Masters Of Dirt, a motocross freestyle show filled with riders performing deadly stunts, may come across as a testosterone-charged event. But its founder George Fechter is convinced that its appeal isn’t limited to petrol heads or motorcycle enthusiasts.
“Whether you are five years old or 75, you are going to be blown away. It’s super easy to understand how crazy the stuff is,” said Fechter during a preview of the event at the World Trade Centre Arena on Tuesday.
Crazy doesn’t begin to describe the stunts showcased. Riders on bikes doing flips extending to 40 meters high and professionals on quad bikes doing jumps that were 24 meters long is just scratching the surface of Masters Of Dirt, which will be staged at the World Trade Centre Arena from December 2 to 4.
The show will bring together 17 international FMX riders (freestyle motocross), BMX riders (bicycle motocross), MTB (mountain bikers), quad bikers and snowmobile riders, as well as two fire cube artists and a DJ.
“We have tweaked our show for Dubai. We made it 1.5 hours instead of 3 hours, which means we will only showcase our state-of-the-art tricks. We have been working for this show in Dubai for over eight months. We had to ship everything in containers, measure this venue and fly down riders several times — it is a lot of work. But hard work pays off. For us and the riders, our work is play. So it’s super cool,” said Fechter. He has also flown in a specially designed snowmobile for his Dubai fans.
“The only snowmobile that is there in Dubai is the one in Ski Dubai. It’s tiny and cute to ride around there. But we brought a 900 CC Polaris snowmobile and we made changes so that it can ride on this temperature. Normally, a snowmobile is cooled by the chain that throws the snow into the engine. No snow, no cooling, and no engine power. So it was challenging — this is exactly what the people need. These stunts have never been done before and it is going to be exceptional.”
Five top stunts to watch out for:
The buggy back flip
Australian freestyle rider Gerhard Mayr will be performing a turbo-charged backflip over a specially designed ramp. The stunt will be performed on a monstrous customised Polaris RZR 900.
The Tandem FMX ‘Inside Varial’
Rocky Navas and Rocky Florensa will premiere a death-defying ‘Inside Varial’ stunt, which involves switching positions midair. Hint: The rider driving the Tandem FMX will eventually end up as the passenger in the back seat once the bike lands on ground.
The quad jump
Rider Ales Rozman will be performing several stunts on a 200kg quad bike over a distance of 23m.
The double front flip
Masters of Dirt rider Bienvenido Aguado is the only rider worldwide who is able to perform the double front flip. To successfully execute this stunt, a blend of skill, courage and commitment is required as consequences can be deathly.
The snowmobile back flip
Multiple X Games gold medallist Heath Frisbee will backflip his 200kg snowmobile over a distance of 19m with pyrotechnics attached to his snowmobile.
* Don’t miss it
Masters of Dirt is from December 2-4 at Dubai World Trade Centre Arena, with shows at 2.30pm and 6.30pm. Tickets from Dh100 at platinumlist.net or mastersofdirt.ae.
