The Erzbergrodeo kicked off with a surprising result on the very
first day of the unique event. Belgian
KTM fmx4ever Factory
Freestyle-Motocrosser Gilles DeJong won the Rocket Ride Superfinals in
front of an enthusiastic crowd of thousands of Motorsports fans.
300 riders challenged the mighty, three story uphill-section
today and offered supreme offroad action to the spectators alongside
the track and in the Erzberg-Arena, where thousands of people could
witness the racing efforts of riders from 33 different nations thanks
to the Erzbergrodeo-TV service on two huge videowalls.
DeJong proofed that even FMX riders know exactly how to go wide
open and went straight through the Qualifiers into the main event on
Thursday evening. Gilles toughest competitors could not be find
amongst his factory-rider colleagues like Cyril Despres, Chris Birch,
Andreas Lettenbichler or Darryl Curtis - it was a young Austrian
Motocrosser Seppi Fally who actually dominated the 500 meter long
uphill section. The
Kawasaki mounted rider let his bike fly over the
track like no one else and reached the Superfinals without a
doubt.
The line-up of the final race also featured
KTM factory rider
Chris Birch (NZL), BMW's Andreas Lettenbichler (GER), KTM
Freestyle-MXer Nick Franklin (NZL) and Austrian rider Herbert Lindner.
Right after the start Fally took the lead and hammered his KX450F
towards the peak of the track, closely followed by DeJong,
Lettenbichler and Birch. After Seppi Fally made a slight mistake in
the last third of the race, the road to victory was open for Gilles
DeJong, followed by Andreas Lettenbichler and Chris Birch.
Offroad-Superstars Dougie Lampkin (UK), Paul Bolton (UK), Jade Gutzeit
(RSA) and Darryl Curtis (RSA) couldn't match the speed of the
finalists today, while KTM's Taddy Blazusiak had to withdraw from the
new Erzbergrodeo side event because he would not risk his foreseeable
hattrick at the Red Bull Hare Scramble on Sunday.
Results ROCKET RIDE Superfinals:
1. Gilles DeJong (BEL),
KTM 250 SX
2. Andreas Lettenbichler (GER),
BMW G450X
3. Chris Birch (NZL),
KTM 300 EXC
5. Nick Franklin (NZL),
KTM 250 SX
6. Herbert Lindner (AUT), Sherco 450