On September 14, 2006, motorbikes will again fly in the largest and most prestigious bullfighting arena in Spain: the Red Bull X-Fighters will appear at Las Ventas for the fifth time.
Here, where the bulls usually paw the ground nervously, accelerator throttles will be just as nervously revved on September 14 when the Red Bull X-Fighters, the best motocross riders in the world, will appear for the fifth time in Las Ventas, the largest and most important bullfighting arena in Madrid.
As the freestylers enter the arena through the 25-meter long tunnel that the Picadores normally use, they will reach up to 60 km/h on their motocross bikes and go off a ramp inside the arena that catapults them a good twenty meters into the air. Once in the air, the riders will swing their bikes around beneath them or do handstands, or even let go of the bikes, only to grab on to them again just before landing.
The Red Bull X-Fighters in the Las Ventas bullfighting arena is Europe’s classic event in freestyle motocross (FMX). This year there will again be 23,000 spectators scrambling to get their tickets weeks in advance. They will enthusiastically cheer on the incredible stunt flying of the Crème de la Crème of riders – with handkerchiefs waving, people chanting and screaming chainsaw motors. The competition in Madrid not only has one of the best atmospheres, but is also one of the most athletically demanding FMX events.
An exciting three-way battle is anticipated among FMX icon Travis Pastrana (USA), title holder Nate Adams (USA) and Swiss rider Mat Rebeaud, who won the last Red Bull X-Fighters event in Mexico City in March of this year. There will also be strong competition from Scandinavia with Andre Villa (NOR) and Fredrik Johansson (SWE). Also invited are world distance jumping record holder Robbie Maddison (AUS), Eigo Sato (JAP) and local biking matador Dani Torres.
