Parts Unlimited & THOR Riders Fair Well at X Games 12
8/10/2006
Los Angeles, CA (August 3-6, 2006) — X Games 12 was literally taken over by Parts Unlimited and THOR riders this past weekend. Events ranging from Rally car racing to Freestyle Motocross, the podium spots were littered with Parts Unlimited and THOR riders.
Kicking off the amazing weekend, the multi-gold medal winner Travis Pastrana made headlines across the world by successfully completing the first double-back flip in competition. As all the competitors had completed their runs, Pastrana still had one more pass before finding out who would win this year's Moto X Best Trick. The crowd at the STAPELS Center erupted when they saw Pastrana land the double back flip. Narrowly missing out for a medal was THOR rider, Nate Adams.
Less than 24 hours later, Pastrana was suited up and seat belted in for the first Rally Car Racing event at X Games. Pastrana and rally legend Colin McCrae had been battling times all day until a last corner mistake by McCrae left Pastrana with the first ever Rally Car X Games gold medal. It's an honor to be next to Colin McCrae," said Pastrana. "I'm very surprised to have won the first X Games rally car event. No words can describe it. It's been the best week of my life. I'm so happy that rally racing has a presence in the X Games."
Jeremy McGrath and Matt Buyten continued their on going battle in Moto X Step Up. Buyten edged out Brian Deegan and McGrath by clearing 23 ft, exactly two feet higher than Deegan and McGrath as they both cleared 21 ft. "All the stars have to line up for this event to be as dramatic as 2004, and I was disappointed because I know we can all go 10 feet higher," McGrath said.
Just like every year, the Supermoto event looked like a who's who of motorcycle racing. When the gate dropped it looked as if Travis Pastrana was going to grab the holeshot until his front end washed out and Mark Burkhart took the lead with Doug Henry and Jeff Ward in tow. As the front three began pulling away, Chad Reed and Jeremy McGrath tried working their way up to the front. Midway through the race, McGrath had bike problems while Henry pitted too early and was forced to re-pit, throwing any chances of a repeat away. Out front, Burkhart lost the lead to Ward after a horrible pit stop. Burkhart rode amazingly and caught Ward with one lap to go but wasn't able to make a move on the veteran and finished second while Henry rounded out the podium.
Travis Pastrana grabbed his third gold medal of the weekend by completing a near perfect run in Freestyle Moto X. Fellow THOR rider, Nate Adams looked like a medal contender in earlier rounds until a hard get off put him out of contention. Some of Pastrana's tricks included a back flip saran wrap, a back flip kiss of death, a one-handed back flip and a one-handed back flip lazy boy.