The first matinee event for the Gravity Slashers tour was a great success here in Salt Lake City at the Energy Solutions Arena. The riders all looked sharp and the crowd really got into the vibe on this sunny Sunday afternoon.
Julian Dusseau kicked things off with a nifty back flip heel clicker and worked all sixty seconds for a solid opening round score of 85.7. Keith Sayers came out for his survey lap and seemed to like what he saw and the crowd got behind him early in his run. Keith put together a nice flip combo and the judges liked it rewarding him with an 85.1. Dustin Nowak brought his 4 stroke Yamaha to the floor and the fans definitely enjoyed the throaty tones of his big YZ 450F. He went inverted and posted an 86.0. Greg “Superman” Hartman came out strong even with a sore shoulder from a hard landing in practice and rocked a huge one hand seat grab Hart attack and a perfect super flip combo. He punched his ticket to the finals with an 88.7. Derek Burlew was the final rider in the first stanza and he had a private bet going with Nick Dunne about his signature trick the BASE jump. Well Derek nailed it and it looked like he was headed to the finals with an 86.1, but he would have to wait until the second set of preliminary’s finished to find out for sure.
Riley Smith and the boys from 5050BMX brought down the house in both sets. Lori was on hand keeping track of their progress and it was clear they wanted to impress the Boss as they went big and kept the crowd pumped.
DMC had a bead on things right from the get go and he posterized a beautiful whip nac and set things right with an 87.7. The Ice Man Brody Wilson came to the floor full of confidence and looked silky smooth with several flip combos and a well executed Rock Solid. He was on his way to the finals with a top score of 89.0. Rich Kearns slid in next and had his Suzuki flying high but came up a little short despite a near perfect run. His 86.3 just wasn’t quite enough to get him into the finals here at Energy Solutions Arena. Nicky “Six Guns” Dunne was loaded into the chute next and he charged out and used his down home charm to get the crowd on his side for his run. It was obvious he was comfortable and locked up the final qualifying spot with 87.1. As the red flag flew Dunne threw in one last trick for the crowd the ever popular Captain Morgan. Of course they went nuts and Nick smiled all the way to the pits.
Coming out of intermission we had a little fun with the crowd and let them judge the whip contest. Derek Burlew, Drake McElroy, Brody Wilson and Nick Dunne lined things up. When it was all said and done the crowd crowned DB the well deserved winner.
Dunne was the lowest scoring rider to advance to the finals and came to the floor first. He took his time setting up his first jump but had a throttle cable break on the take off ramp and had a very scary get off mid jump. Thanks to the great preparation of the staff and the terrific safety measures that are in place he landed in the air bags on the front of the ramp and walked away without a scratch. He was smiling and thanked the crowd for their support. Drake McElroy took advantage of the opening and hit every jump to post a 91.0 and land in the Maverick Hot Seat. Greg Hartman made no excuses for his sore shoulder and landed one of the biggest back flip double can can’s I have ever seen. His 91.2 was enough to nudge DMC out of the Maverick Hot Seat with only one rider left. Unfortunately for “The Sup” it was Mr. Liquid Brody Wilson. Brody brought the heat and showed was he was voted the FMX rider of the year in 2009. He nailed all his flip combos and set the high water mark for the season with a 93.0 taking home a second straight win.
It was a great weekend in Utah and we look forward to our next visit. The eyes of the motocross world will be focused here the first weekend of May as the Monster Energy AMA Supercross an FIM Championship and a few of us will be making the rounds again. Make sure you get your tickets early for the best seats on the house. Next week we are headed to Wichita, KS and we know the folks of the Great Plains state will see an awesome show. Questions? Comments? You can always post on Facebook at the Gravity Slashers site or hit me with an e-mail at mxannouncer@hotmail.com. David Knisley