Australian Josh Sheehan sprung a surprise in rounds 4 and 5 of the FIM Freestyle Motocross World Championship in Basel at the weekend by registering his first wins thanks to a dominant performance at the Night of the Jumps event.
Sheehan topped the six qualifiers for the final on the opening night of competition with a score of 400.0 in the preliminary heat and comfortably took the overall victory with a superb 452.0 following a stunning routine that included Lazyboy, Tsunami and Superman Seatgrab flips as well as his new Heelclicker 360.
Reigning champion Libor Podmol was second, a brilliant Indy Underflip in the double-up the highlight of his round, with Chilean Javier Villegas completing the podium. Remi Bizouard was fourth on the same score as Jose Miralles in fifth, with Maikel Melero sixth.
Podmol was ruled out of the second day of competition after falling heavily during practice and Red Bull rider Petr Pilat qualified for the final in his place on his return from injury.
Once again, Sheehan topped qualifying and then went on two dominate the final in breathtaking fashion, a miniflip on the landing hill after a perfectly styled run and a faultless Clicker 360 in the double-up securing him a third successive victory having also registered a win in the European round in Hamburg the previous weekend.
Villegas produced a Tsunami Flip and several other daring combinations on his way to second place, while Miralles completed the podium ahead of Bizouard, Melero and Pilat.
Villegas’ pair of podium finishes sees him move to the top of the standings ahead of Bizouard and Miralles with Podmol dropping to fourth after his no score in round 5.
FIM Freestyle Motocross World Championship results – Rounds 4 and 5, Basel
Round 4 – Final
1 Josh Sheehan, 452.0
2 Libor Podmol, 429.0
3 Javier Villegas, 416.0
4 Remi Bizouard, 403.0
5 Jose Miralles, 403.0
6 Maikel Melero, 385.0
Round 5 – Final
1 Josh Sheehan, 454.0
2 Javier Villegas, 418.0
3 Jose Miralles, 414.0
4 Remi Bizouard, 413.0
5 Maikel Melero, 368.0
6 Petr Pilat, 364.0
Championship Standings (after 5 rounds)
1 Javier Villegas, 86pts
2 Remi Bizouard, 82
3 Jose Miralles, 78
4 Libor Podmol, 58
5 Maikel Melero, 58
6 David Rinaldo, 42
7 Romain Izzo, 41
8 Josh Sheehan, 40
9 Fabien Bauersachs, 39
10 Hannes Ackermann, 29
Next round: 18/19 June, Penza, Russia
Watch the FIM Freestyle Motocross Championship LIVE on Motors TV in 2011.
Andy Wilkinson
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