Sydney Harbour's historic Cockatoo Island played host to the 2011 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour when the premiere freestyle motocross series descended Down Under for the first time in the events history on 17 September.
What unfolded for the assembled 11,000 Aussie fans was a dramatic season finale under the backdrop of the harbour bridge, which saw Spaniard Dany Torres wrest the 2011 title out of the hands of injured points leader and two-time X-Fighters champion Nate Adams. But the real feel-good story was Aussie FMX hero Josh Sheehan breakout ride against the world's best riders which earned the WA rider his maiden X-Fighters victory in front of his friends, family and fans.
Joining Sheehan in the Aussie charge would be fellow 2011 X Games medallist Cam Sinclair and two unexpected yet familiar faces, Rob Adelberg (called in to fill Strong's shoes) and Queensland FMX stalwart Matt Schubring, coming out of competition retirement to fill Maddo's.
22 year old Adelberg impressed early with a fluid and flawless qualifying effort on the multitude of ramps, dirt jumps and wall rides and immediately established himself as a top contender for the round win. However his moment of glory was short lived as a devastating crash in his 90 second opening round saw him bundled into a chopper and off to Royal North Shore Hospital where he joined Aussie daredevil Robbie Maddison and Japanese rider Eigo Sato who were injured during their practice and qualifying sessions respectively.
After a solid run from Schuie, last place qualifier Sinclair got to tick off his goal of doing his signature double flip in a freestyle run but lost control and crashed on landing. The mistake saw him scored down and, like Schubring, fail to advance to the next round.
However, going all the way in spectacular style was rival WA double flipper Josh Sheehan, who dispatched challengers Adam Jones, and Dany Torres before laying claim to the Round Six honours with victory over Kiwi Levi “Rubber Kid” Sherwood. Sheehan's success was assured with the inclusion of two flawless double flips against Torres and Sherwood which drew roars of approval from the capacity crowd and big scores from the judges.
Riding high on his win, Sheeny is already eyeing the big prize for 2012. “I still have to work on my standard tricks and combos to give Torres a run for his money next year but its definitely a big confidence boost. I know its possible,” he grinned.
While Sheehan won the battle, Torres only needed a 4th place finish or better to win the war and eclipse Nate Adams for the World Tour title. This he did with a win over American Todd Potter in his second round elimination match up.
“In my head to head with Josh Sheehan I make a mistake and he ride really really good,” drawled the ecstatic Spaniard. “When my career started I had the dream that maybe I win this championship and now my dream is real and I am very happy with my first place.”
2011 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour Results
Round 6, Cockatoo Island, Sydney
1st Josh Sheehan (AUS)
2nd Levi Sherwood (NZL)
3rd Dany Torres (ESP)
4th Mike Mason (USA)
5th Rob Adelberg (AUS)
Final World Tour Standings
1st Dany Torres (ESP) 390 points
2nd Nate Adams (USA) 375
3rd Andre Villa (NOR) 270
4th Josh Sheehan (AUS) 230
5th Blake Williams (AUS) 215
Pictures: BalazsGardi, Joerg Mitter and Mark Watson for Red Bull X-Fighters/ Red Bull Content Pool
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