XDL Produces A Thriller, Bill Dixon Clinches 2010 Title

After a rain-soaked Round 3 in Nashville, the LA round offered plenty of sunshine all around. Under clear skies, with a solid crowd in attendance and a buzzing vendor area in the background, Yamaha’s Bill Dixon managed to close the door on the 2010 FMF Cup championship hunt by finishing second to 2008 champion Nick Brocha. Brocha did what he had to do, which was win, but Dixon’s point total was high enough to secure the title by one marker, even if Brocha were to win Indy as well. This crucial point came from the bonus point earned by Dixon’s number one qualifying spot, proving how important it has become to qualify well in FMF Cup.

Scorpion rider Eric Pettit may have sealed the Aprilia All Star Challenge championship by earning his third win of the season and finally winning in the dry. And he did it in an amazing 22.69 seconds, the fastest time of the year. Dan Jackson still has a mathematical chance of taking the title, but things are sure looking good for Pettit.

XDL LA closed out as it always does with the Speed & Strength Sickest Trick competition, which delivered an amazing final trick, as well as a fair amount of controversy. Factory Aprilia-HJC rider Joe Dryden had gone without a win or place in any competition and was looking at a long drive back to Florida with no money to show for his efforts. In a bid to try to pull a rabbit out of a hat, Dryden decided to go for a “hail mary” by attempting a high-speed, no handed wheelie scrape. While this may not sound that difficult, one needs to remember that his Aprilia doesn’t run a traditional 12-bar, so he doesn’t benefit from the additional six to eight inches of length in the bike. For Dryden to scrape the tail of his bike he’d have to lean the bike back past the balance point, essentially riding “upside down.” With a failure rate of over 90%, prospects of Joe crashing on to his head at 35-40mph were fairly high. Speed & Strength Sickest Trick rules state that a rider has two attempts to complete his trick. Dryden’s first run wasn’t event close. On his second run the trick started to develop. This should have been the end but the judges and crowd felt that there was enough progress to see this one through, or see Joe crash. On his fourth run Dryden pulled off this never before attempted trick and took the win. Other riders immediately protested the rules infraction but the win was upheld on the grounds that even if other riders had been given additional attempts and completed their tricks, Dryden’s feat was simply the most stunning trick of the day. It was a fitting end to a day full of spectacular riding and showmanship.

Now it is on to the XDL Finals in Indianapolis as part of MotoGP weekend on August 27 & 28 in Indianapolis, IN. XDL can be followed on www.xdlshow.com.