Red Bull X-Fighters Jams in Newcastle
24.07.2010 / Newcastle
Newcastle hosted the last stop of the Red Bull X-Fighters Jams tour before the FMX world elite will come to London on August 14. Sarah Staples and Mike Gamble were the last two reporters who partnered up to report from one of the tour stops. Find their reports here!
Red Bull X-Fighters Jams - Newcastle 1
Red Bull X-Fighters Jams - Newcastle 2
Red Bull X-Fighters Jams - Newcastle 3
RBXF Jams Newcastle
The sound and smell of two-stroke engines filled Times Square as the riders of the Red Bull X-Fighters Jams unleashed their talent for the fourth and final stop on 24 July in Newcastle.
Freestyle motocross riders Kris Brock, Fredrik Berggren, Chris Birch and Thomas Pages gave two outstanding half-hour performances, proving why they are four of the best FMX riders in Europe.
Pages – who also performed at the Red Bull X-Fighters Jams in Brighton – replaced UK rider Jamie Squibb who could not perform on the day due to injury. But by no means did the line up change affect the performances. The riders worked together to put on a fantastic display of the latest freestyle stunts, including perfectly-timed back flips in a train over the ramp.
The perfect delivery of the stunts showed exactly how talented the young riders are – and how much effort goes into getting it all right. As Pages himself explained, "If you want to be doing professional freestyle, you need to practice as much as you can, so it's pretty much every day."
Bad weather forced the cancellation of the Red Bull X-Fighters Jams in Leeds the previous week, but thankfully the sun came out, bringing the crowds with it to cheer on the four athletes as they flew through the air on the ramp.
Red Bull X Figher Jams Newcastle
The Red Bull X-Fighters Jams offer a taste of what the Red Bull X-Fighters World Series competition is all about – giving the UK the chance to experience FMX up close, and reveal a little of what will be happening at Battersea Power Station in London on August 14. To warm up at the Red Bull X-Fighters Jams, the riders perform six straight "dead sailor" jumps as time restrictions stop the riders doing a full practice. Birch commented on the pressure the riders are under: "When you've got a crowd there, it's hard just to do six straight jumps even though that is what we normally do."
After the warm up, the four FMX riders performed switchblades, cliffhangers and the whip, shocking the crowds as the riders twisted their bikes sideways, and only turned back a split-second before landing the jump.
Red Bull X Figher Jams Newcastle. The athletes began performing in a train, and the eagerly awaited backflip did not fail to impress.
One spectator said: "You go to these shows with high expectations, but when you see what these guys can do, it just exceeds anything you ever imagined." Although the four riders are Red Bull X-Fighters, not all of them are competing in the World Series event this year. Only Birch will be joining Red Bull X-Fighters from around the world to compete for the win at the UK leg of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Series 2010.
The Red Bull X-Fighters have already performed in Spain, Russia, Egypt and Mexico, and with a different winner at each event so far the penultimate stage in Battersea will prove to be the most nail-biting yet. The World Series will be heading to Rome on 1 October for this year's season finale - and the chance to find out who will be the FMX star of 2010.
Share this page