MEXICO CITY, 4 April 2006 — Mat Rebeaud, 23, won the second edition of the Red Bull X-Fighters in Mexico City.
It was as equally a high-class event as it was a dramatic Freestyle Motocross contest, drawing 42,000 in the Monumental Plaza de Toros under its spell from the beginning: As early as the first round, especially top favorite Travis Pastrana and his Norwegian challenger, Andre Villa, pulled out all the stops, while the soon-to-be conqueror Mat Rebeaud required a little luck for his ascent: 70 points in the first round only brought him to fifth place, whereas the Australian, Robbie Maddison, fell by the wayside at sixth place with 69 points.
Not only the riders inspired the public — the crowd also inspired the riders: “I have fallen in love with these fans,” raved Travis Pastrana after round one. Last year’s winner Ronnie Renner thanked the fans with the “largest whip of my (his) life”, and the Mexican local matador, Johan Nungaray, spoke after his run of the “best and most exciting two minutes, I have ever experienced.”
In the semi-finals with the five best riders from the first round, the three places in the final were determined — one of which, for Andre Villa, seemed be secured. The 23-year-old fell however in his last jump, where his workday was then over, as was that of the fourth-place Spaniard, Dani Torres.
The final round opened with last year’s winner, Ronnie Renner, performing a magnificent run, followed by a brilliant run by Rebeaud, riddled with tall-order difficulties — it was such a brilliant run that top favorite Travis Pastrana was forced to take even more risks than usual. For this evening, the risks were too much:
The 22-year-old American experienced a severe fall. The fact that he was able to leave the arena on his own two feet seemed almost a miracle.
Results of Red Bull X-Fighters Mexico City 2006: Mat Rebeaud (SUI), Ronnie Renner (USA), Travis Pastrana (USA), Dani Torres (ESP), Andre Villa (NOR), Robbie Maddison (AUS), Nate Adams (USA), Eigo Sato (JPN), Sebastian Mejia (COL) and Johan Nungaray (MEX)
