The city of Mumbai saw its iconic Gateway of India landmark turn into a playground for a day as the top motocross riders of the world were here to showcase their electrifying talent. Energy drink maker Red Bull hosted Mumbai's first-ever FMX Jan bringing six riders from across the world including Robbie Maddison, Tom Pages, and Alexey Kolesnikov along with Martin Koren, Radek Bilek and Julien Vanstippen to showcase their skills to an enthusiastic crowd. Red Bull brought the FMX Jam back to India after almost eight years, with the previous edition held in 2011 in Delhi.
Legendary rider Robbie Maddison led the six rider show at Mumbai's FMX Jam
The event saw the riders pull some breathtaking stunts including high jumps, sideways glides, Kiss of Deaths, Cliffhangers, Whips and more. The event saw a spectacular finish with four of its six riders doing back flips in a tandem run, while a particularly spellbinding moment was all six riders flew off the ramp to perform their favourite stunts. Both Robbie Maddison and Alexey Kolesnikov were riding the specially prepped KTM 450, while Tom Pages was on a smaller capacity and lighter Yamaha 250 cc motorcross motorcycle. All the bikes were individually tweaked to meet the rider's specifications. The riders certainly made the afternoon special with their performance and it was a chance of a lifetime for Robbie Maddison fans to see the legendary athlete in action. The freestyle rider has been in the sport for 15 years now and is known for performing some gravity defying stunts in movies like Skyfall and xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Maddison also recently jumped a 10-storey replica of the Arc de Triomph in Las Vegas.
All set to fly off the ramp, the Red Bull athletes were riding the KTM 450s and the Yamaha 250
Speaking on his maiden visit to India, Robbie Maddison said, “As a motocross rider who has been doing this for fifteen years, I have had my fair share of injuries and near fatal accidents. But nothing has ever stopped me from doing this. I will continue to ride. It was exciting to see so many fans in Mumbai and perform for the enthusiastic crowd at the Red Bull FMX Jam along with all the other amazing athletes.”
It was a packed house at the iconic Gateway of India
Joining Robbie was Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour Champion, Tom Pages from France. The rider too was on his maiden visit to India and put up a brilliant showcase of his talents on two wheels. Speaking about his visit, Pages said, “I really enjoyed my first visit to India. Mumbai city is so vibrant and I am so happy with all the support and encouragement I've received from Red Bull.”
The Red Bull FMX Jam concluded with the riders performing back-to-back back flips
Alexey Kolesnikov, holds the distinction of being the first rider in Russia to land a back flip and we got a glimpse of that at the Gateway in Mumbai. The single ramp was enough to wreck madness for the Russian who came to India after practicing in -15 degree temperatures in his home country. Kolesnikov said, “Such a great experience for me to perform at Red Bull FMX Jam Mumbai show at the iconic Gateway of India. Would like to thank Red Bull for giving me this fantastic opportunity."
The "Josh" was certainly high at Mumbai's first-ever Red Bull FMX Jam
A first-ever event in Mumbai, the Red Bull FMX Jam was organised in collaboration with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). The department aims to encourage adventure sports activities in the state and the spectacular response to the Red Bull FMX Jam is certain to bring encourage more of such events in the future. Red Bull too says it plans to bring of such international events to India later this year.
Photography: Pawan Dagia & Red Bull India
