Swiss FMX rider Mat Rebeaud continued his dominance of the Red Bull
X-Fighters tour Saturday as he edged X Games champ Jeremy Lusk in
Germany. Rebeaud has won four of the five X-Fighters event, with
Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg taking the Brazillian stop. Twitch finished
in second in the U.S. stop but has missed the last two events because
of a nagging thumb injury.
Lusk, Rebeaud, Torres. Cr. Flo Hagena/ Red Bull Photo Files
Rebeaud wins “Rumble in the Ruhr”
Red Bull X-Fighters champion beats rival Lusk
Switzerland’s Mat Rebeaud cemented his dominance of the 2008 Red
Bull X-Fighters in Wuppertal on Saturday, notching up his fourth
victory of the season in the explosive Oetelshofen Quarry. The Swiss
freestyle motocross star defeated rival Jeremy Lusk (USA) in the finals
on the penultimate stop of this season’s Red Bull X-Fighters tour which
drew 15,000 spectators.
Spain’s Dany Torres and Australian Robbie Maddison were third and
fourth at the course, located at the bottom of a limestone quarry in
Germany’s industrial heartland where earth-movers and diggers made way
for 100-kg motorbikes and their fearless riders.
Rebeaud’s win settled the score with Lusk who beat him at the X-Games
in California earlier this month and means the Swiss rider is well on
his way to lifting the trophy at the end of the Series. “You only have
one chance here so there is a lot of pressure,” said Rebeaud. “I am
very happy though. I have had a great season this year: four wins plus
second in the X-Games.”
German giants Busty Wolter, who reached Round 2, and Fabian
Bauersachs, who was knocked out in Round 1, helped whip the Wuppertal
crowd into a frenzy during a night of spectacular riding on a tricky,
tightly-arranged track that riders said was the toughest so far this
year.
Rebeaud’s victory in the Red Bull X-Fighters’ maiden visit to
Germany means the Swiss rider now looks unbeatable in the overall
series, reinforcing his likely role as successor to retired American
whiz kid Travis Pastrana who won in 2007.
After visiting Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Fort Worth in Texas,
Madrid and now Wuppertal, the Red Bull X-Fighters’ next and final stop
of the season is scheduled for September 6th at the Stadion X-lecia in
Warsaw, Poland.
With Japan’s Taka Higashino sidelined after a brutal crash in
training on Thursday, the “dirty dozen” were reduced to just 11 riders
by Satruday who battled to impress the panel of five judges on a course
built 75 metres down in the bottom of the Oetelshofen Quarry. German
Touring Car Masters driver Martin Tomczyk added a dab of four-wheeled
expertise to the proceedings with his appearance in an off-road Race
Touareg.
Tonight’s results put Lusk, Maddison and Torres in close competition
in the overall classification behind Rebeaud. A nagging thumb injury
forced the other possible contender, America’s Jeremy ‘Twitch’
Stenberg, to sit out the rest of the season.
After visiting Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Forth Worth in Texas,
Madrid and now Wuppertal, the Red Bull X-Figthers’ next stop is
scheduled for September 6th at the Stadion X-lecia in Warsaw, Poland.
Final Result of Red Bull X-Fighters in Wuppertal
1. Mat Rebeaud (SUI)
2. Jeremy Lusk (USA)
3. Dany Torres (ESP)
4. Robbie Maddison (AUS)
5. Petr Pilat (CZE)
6. Sebastian Wolter (GER)
7. Ronnie Renner (USA)
8. Fredrik Johansson (SWE)
9. Dustin Miller (USA)
10. Fabian Bauersachs (GER)
11. Nick DeWit (RSA)
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