Sherwood wins X-Fighters World Tour

Levi Sherwood, the former ‘wunderkind’ of FMX got his first victory since 2010 at a spectacular Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour night at The Walk in Dubai.

The New Zealander was the deserving winner of the $1 million 2012 season opener on Friday.

Held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, Sherwood capped a brilliant performance in front of nearly 20,000 spectators on a stunning dirt track set up on the white sands of The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence, a media report from the organisers stated.

Among the top dignitaries attending were Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Shaikh Rashid bin Saud Al Mualla, Crown Prince of Umm Al Quwain.

Kicking off the six-month long season with its six stops on four continents, Dubai gave Sherwood his fourth career victory and first since triumphing in London in 2010. Australia’s Rob Adelberg was a surprise second while Javier Villegas of Chile got his first podium with third place.

It was a night filled with upsets as defending World Tour champion Dany Torres of Spain and Norway’s Andre Villa, a leading title contender, were both knocked out in the quarter-finals, finishing eighth and fifth, respectively.

Villa had earlier wept with tears of joy after taking second in qualifying, overcome with emotions that he was able to ride well again after suffering a leg injury last season. Sherwood was clearly on top of his game in the sweltering heat of Dubai, able to once again display his incomparable flexible and fluid style in the world’s most prestigious Freestyle Motocross competition that will have a total purse of $1 million based on performances and appearance fee.

“It means a lot,” said a beaming Sherwood, 20, after celebrating with the spirited crowd that savored the spectacle with riders jumping up to 12 metres high and 20 metres in distance on their bikes. “I didn’t have much confidence coming into it,” added the friendly New Zealander. Villegas was thrilled to get the first podium. “After years of sacrifice, I finally made it,” he said. “I’m not going to stop here. I want to be on the podium all season.”

Red Bull X-Fighters has become the biggest and most respected freestyle motocross tour on the planet since it was created in 2001 with the best FMX riders anywhere battling for championship points at six stops on four continents.