Motorcycles once again played a prominent role in the 2013 Summer X Games, which was hosted for the final time in Los Angeles this weekend. Summer X Games has been in LA the past 11 years, but in 2014 it will move to Austin, Texas.
Many of the usual suspects strutting their stuff for the ESPN viewing audience. There were also a few surprise winners at the events, which were held at Staples Center, home of the NBA Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, as well as the NHL Los Angeles Kings.
Taka Higashino kicked off the action on Thursday by earning a three-peat in Moto X Freesytle. Higashino posted a 90-point score on his first of two runs, but with Adam Jones scoring 90 on his second run Higashino had to put in a great final run to earn the gold. Higashino made it three Gold Medals in a row in the category, having won in LA in 2012 and earlier this year in Brazil, but Jones definitely made it interesting when he posted a 90 on his final run on the tight course.
Higashino’s 90.0-point score came via a well-rounded routine that featured a holy grab, rock-solid flip, no hand flip, stripper Superman seatgrab combo, an indy air combo, a kiss-of-death flip, a Cordova flip and a lazy boy flip.
With Jones taking the Silver, fellow American Nate Adams landed the Bronze his first medal since winning the Gold in 2011. Unfortunately the night wasn’t without an accident, as Jackson Strong crashed while attempting a body varial on his last trick during his final run, which resulted in a broken right foot. Strong lived up to his last name by hopping off the track with the aid of course workers.
Moto X Best Whip is a fan-judged event, the fans determining the winner by their applause. For the first time ever a female entered the competition; Vicki Golden battled with the boys, but despite her potential as a fan favorite, Josh Hansen won his first Gold Medal in the class after edging out Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg. It was Hansen’s seventh X Games medal and his fourth in 2013. Hansen earned 42% of the votes, which were collected via Twitter with hash tags for each rider. Stenberg received 24% of the votes to net the Silver Medal, while Golden finished on the Bronze with 21% of the fan vote.
Friday’s battle for the Moto X Step Up Final came down to defending champion Ronnie Renner, whose whip-it style flawlessly carried him past past the 37’ mark without a single fault. Matt Buyten and Czech rider Libor Podmol were able to stay on pace with Renner, but Buyten’s straightforward up-and-over style caused him to stall out at 37’6”, good enough for the bronze medal. Renner and Podmol easily pushed past the 38’ mark, but after Podmol faulted in his first attempt at 38’6” after Renner cleared it with ease. On his second attempt, Podmol’s rear tire or exhaust rubbed the bar just enough to cause it to fall and eliminate him, handing Renner his fifth career X Games Gold Medal.
Blake “Bilko” Williams led Nate Adams for most of Friday’s Moto X Speed & Style Final, although Adams appeared to be piling on the points in the style column. A fall by Williams just a few turns from the end of the finale sealed the Gold Medal for Adams.
Andre Villa gave the hard-riding Matt Buyten a taste of his own medicine by grinding past him early in the Bronze Medal pairing and going on to win the Bronze Medal with a score of 90.82 points to Buyten’s 81.66.
Returning to the X Games after a two-year hiatus, Saturday’s Moto X Finals proved to be anything but predictable, as Justin Brayton scored a surprise when in the Men’s class, while defending X Games Moto X Women’s Champion Vicki Golden repeated in a most unlikely fashion that left Silver Medal winner Meghan Rutledge devastated.
Josh Hill took an early lead in the Men’s Moto X Final and did everything he could to fend off a determined Brayton, the two riders trading paint a few times on the tight Staples Center track. Brayton made one early attempt at passing hill for the lead but fell back and had to redouble his efforts to catch back up to the leader. On lap 19 of 20, Brayton finally made his move, an aggressive inside pass in a left-hand turn that left Hill stranded on the outside and unable to get a drive. Brayton’s aggression paid off with his first X Games Gold Medal.
“I got into second fairly quick at the beginning of the race and was just kind of following Josh,” Brayton said. “He (Hill) was obviously riding really well. You really had to pick your spot, and I had a spot around the first turn where I could hug an inside rut and still make the triple out of the turn. I felt like I could maybe get him there, and I tried a couple times and it didn’t work, so I was going to have to pick a different spot. My mechanic Spencer put Lap 16 on the board because from Lap 10 I just wanted to know how many laps I had. I knew it was go time and I think at one point, I kind of slid out. I just had to regroup at that point and get back after it, so I made a last-lap pass on Josh.”
In the Women’s Moto X Final, Golden had to battle her way up from the back of the pack to second place over the course of 12 laps, and it appeared that she would be unable to challenge late-race leader Rutledge for the Gold. But then disaster struck Rutledge.
Thinking she had the race in the bag, Rutledge took her right hand off the throttle and pumped her fist as she went over the largest jump on the track during the final lap, only to endo and auger into the dirt well before the finish line. It was a costly miscue, as Golden was able to slip by and steal a second consecutive Gold Medal.
It’s been two days of stressful riding out here at X for me,” Golden said. “To walk out of here with two medals, one in a women’s category and one in a men’s category … I’m speechless. And I’m ready to take a week or two off from dirtbikes.
“Honestly, I thought she had it,” Golden said of Rutledge’s performance. “As I came over I heard the crowd just screaming. As I looked, I saw her on the ground and just skimmed the whoops as best I could because I knew it was going to be close. I was in shock: she had a huge lead.”
Above-the-knee amputee Mike Schultz collected his fifth X Games Gold in the Adaptive Moto X Racing finals on Saturday. Schultz previously won Adaptive Moto X Gold in 2010, and he has also won the Adaptive SnoCross event at winter X Games three times.
“Thankfully ESPN and X Games brought us all back and we’re all here making a lot of noise and hitting some big jumps,” Schultz said. “It’s important to really show people that if something bad happens and you end up losing a limb or wrecking yourself real bad it just takes a little determination and the right tools to get back at it and be living life and having fun.”
The focus turned to Enduro X on Saturday, and once again Poland’s Taddy Blazusiak dominated the event, just as he has for each of the last for years. Blasuziak was the fastest and smoothest rider on the track.
Mike Brown and Colton Haaker gave Blazusiak a serious challenge, this year, as they dogged Blauziak early in the Enduro X Final, a bobble by Brown cost him second place, and it appeared as if the top three were set before Haaker crashed and allowed Brown and Cody Webb to slot into second and third. Webb challenged Brown for about three laps before Brown was able to establish a rhythm that secured the Silver Medal.
In the Women’s Enduro X Final, Spain’s Laia Sanz claimed her third X Games Gold Medal, while Maria Forsberg claimed the Silver Medal ahead of Tarah Geiger, who actually led much of the race, only to be thwarted by crashes that dropped her to Bronze.
Your Privacy Choices