Carson, CA - KTM Factory riders made an appearance in all Moto X events Saturday August 2nd at the Home Depot Center for the 14th running of the X-Games.
Red Bull KTM rider Ronnie Renner took stage first in the Moto X Speed and Style competition. He easily qualified from his heat into the semi final where he was matched against freestyle rider Mike Mason. Renner pulled the holeshot in their two lap battle and went on to win the race and perform the best tricks after Mason went down on lap one. Renner was then matched up against Kevin Johnson for the gold medal. Renner again nailed the holeshot on his KTM machine and led the first lap until the second rhythm section. He finished five seconds back from Johnson at the end of their battle to take home the silver medal.
MDK KTM's Justin Brayton brought his A-game to the track in the Moto X Racing Finals. He quickly and easily won his 5-lap heat against Jason Lawrence, Antonio Balbi and Troy Adams. Brayton had a good gate pick for the main event but as the gate took off his tires spun holding him back around the first turn. He started dead last and quickly caught up to Jason Lawrence. Brayton tried everything he could to pass Lawrence who was doing everything in his power to block Brayton until the fourth lap when Brayton jumped ahead of him and never looked back. Brayton continued to pass all the way through the last lap of the race eventually working his way into 5th by the end of the moto.
The Supermoto event was up next where HMC KTM riders Troy Herfoss, Chris Fillmore and Kurt Nicoll joined their competition in the hunt for the gold. Herfoss lined up in the first heat where he pulled the holeshot but was passed by the #1 bike of Mike Burkhart. Herfoss made a couple of small mistakes that sent him back to 4th where he finished qualifying into the main event. Fillmore and Nicoll lined up for the second heat. Fillmore pulled the holeshot with Nicoll right behind him. As Fillmore continued down the first rhythm section he came up short and clipped the jump landing sending him over the bars. Nicoll, in an effort to avoid the collision, accidentally clipped Fillmore's rear wheel which bent the shift lever inward on Nicoll's bike forcing him to ride the remainder of the race in one gear. Both riders were sent to the LCQ for a last attempt to qualify.
In the LCQ, Nicoll got the holeshot, while Fillmore was farther back in the pack. David Pingree passed Nicoll on the first lap, but Nicoll held 2nd place for the next two laps. Nicoll was still close to a qualifying position until he came too hot into a corner on the street section and hit the concrete wall, breaking his hand. He was able to finish the race, but faded back to 6th after the injury. Fillmore finished 5th.
In the Supermoto final, Herfoss again pulled the holeshot and hopped out front. He held the lead until lap two when he was passed by Jeff Ward. The two remained close and began to pull away from the pack. Herfoss was still charging hard on the tail of Ward when his clutch failed on the fourth lap. He continued to ride but struggled with the clutch the remainder of the moto. He eventually caught back up to the battle for 4th but unfortunately he suffered another mechanical problem which caused him to DNF on the last lap of the race. "It's unfortunate that I wasn't able to compete for the gold medal, but these things happen. I really enjoy the X-Games and I can't wait for another chance next year," commented Herfoss.
The night ended with the highly anticipated Freestyle competition. Red Bull KTM's Mat Rebeaud, who just missed medaling at the San Diego Moto-X Championships, came prepared with a better set of tricks determined to take home a medal. He had a solid first run to beat Andre Villa to transfer to the next round.
In the next battle he was paired with Mike Mason. Rebeaud had his best run of the night and scored an 89.80 to beat Mike Mason's score of 86.20. Rebeaud was now set to compete for the gold against Jeremy Lusk.
Both riders had great runs. Unfortunately, Rebeaud had one dead air jump that cost him the gold. He scored an 89.00 against Lusk's 92.40. Rebeaud's score secured the silver medal.
Moto X Speed and Style Finals -
1. Kevin Johnson - Gold
2. Ronnie Renner - Silver
3. Jeremy Stenberg - Bronze
Moto X Racing Finals -
1. Josh Hansen - Gold
2. Jeremy McGrath - Silver
3. Josh Grant - Bronze
Moto X Supermoto Finals -
1. Jeff Ward - Gold
2. Robbie Horton - Silver
3. Brando Currie - Bronze
Moto X Freestyle Finals -
1. Jeremy Lusk - Gold
2. Mat Rebeaud - Silver
3. Mike Mason - Bronze