The inaugural Navy Moto X World Championship in San Diego kicked off today with Supermoto X, Speed & Style, the Step-Up prelims and Moto X Best Trick, and there was action to be had all around.
Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Mark Burkhart was the only rider in the Supermoto event that was doing a triple-triple line just after the track re-entered the stadium, so he was the immediate favorite to win the Supermoto X event. (It doesn't hurt that he's also the defending AMA Supermoto Champion and last year's X Games Supermoto X Champion, either.)
However, when the gate dropped, it was KTM's Troy Herfoss (7) with the holeshot over former champ Jeff Ward (3x) and the rest of the pack...
...while Burkhart (1) was stuck in the back of the pack.
However, only a few laps into the 10-lap race, Burkhart (1) had made it all the way up to third, using his triple-triple line to great effect to get through the pack. Ward (3x) found his way by Herfoss (7), but not early enough, as Burkhart was already on them at that point.
Soon thereafter, Burkhart (1) got Herfoss (7) and went to work on Ward, who was beginning to get some pretty bad arm-pump in his throttle arm and began to fade.
Last year's X Games bronze medalist David Pingree ran fourth for most of the race until his bike gave up the ghost on the last lap as he re-entered the stadium. Cassidy Anderston (15) and Benny Carlson (45) ended up fourth and fifth.
Burkhart (1) took the win going away over Herfoss (7) who passed Ward late in the race for the runner-up spot.
In the Step-Up prelims,
Ricky Carmichael made a mockery of the event, clearing the bar by heights like this and much higher on his way to the win. He will face off tomorrow against Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg, who finished second in today's prelim, and Step-Up favorites Tommy Clowers and Ronnie Renner.
The guy who tried the double backflip last year at X Games Best Trick in Los Angeles, and crashed, was back in San Diego, only this time, Scott Murray pulled it off, landing his double backflip - the second rider in history to do it after
Travis Pastrana two years ago. It was enough to award him the Best Trick win.
Second place in Best Trick went to Frenchman Thomas Pages (pronounced "Pajay") with this double-grab superman backflip.
Third place in Best Trick went to Todd Potter with this backflip kiss of death.
Best Trick favorite Kyle Loza had two attempts at his trick "Electric Death" and both of them ended like this, with him landing a little off axis and washing out on the jump landing.
Former racer Nate Adams took the win in Speed & Style.
Sunday will include the Supercross event, Freestyle and Step-Up final.
