Red Bull X-Fighters Munich Preview

Red-hot Levi Sherwood of New Zealand could clinch the $1 million Red Bull X-Fighters 2012 World Tour with a victory at the penultimate stop in Munich even though there is a pack of hungry rivals breathing down his neck. Sherwood's second victory of the year in Madrid last month put him 80 points ahead of his nearest challenger, Javier Villegas of Chile, with 100 points up for grabs for the winner in Germany.

MUNICH (Germany) - Munich's Olympic Stadium will be turned into a Mecca of freestyle motocross on Saturday, August 11. Levi Sherwood (230 points) will try to keep the momentum going from his tight victory over Spain's Dany Torres in Madrid and stay ahead of Villegas (150 points) as the championship battle reaches its climax when the world's best FMX riders invade Munich for the first time. Up to 40,000 fans are expected to watch the action.

The competition has grown intense in mid-season after many of the riders introduced dazzling new gravity-defying tricks in Madrid, the seminal Red Bull X-Fighters event each year.France's Thomas Pages, who is fourth overall with 135 points, got a standing ovation from the Madrid crowd for his magical jump - a body varial to no-footed can-can. Taka Higashino of Japan is also on a hot streak after nailing his Rock Solid Backflip in Madrid, lifting him to fifth place. Villegas has remained in the title chase this season even though he only made it on the podium once so far: for third in Dubai in the season opener. He was fourth in Glen Helen but only seventh in Madrid. Torres, the defending champion, is back in fifth place after getting second in Madrid with 130 points but still has an outside shot if he could win in Munich and the finale in Sydney, Australia.

Riders for Red Bull X-Fighters Munich 2012:
Dany Torres, Blake Williams, Eigo Sato, Tom Pages, Levi Sherwood, Javier Villegas, Maikel Melero, Mat Rebeaud, Remi Bizouard, Rob Adelberg, Hannes Ackermann