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X GAMES WELCOMES SUPERMOTO X TO LINEUP
Exciting
Moto X sport that fuses multiple disciplines of motorcycle racing
debuts at X Games X; McGrath, Metzger, Pastrana and Reed Among Expected
Participants
LOS ANGELES – ESPN X Games, the premier action sports competition
in the world, announced today the addition of SuperMoto X to its
lineup. X Games X will take place August 5-8 in Los Angeles for
the second consecutive year. For the first time ever, complete X
Games daily live coverage will be featured on ESPN and ABC Sports.
SuperMoto X is a fusion
of supercross, dirt track racing, freestyle motocross and road racing.
It uses four-stroke motocross bikes on a purpose-built track that
is approximately 60 percent asphalt for speed racing and 40 percent
dirt with turns, rollers and hits. This mix of racing formats entices
racers from all backgrounds. As a result, SuperMoto X is expected
to include legendary athletes from different motorcycle competition
disciplines such as Jeremy McGrath (Supercross), Mike Metzger (Freestyle),
Travis Pastrana (Freestyle and Supercross) and Chad Reed (Supercross).
The new SuperMoto X competition
joins the returning Moto X disciplines of Best Trick, which was
added in 2001, Freestyle (added in 1999) and Step Up (added in 2000).
The complete listing of athletes participating in X Games X, the
venues and the competition schedule will be announced at a later
date.
SuperMoto X at X Games
X will feature the 20 top racers going head-to-head in a race to
the finish. A timed trial for starting positions will be held the
day prior to competition. Racers will line up alongside each other
in the start and the first racer to complete 20-25 laps wins the
gold medal. The sport organizer for this event is SuperMoto X LLC,
a collaborative effort between MXi, Inc. - X Games1 current Moto
X sport organizer - and MetzMoto, Inc., led by Freestyle star, Metzger.
Gavin Trippe, a former
U.K. racing journalist – turned American-based motorcycle
racing promoter – created the sport of Supermoto in 1979.
ABC's Wide World of Sports embraced the standalone event, called
3The Superbikers,2 and the event aired on the network annually from
1980-1985. In 2003 the sport was revived in the U.S. as "Supermoto"
and an AMA Red Bull Supermoto Series. Ironically, SuperMoto X will
be aired live in its entirety back on the first place to broadcast
it – ABC's Wide World of Sports.
"It definitely doesn't
come as a big surprise to me that they are adding the most extreme
form of motorcycle racing to the X Games," said Metzger. "I'm
absolutely positive that this will put SuperMoto in the international
spotlight. X Games fans will be seeing some incredible handlebar-to-handlebar
racing action with the top riders from many different types of motorcycle
racing going for X Games Gold."
Celebrating its 10th
anniversary this year, X Games X will be held August 5-8, 2004 in
Los Angeles with live coverage on ESPN and ABC Sports. ESPN, The
Worldwide Leader in Action Sports, first developed its X Games franchise
in 1995. As part of the ESPN Original Entertainment division, X
Games, Winter X Games,
EXPN 2Day and X Games Global Championship are just some of the original
action sports programming currently shown on ESPN and ESPN2. The
brand has also grown to include international X Games events, EXPN.com,
EXPN Radio, the large format film ESPN's Ultimate X, X Games skateparks
and various X Games-branded retail products. |