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Friday, February 10, 2012
When motorcycles and snowmobiles fly
by Ed Fogle, published on February 22, 2010 at 11:14 PM
Storyline: Maverick's Misc. Stories
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Some of the world’s top motocross stars took to the air Friday and Saturday in an acrobatic display that kept people on the edge of their seats from start to finish.
The occasion was the Gravity Slashers tour at Arco Arena. Ten riders from around the United States perform tricks that most riders only dream of doing.
The floor of Arco Arena was equiped with four ramps and two landing pads. At one end of the arena was three ramps side-by-side, the middle ramp was wider to accomodate a snowmobile; with an elevated landing pad across from the ramps. A single ramp and landing pad were at the other side of the arena.
The star studded list of riders included:
- Derek Burlew
- Brody Wilson
- Drake McElroy (DMC)
- Dustin Nowak (Wacker)
- Greg Hartman
- Julian Dusseau
- Keith Sayers
- Nick Dunne
- Rich Kearns
- Heath Frisby
Both nights began with individual competition. Riders had 60 seconds to execute as many jumps as they could and were judged on the tricks they did while airborne. The riders accelerated rapidly on a short runway and hit the ramp, launching the bike and themselves into the air.
They did midair handstands, flew through the air inverted, and did kick-outs and every trick the mind could conceive.
After the individual runs, the 10 riders rode out and appeared and hit the air in mind boggling back-to-back acrobatic stunts.
As if seeing airborne motorcycle acrobatics weren't enough, there was snowmobile flying upside down through the air and landing on the adjacent ramp. Heath Frisby, better known as “Friz,” was creative, audacious, and never afraid to go huge. He won a bronze medal in the X Games in 2007 at the inaugural Winter X freestyle snowmobile event, and followed that with a bronze in 2008 and 2009.
Friz and flanked by Nick Dunne and Keith Sayers (Evil Knievel's God son), took to the air side by side, with Friz’s snowmobile in the center. The three hit the ramps and flipped through the air inches apart, then hit the landing pad together.
Before Saturday's event, we caught up with Sacramento 98 Rock’s John Boyle on the performance floor with their contest winners. The grand prize winners received a family eight-pack of tickets for the event, a Gravity Slashers motocross jersey and a pre-event meet and greet with a couple of the star riders. The winners spent some quality time with Greg Hartman and Brody Wilson. Boyle stated that the radio station provides “lifestyle promotions,” opportunities that winners never would experience had they not won the contest. He added that Field Motorsports, producer of the Gravity Slashers tour, was great to work with.
The grand finale had motorcycles flying all over the place off all the ramps. When the event ended, the stars hit the concourse to meet the fans and give autographs.
Gravity Slashers' next stop is Moline, Ill., Feb. 26. Feld Motor Sports brings “Monster Jam” to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Feb. 27.
Maverick Photography had four photographers on site for this event. A full photo essay will be coming in the near future, so keep an eye out for it. PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ed Fogle, Fred Jennings, George Murray and Jeremy Pollard
For local action news alerts, follow us on Twitter @SacMav. Watch for the "LIVE NOW" alert to be advised when we are broadcasting to our live web channel from local action news events. SacMav Rapid Media
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