Day two of the inaugural Navy Moto X World Championships featured the finals for Step-Up, Freestyle and Moto X Racing (Supercross, to us).
Oh, and girls. Lots of girls.
First came the Step-Up competition, where
Ricky Carmichael returned to action to take on the top Step-Up riders, including Matt Buyten, Ronnie Renner, Tommy Clowers, and more.
And it seemed his return came just in time.
Carmichael picked up where he left off yesterday, clearing the bar by ridiculous amounts throughout the competition until late in the running when he cleared 35 feet...
...only to fall on the landing, which nullified his leap. Unfortunately, Carmichael couldn't retry 35 feet because he injured himself in the fall, cutting his chin and possibly injuring his jaw when he slammed his jaw on the bike when he landed from over three stories up. The other two competitors left - Renner and Buyten - also failed to make it at 35 feet, although both of them actually hit the bar on two consecutive attempts.
Carmichael pulled out of the comp with the injury.
Here's a sequence of Renner doing his characteristic whip over the bar:
Renner switched from the 450 he rode in last year's X Games event (which he won) back to a 250cc two-stroke to show that it wasn't the bike that won him the competition.
However, Matt Buyten was the first to clear 35 feet and not fall, even though they had moved the launch 10 feet further back before either rider could make it. Unfortunately for Renner, by then it had become a "Sudden Death" event at that point, complete with a coin flip to see who would go first. Because Buyten was the first to make it, he won, and Renner didn't get a chance to try and tie it up.
Renner shows his displeasure with the people in charge, as he faux craps on an X block.
Then came Moto X Racing, where the early excitement was provided by
Travis Pastrana, who fell in an early Heat race, then got up and chased down the riders in front of him. He passed for third on the second-to-last lap, then set out after
Troy Adams, who was running second (the last direct qualifying position to the main event).
In the last turn of the last lap, Pastrana delivered a block pass to Adams to grab second while
Josh Hansen took the win.
Pastrana was happy.
Gavin Gracyk (273) got the main-event holeshot, but came under immediate attack by
Jason Lawrence (338) before the two got together and Lawrence took both himself and Gracyk down, handing the lead to Hepler.
Hepler (60) led
Nick Wey (27) early, and he held the lead to the finish.
For Hepler, it was his first win in a long time, and his first race in a long time as well. He wasn't even going to race, but he came away with the win. Lawrence reportedly scared himself in his early fall, knowing he has a championship to try to win in a couple of weeks, and he pulled off after only a few laps.
Nick Wey finished second on his MDK KTM.
Wey's teammate
Justin Brayton was third in his first 450cc race.
Nate Adams dominated the Freestyle portion of the inaugural Moto X World Championships, showing he has returned to form.
And he didn't flip over every jump.
Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg was second, with Matt Rebaud third.
