NorCal
was totally down with the Gravity Slashers invading their town. The West Coast has long been a hot bed for
freestyle motocross and the fans are some of the most knowledgeable
around. We got things going Friday night
with Julian Dusseau riding point. “The
Jet” broke off a couple of impressive flip tricks and scored well posting an
88.2. Sean Neilson strode out next
aboard his YZ 250 and after taking a couple of weeks off was a little shaky but
the crowd appreciated his effort as he rode to a 78.0. Keith Sayers rode next and was not happy with
his run but he smiled and was gracious when his score, 74.0 was posted,
thanking the crowd for being so supportive.
Clocking in the fourth spot was Derek Burlew who was back with us after
taking a week off to ride South America.
DB looked impressive and used great extension and a switch grab indy
ladder to come in with an 86.2. Dustin
Nowak fired up his big throaty four stroke and pinned it right from the get
go. He launched a gigantic super can and
a couple of back flip combos on his way to an 83 even.
During
our first break in qualifiers X-Games Best Trick Gold medalist Heath Frisby
brought out his Ski-Doo and gave the folks a little taste of what he could do
on a sled. He showed off a sick double
grab Hart attack and a big super can for the crowd. After a little chat on the landing ramp he
headed back stage to get ready for a return after the finals. When he came back out the second time he
brought a couple of friends with him in the form of Nick Dunne and Keith Sayers. The three of them hit a dead sailor, followed
by a flip with the sled in the middle and the bikes flanking him. It was way cool and had the crowd on their
feet cheering wildly.
Rich
Kearns went to work first in our second half and with all the tough competition
tonight he went off. Dropping a heel
clicker flip, nac flip and a stripper flip in his bid for the Subway Restaurant
finals. His 90.0 would turn out to be
the top qualifying score for the main event.
Drake McElroy cruised out next and tossed in a major nine o’clock nac
nac along with an elegant stripper. His
tally of 82.8 would not be enough for the finals but he knew he would be back
in the crowd judged whip contest after intermission, so he was all good. Nicky “Six Guns” Dunne squirted out of the
tunnel for his run and his focus was evident from start to finish. Dunne threw in a very stylish Kiss of Death
and a super flip that rocked out and got him into the finals with an 88.0. He also paid a great tribute to his brother
Chris who was turning 20 tonight by getting the entire Arco Arena to sing happy
birthday to him. It made for a very cool
impromptu present. Greg Hartman spent a
bunch of extra time this morning riding for the local television station and it
paid dividends on his run. He really put
a ton of extension into his qualifier and it looked like he was going to earn a
spot in the Subway Restaurants final, but he ran out of time on his run and
didn’t get his last trick in before the red flag flew which left him with an
82.5 . The last man out was Brody Wilson
and the “Wilson Express” made good. He
let go of the bike on a Holy Grab for close to three seconds and you could hear
the collective gasp of the crowd when he reeled it back in and landed safely. He was headed to the Subway Restaurant finals
in the second position with his 89.9.
After
intermission we went to the ever popular crowd judged whip contest with
Dusseau, Wilson, Dunne, Burlew and DMC competing. Each guy made two passes and everyone threw
it out wide, but “Six Guns” Dunne and DMC were on their game tonight and I was
glad I didn’t have to make the choice.
When the crowd was done shouting McElroy added another win to his total
and he had a definite look of satisfaction on his face as he wheeled back to
the tunnel for the train sequence.
The
crowd was really behind the local favorite Nick Dunne who started off our
finals with a super flip and looked to be headed to a big number until he dead
sailored a cliff hanger at the half way mark.
He rallied and was still able to put up a 90.0, but he had to know that
wouldn’t hold up. Dusseau also led his
run off with a super flip but added a little extra variety in the form of a can
can to heel clicker that was very smooth.
He nudged Dunne out of the top spot with a 91.0. Brody Wilson started off with a bang landing
a gigantic Kiss of Death flip. He
continued going big throughout his run floating over his bike for close to
three seconds on a holy grab and going to both sides of the bike for mirror
sidewinders. His 92.5 looked
insurmountable with one rider to go.
However the rider waiting in the wings was last weeks’ winner “Richy”
Rich Kearns and he flipped combo-ed every trip in his 80 seconds looking for a
second win of the season. Unfortunately
for Rich it wasn’t enough to unseat the “Wilson Express”. It was just Brody’s night and he was gracious
about the win.
The
fans at Arco Arena stayed put all the way thru the final encore and made enough
noise to shake the rafters. It was a
great show and everyone is looking forward to Saturday night here in Sacramento
so get you tickets early. The Gravity
Slashers will be back in action tomorrow and you know you don’t want to miss
it. Go to ticketmaster.com for the best
seats. David Knisley