push through exhaustion of all-night driving from Spain into Switzerland, but you could not see any lag in his final run after qualifying in first place. Melero put together a smooth run, full of technical take-off combos, side-saddle take off California Roll and was the only rider to utilise the Quarter Pipe with a 540 Flair. Maikel’s only mistake would come from dropping his foot on the Flair to keep him upright after a hard landing, and it cost him the mere 2 points from the winning run.

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The night would belong to France’s David Rinaldo, and it wasn’t hard to see why he is one of the most in-form Freestyle MX riders on the planet at the moment. Rinaldo began his run with all the perfection of a Swiss watch, showcasing a perfect Volt and including big technical tricks in his run such as the ‘One hand Take-off Flip to Seat Grab flip over the Super Kicker’, busting out a second body varial, the ‘California Roll’ inside the 110 second run and then finishing with a Double Grab Indy Flip for the Double-Up, a refreshing change from other riders who leave their body varial for the last jump.

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The 2015 series could not be closer, both David Rinaldo and Maikel Melero having secured 3 wins and two Runner Up positions each, the battle is only going to get hotter for the second night in Basel and could be a turning point for both riders for the remainder of the season.

HIGHLIGHTS DAY 1 VIDEO

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JOSE MIRALLES crashed

Leo Fini

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The beginning of the second night started with some impressive riding from the Italian rider, Leo Fini, however on the last jump of his run, Leo encountered problems when he could only find first gear while accelerating towards the 21 metre ramp, but he didn’t have the speed to complete the jump and crashed heavily into the back-side of the landing ramp. Leo showed true strength by standing on his feet under his own will and walking off, impressing the crowd inside the St Jakobshalle. Leo appears to be relatively uninjured with only pain in his wrist, a very small price for what could have been a dangerous crash.

BEST OF DAY 2 VIDEO

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HANNES

When qualification recommenced, it was again the battle between Hannes Ackermann (GER) and Jose Miralles (ESP), and while Hannes put together a run with huge flip tricks including the Porti-Air Flip and Hart Attack Flip, it wouldn’t be enough to make it through to the final, as Jose Miralles put together a clean run with higher variety and no mistakes from the Spanish veteran.

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MIRALLES

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The final was always going to be tight, and the battle for 3rd place was going to be just as tight as the battle for the lead. Rob Adelberg (AUS) began his run with style, however he had a few uncharacteristic mistakes which spoiled what could have been a great run which we expect from the Australian known for his super smooth style.

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ROB 35

REMI

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Three-time former World Champion, Remi Bizouard (FRA) was always going to put up a fight, and he put together a run which featured some of the biggest backflip combinations in the sport, including the Cliffhanger Flip, Tsunami Flip and Lookback Hart Attack Heli flip. But even after finishing his run with a Volt body varial in the Double Up, it still wouldn’t be enough for a podium result.

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The Czech Republic rider, Libor Podmol has had a very up and down season, with a bad run of crashes, two from the Volt body varial and one last night on the Surfer Takeoff to Tsunami Flip, however the following night he would complete this technical trick which he invented last year and was then able to nail every trick in his arsenal and return to the podium with a series of upright and backflip combo’s and landing the Volt, the second time from 4 attempts. A ratio that Libor will surely wish to increase in the coming events.

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LIBOR PODMOL 39

The real battle however was for first place, and after taking the win on the first night in Basel, David Rinaldo couldn’t replicate the same winning prowess on the second night. David’s run was almost flawless, with an unbelievable repertoire of big tricks including the two body varials, Volt and California Roll in the opening 110 seconds, coupled with the new progressive trick David created which is a combination of a Mase-Twist one handed reaching back to a late Hart Attack. After stomping a hair-raising run, Rinaldo finished with a huge Double Hart Attack Flip and the competition in Basel appeared to be David’s victory for his taking.

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DAVID

HIGHLIGHT DAY 2 VIDEO

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There was only one man remaining who could rain on Rinaldo’s parade, none other than the reigning 2014 World Champion, Maikel Melero who has been on fire recently. With all the pressure on Maikel, he started his run with his biggest trick, the Side-Saddle Take-off California Roll which triggered an electric run of big backflip

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MAIKEL

combinations, every ‘take-off’ combination he possesses, and Double Grab backflip. But the moment that would clinch his victory would come on the very last jump of the night, when Maikel landed the Nac-Nac 540 Flair off the Quarter Pipe. Maikel was able to gain the points he needed to upset David Rinaldo with extra course use, utilising the quarter pipe, and increasing his Trick Variety with the 540 rotation in his run.

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HIGHEST A

Miralles had a busy nights in Basel after making the Final 6 on both days he was fully motivated to go for the championship lead in the MAXXIS highest air. By taking out the win in the Maxxis Highest Air competition on both nights over fellow Spaniard, Maikel Melero, he catapulted himself to the overall leader of the Maxxis Highest Air series in front of Massimo Bianconcini who wasn’t able to compete in Basel.

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AIR

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Maikel Melero 2nd

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Winner Jose Mralles with 9,00m

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DAVIDE

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Disapointed by not making it to the final 6 again USA’s James Carter also came away with the victory in the LifeProof Best Whip competition on both nights, with the undisputed best whip, easily turning his bike down past 120 degrees on Friday night. On Saturday the fight between Italy’s Davide Rossi was even more intense with one of the biggest whips ever seen at Night of the Jumps, turning his bike almost 180 degrees back towards the point of takeoff and landing with ease James steels the second night win away from great Davide Rossi.

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SUMMARY After two nights of intense competition in Switzerland, the FIM World Championship series could not be any closer with a back-and-forwards battle for the overall series leadership between Maikel Melero (ESP) and David Rinaldo (FRA). After 7 rounds of the FMX World Championship in 2015, it is abundantly clear that there is a two horse race between the 2013 World Champion, Rinaldo and the 2014 World Champion, Melero. It is also clear that the riders battling at the top are willing to put everything on the line to gain valuable series points for the overall championship.

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The World Championship tour will continue on May 23rd in the bullfighting ring in Jerez, Spain which can help the home-nation rider and current series leader, Maikel Melero. But he won’t be able to rest on his laurels as all the riders have a 6 week break until the next World Championship competition for crucial training.

In the meantime, the Freestyle MX action will continue with NIGHT of the JUMPs returning for the fifth European Championship round in Munich’s Olympiahalle on April 25th.

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RESULTS TOURS ROUND#6 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship 2015 OVERALL 1. David Rinaldo 2. Maikel Melero 3. Remi Bizouard 4. Rob Adelberg 5. Jose Miralles 6. Libor Podmol 7. James Carter 8. Hannes Ackermann 9. Davide Rossi 10. Leonardo Fini 11. Fred Wasner

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FRA ESP FRA AUS ESP CZE USA GER

20 Points 18 Points 16 Points 14 Points 12 Points 10 Points 9 Points 8 Points

ITA ITA FRA

7 Points 6 Points 5 Points

FINAL 1. David Rinaldo 2. Maikel Melero 3. Remi Bizouard 4. Rob Adelberg 5. Jose Miralles 6. Libor Podmol

FRA ESP FRA AUS ESP CZE

413.0 411.0 403.0 389.0 321.0 37.0

HIGHEST AIR 1. Jose Miralles 2. Maikel Melero 3. Davide Rossi

ESP ESP ITA

9,0 m 8,5 m 0,0 m

RESULTS TOURS ROUND#7 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship 2015 OVERALL 1. Maikel Melero 2. David Rinaldo 3. Libor Podmol 4. Remi Bizouard 5. Rob Adelberg 6. Jose Miralles 7. Hannes Ackermann 8. James Carter 9. Davide Rossi 11. Fred Wasner 11. Leonardo Fini

ESP FRA CZE FRA AUS ESP GER

20 Points 18 Points 16 Points 14 Points 12 Points 10 Points 9 Points

USA ITA FRA ITA

8 7 6 5

FINAL 1. Maikel Melero 2. David Rinaldo 3. Libor Podmol 4. Remi Bizouard 5. Rob Adelberg 6. Jose Miralles

ESP FRA CZE FRA AUS ESP

415.0 411.0 402.0 399.0 382.0 325.0

HIGHEST AIR 1. Jose Miralles 2. Maikel Melero 3. Davide Rossi

ESP ESP ESP

9,0 m 8,5 m 0,0 m

Points Points Points Points

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FIM FREESTYLE MX WORLD CH (OVERALL STANDINGS AFTER 7 ROUNDS)

The riders who compete in all World Championsh result at the end of the year. All other results ar FIM World Championship ranking 2015.

PLACE

NAME

NAT.

ROUND 1

ROUND 2

ROUND 3

ROUND 4

BERLIN

BERLIN

KRAKOW

KRAKOW

20

(12)

1

MAIKEL MELERO

ESP

20

20

3

DAVID RINALDO

FRA

18

18

2

ROB ADELBERG

AUS

16

16

18

(16)

4

LIBOR PODMOL

CZE

14

14

(10)

18

5

REMI BIZOUARD

FRA

16

14

6

JOSE MIRALLES

ESP

(7)

8

7

HANNES ACKERMANN

GER

12

9

8

JAMES CARTER

USA

7

8

7

9

BRICE IZZO

FRA

(5)

7

14

10

10

LUC ACKERMANN

GER

8

10

9

(6)

11

PERT PILAT

CZE

12

12

12

FILIP PODMOL

CZE

9

9

13

TAKA HIGASHINO

JPN

14

DAVIDE ROSSI

ITA

15

KAI HAASE

GER

6

6

16

MARCIN LUKASZCZYK

POL

17

LEONARDO FINI

ITA

18

FRED WASNER

FRA

19

NICOLAS TEXIER

FRA

10

8

20

5

6

5

MAXXIS HIGHEST AIR CHAMPI (OVERALL STANDINGS AFTER 7 ROUNDS) PLACE

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NAME

NAT.

ROUND 1

ROUND 2

ROUND 3

ROUND 4

BERLIN

BERLIN

KRAKOW

KRAKOW

1

MASSIMO BIANCONCINI

ITA

5.0

5.0

1.0

5.0

2

JOSE MIRALLES

ESP

1.0

1.0

5.0

3.0

3

KAI HAASE

GER

3.0

3.0

4

LUC ACKERMANN

GER

5

MAIKEL MELERO

ESP

6

DAVIDE ROSSI

ITA

3.0

HAMPIONSHIP 2015

hip rounds in 2015 drop their lowest re taken into account for the overall

ROUND 5

ROUND 6

ROUND 7

TOURS

BASEL

BASEL

18

18

20

128

20

20

18

114

14

14

12

106

10

10

16

92

12

16

14

72

8

12

10

63

9

8

9

47

6

9

8

45

7

TOTAL ALL RESULTS

43 33 24 23

16

16 7

7

14 12 11

6

5

11

5

6

11

5

5

IONSHIP 2015 ROUND 5

ROUND 6

ROUND 7

TOURS

BASEL

BASEL

3 5

TOTAL 19

5

15 6 3

1

3

1

1

0

55

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