# Red Bull X-Fighters

Red Bull X-Fighters was a freestyle motocross stunt competition organized by Red Bull from 2001 to 2017. During its years of operation, it staged 50 events on six continents in bullrings, famous locations, and sites.
Competing riders went head-to-head in a series of knockout rounds. Their jumps and routines were judged by a panel that awarded points based on eight criteria: execution, energy, excitement and entertainment, among others.

## History
### X-Fighters: 2001–2006

X-Fighters was founded in 2001, with the Plaza de Toros de Valencia in Spain being the first venue to host the competition. A 12,000 person crowd was recorded with American Mike Jones taking the win in the inaugural event, Spaniard Edgar Torronteras coming second and French rider Xavier Fabre coming third. Red Bull X-Fighters returned for a second time in 2002 at Madrid's Las Ventas, with about 20,000 people in attendance. Edgar Torronteras, who came in second in the previous edition, won the event and took the trophy that season.
Two events were hosted in 2003, with Valencia and Madrid staging competitions in their bullrings. At Las Ventas in Madrid, a new rider was added to the competition, 18-year-old Nate Adams from the USA, who performed the first ever back flip at the event.
The riders then returned to compete in the bull ring of Madrid for the only X-Fighters event of 2004. Riders regularly performed back flips along with new combinations of back flips. Travis Pastrana joined the X-Fighters event and took first. Nate Adams came second after going in head-to-head battles for the majority of the event. The following year, after success in Spain, X-Fighters staged its first event outside of Europe. Growing in popularity, the 2005 event took place in front of a crowd of 40,000 at the biggest bullring in the world, the Plaza de Toros México in Mexico City. Ronnie Renner won this edition of the event. After Mexico, Madrid hosted yet another event in the same year, won by Nate Adams. In 2006, Mexico City and Madrid again hosted the event, with the Mexican event being won by Swiss rider Mat Rebeaud and the Madrid event being won by Travis Pastrana.

### World Tour: 2007–2015

In 2007, X-Fighters started their World Tour series as they moved into exclusive bullring locations in new arenas. The tenth competition took place in Mexico City. For the next stop of the World Tour, X-Fighters built a custom arena near Slane Castle in Ireland. Travis Pastrana came first in the event after tackling a wet course due to rainfall. After Ireland, the world tour returned to Madrid. Pastrana rode to his second consecutive win that season.
2008 increased the lineup of stops from three in 2007 to six. The first event took place in Mexico, after which the tour traveled to the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro before taking place in Texas. The European Leg of the tour included events in Spain, Germany and Poland. The first event was in Plaza de Toros México. A 17-year-old from New Zealand, Levi Sherwood, made his debut. After a closely fought contest in Calgary, Canada, the tour returned to Texas. The course built in Fort Worth was one of the biggest courses created. Cam Sinclair successfully performed the double back flip, becoming the first rider to perform it in a competition. Moving on to the next event in Madrid, Sinclair again attempted the double back flip, but suffered a crash and sustained severe injuries along with extensive internal bleeding. With Sinclair in recovery, the 2009 tour ended with Red Bull X-Fighters twenty-third event and a first for London with the finale at Battersea Power Station.
In 2010, Red Bull X-Fighters were granted permission to stage an event in Moscow's Red Square right beside the Kremlin, using it as their backdrop. Along with this another event took place in the Giza Plateau in Egypt with the Great Sphinx of Giza in the background. Red Bull X-Fighters then returned to Madrid, with Australian Robbie Maddison pulling off a body varial. A first ever seen trick in the competition, Maddison went on to win the event of the year. At the next event in London, Maddison bailed in an attempt at the volt badly, ending his season. After the UK stop, X-Fighters wrapped up its twenty-ninth event by rounding off the 2010 tour in Italy where Nate Adams achieved another first to add to his Red Bull X-Fighters career. Being the first rider to claim a second title for a second consecutive year.
2011 brought up its 30th event on Jumeirah Beach in Dubai. The tour then staged round two of the championship in front of the Monumental Axis in the Brazilian capital, Brasília. In front of a crowd of over 100,000 people, was the biggest FMX attended event in the history of the sport. Following the events in Rome, Madrid, and Poznań, the tour ended in a grand finale on Cockatoo Island in the heart of Sydney Harbor, Australia. Competing in front of his home crowd for the first time was Australia's Josh Sheehan. He secured the last win of 2011. But the tour title that year belonged to Dany Torres. In 2012, the Red Bull X-Fighters tour started in Dubai. In Glen Helen, Red Bull created the biggest course ever constructed. After the huge course, the tour moved to Europe in Madrid where New Zealander Levi Sherwood secured victory and extended his lead in the overall standings. Next up was Munich's Olympic Stadium. The leading man was Tom Pagès. The tour was set for a close finale on Cockatoo Island in Australia. He saw Jackson Strong perform X-Fighters first front flip and did it again one handed. But it came down to the overall current first and second place riders to meet in the final for a chance to win the World Tour title. It was Sherwood who beat Pagès after he performed the tricks and style to take the 2012 title.

### Grand Slam: 2016–present

After eight years of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour, 2016 concentrated on one season highlight event at the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in Madrid on June 24. The Red Bull X-Fighters stop in Madrid marked the 15th straight year that the bullring hosted the event of Freestyle Motocross, where riders from all across the world came to perform. France's Tom Pagès became the first rider in history to win Madrid three consecutive times with his victory in 2015 in front of 23,000 spectators. Travis Pastrana of the USA had also won Madrid three times but not consecutively while Spanish rider Dany Torres had won twice.
It was Tom Pagès who set records with a fourth straight Red Bull X-Fighters win in Madrid, the home of freestyle motocross that celebrated its 15th anniversary. At the Las Ventas bullring Pagès performed his new Front Flip Flair, the first time ever the trick was performed in competition. In a three-way battle, Clinton Moore, the 2015 World Tour champion, came in second place after his Bundy jump was recorded to be 14 meters high by a new Intel device. Josh Sheehan took third place despite landing his signature double back flip. Levi Sherwood of New Zealand finished fourth at the FMX extravaganza in the Spanish capital.
2017 would begin with Las Ventas hosting an X-Fighters contest. Levi Sherwood took 1st place with Josh Sheehan taking 2nd and Taka Higashino coming in 3rd. 2017 would end up being the final year of Red Bull X-Fighters.

## Format
### Event

Each event consists of multiple days, with riders having opportunities to train. The first day includes a briefing, followed by qualification on the second day and competition on the third day. During qualification, riders complete a single 90-second qualifying run in their designated start order. Any rider who misses the qualifying session is assigned the last-place position. If multiple riders miss the session, their placement is determined by the previous year's Tour ranking, with the lowest-ranked rider placed last. In the absence of a Tour ranking, a draw is held to determine the riders' ranks for qualifying purposes. The results of the qualification will define the three groups of four riders that will compete in the Cuadrillas Elimination.
The Cuadrillas Elimination is where each group of four riders will spin a roulette of tricks one time (old-school tricks that are barely shown in competition). All riders have to pull out this trick within their 50-second run. The best two riders of each group qualify for the semi-final. At the completion of each rider's run, the judges award a score. When all riders in this round have completed a scored run, the scores are announced and the top scored rider advances through to the semi-final. Six riders are then qualified in pairs and battle head-to-head in the semi-final, in which there is no mandatory trick. Each rider takes his own run with a predetermined time limit (75 seconds). The lower seeded rider in each pair rides first. Time starts when the rider takes his first jump. After each run, the rider goes to a predesignated position to watch his replays on the big screen. The second rider in the pair, who is not riding, will wait at the Hot Spot, remove his helmet and watch the other rider's run. After the second rider's run, both wait at a predesignated position for the judges' decision of which of the two will proceed to the final round. The winner from each battle would advance to the final.
The final consists of three winners from the semi-final that meet in a head-to-head run-off. Each rider takes his own run with a predetermined time limit (75 seconds). The rider from the semi-final A will ride first followed by the winner of the semi-final B and C. Time will start when the rider takes his first jump. After the 75 seconds, each rider can perform a Bonus Trick which is not affected by the time limit. After each run, the rider goes to a predesignated position to watch his replay on the big screen. The second and third riders, who are not riding, will wait at the Hot Spot, remove their helmet and watch the other riders run. After the third rider's run, all three wait at a predesignated position for the judges' decision of whom of the three will be celebrated as the winner of the Red Bull X-Fighters competition. Overall the riders can win five helmets. If there is a tie (e.g. two riders win two helmets and one rider 1 helmet) the Bonus Tricks decides on the winner.

### Judging

Judging in all rounds consists of five judges, each one judging the overall impression based on the following criteria:
* Variety
* Execution
* Form and flow
* Use of course
* Challenge
* Energy
* Excitement
* Entertainment
There are two separate judging systems for the Red Bull X-Fighters competition. Round one judging panel comprises five judges, plus one Head Judge. These judges award each rider a score from 1-100 points. The final score is represented as a number from 0–100 based on an average of all five judges' scores (From a total of 0 - 500 ÷ 5 judges). In the semi-finals and final, each judge awards each of the riders in the heat a score on a scale of 1–100 points. The rider with the highest score from a single judge wins that judge's vote. The rider who gets three or more judges' votes out of five wins the match-up. The Head Judge is solely responsible for indicating when time expires on a run. If, in the mind of the Head Judge, a rider is considered to be 'on approach' to a jump when the time clock reaches zero, then that jump (or series of jumps in a double-double or 6-pack) is counted in the rider's final score. The Head Judge also has the ability to change any single score or group of scores and makes the final decision in any tiebreaker situations. Should two or more riders in Round one have a scoring tie out of 100 points, then the high and low scores for each rider are eliminated and the remaining three scores averaged to give a score of 100 points. Should this method still result in a tie then the highest single score breaks the tie(s). In the event that none of these methods breaks the tie(s), then the Head Judge breaks the tie(s).

## Venues

Overall there have been 25 different locations that have hosted an X-Fighters event. Below is the list of former and current venues, along with their location and the number of times taken part.
| Plaza de Toros de Valencia | Las Ventas | Plaza de Toros México | Slane Castle | 10th-Anniversary Stadium |
| Valencia, Spain | Madrid, Spain | Mexico City, Mexico | Slane, Ireland | Warsaw, Poland |
| II | XV | IX | I | I |
| Steinbruch Oetelshofen | Fort Worth Stockyards | Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí | Battersea Power Station | Stampede Park |
| Wuppertal, Germany | Texas, United States | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | London, United Kingdom | Calgary, Canada |
| I | II | I | II | I |
| Red Square | Giza Plateau | Stadio Olimpico | Jumeirah Beach | Monumental Axis |
| Moscow, Russia | Cairo, Egypt | Rome, Italy | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Brasília, Brazil |
| I | I | II | II | I |
| Stadion Miejski | Cockatoo Island | Glen Helen Raceway | Yedikule Fortress | Olympiastadion |
| Poznań, Poland | Sydney, Australia | California, United States | Istanbul, Turkey | Munich, Germany |
| I | II | II | 0 (revoked permission) | II |
| Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard | Osaka Castle | Union Buildings | Dionysos Marble Quarry | Corniche |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Osaka, Japan | Pretoria, South Africa | Athens, Greece | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| I | II | III | I | I |

## Results and statistics
### Records

| Record | Rider | T |
| Most starts | Dany Torres | 48 |
| Most head to heads | Dany Torres | 69 |
| Most head to heads won | Dany Torres | 41 |
| Most head to heads lost | Dany Torres | 28 |
| Most quarterfinals | Dany Torres | 33 |
| Most semi-finals | Dany Torres | 21 |
| Most finals | Levi Sherwood | 12 |
| Most wins | Levi Sherwood | 8 |
| Most top three appearances | Dany Torres | 20 |
| Most World Tour wins | Nate Adams | 2 |
| Most World Tour top three appearances | Dany Torres | 7 |
| Total points earned | Dany Torres | 2340 |
| Most points in a single season | Mat Rebeaud | 465 |
Dany Torres of Spain is the all-time top points holder on the World Tour, with 7 wins and 1 title. Torres also holds the following records; Most starts, Most head to heads, Most head to heads won, Most head to heads lost, Most quarterfinals, Most semi-finals, Most top three appearances and Most World Tour top three appearances. He is the most successful rider to hold a total of 9 X-Fighters records. New Zealander Levi Sherwood holds two (Most finals and Most wins), with Nate Adams and Mat Rebeaud both holding one each.

### World Tour champions

| Year | Rider | P |
| 2007 | Travis Pastrana | 250 |
| 2008 | Mat Rebeaud | 465 |
| 2009 | Nate Adams | 325 |
| 2010 | Nate Adams | 370 |
| 2011 | Dany Torres | 390 |
| 2012 | Levi Sherwood | 335 |
| 2013 | Thomas Pagès | 360 |
| 2014 | Josh Sheehan | 360 |
| 2015 | Clinton Moore | 380 |
| 2016 | Thomas Pagès | 12 |
In all, 86 top riders have competed in at least one X-Fighters event. Of these, eight riders have won the World Tour. With two titles, American Nate Adams is the most successful World Tour rider. Adams (2009 and 2010) is also the only rider to have won two consecutive titles.

### Wall of Fame

* 1 Mike Jones
* 2 Nate Adams
* 3 Travis Pastrana
* 4 Mat Rebeaud
* 5 Robbie Maddison
* 6 Dany Torres
* 7 Levi Sherwood
* 8 Eigo Satō
* 9 Thomas Pagès
* 10 Josh Sheehan
Red Bull X-Fighters released their very own Wall of Fame in a video about the history of the competition. There also is a Hall of Fame. There are only 9 Freestyle Motocross riders in the sport's most exclusive club. It is reserved only for the winners of Madrid, the most important FMX stop each year since the inaugural event in 2002. The Hall of Fame in Madrid features plaques hanging on the walls with the names, Spanish nicknames, and portraits of each year's winner, framed in the style of famous bullfighters who have also graced the grounds of the Las Ventas bullring. The Hall of Fame starts with Edgar Torronteras (2002, "E.T."), Kenny Bartram (2003, "El Cowboy"), Travis Pastrana (2004/06/07, "El Prodigioso"), Nate Adams (2005, "El Destroyer"), Mat Rebeaud (2008, "Air Mat"), Dany Torres (2009/11, "El Pajarillo"), Robbie Maddison (2010, "Mad Dog"), Levi Sherwood (2012/17 "El Chico de Goma") and Thomas Pagès (2013/14/15/16, "Mr Flair").

## Race results

| Location | Venue | Event | Year | Champion | Second | Third | Riders |
| Valencia | Plaza de Toros de Valencia | I | 2001 | Mike Jones (USA) | Edgar Torronteras (ESP) | Xavier Fabre (FRA) | |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | I | 2002 | Edgar Torronteras (ESP) | Mike Jones (USA) | Mike Metzger (USA) | |
| Valencia | Plaza de Toros de Valencia | II | 2003 | Kenny Bartram (USA) | Nate Adams (USA) | Nick Franklin (NZL) | |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | II | 2003 | Kenny Bartram (USA) | Nate Adams (USA) | Dayne Kinnaird (AUS) | |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | III | 2004 | Travis Pastrana (USA) | Nate Adams (USA) | Ronnie Renner (USA) | |
| Mexico City | Plaza de Toros México | I | 2005 | Ronnie Renner (USA) | Jeremy Stenberg (USA) | Kenny Bartram (USA) | |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | IV | 2005 | Nate Adams (USA) | Jeremy Stenberg (USA) | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | |
| Mexico City | Plaza de Toros México | II | 2006 | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | Ronnie Renner (USA) | Travis Pastrana (USA) | |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | V | 2006 | Travis Pastrana (USA) | Nate Adams (USA) | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | |
| Moscow | Red Square | – | 2007 | Event cancelled | Event cancelled | Event cancelled | – |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | VI | 2007 | Travis Pastrana (USA) | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | Nate Adams (USA) | 10 |
| Dublin | Slane Castle | I | 2007 | Travis Pastrana (USA) | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | Dany Torres (ESP) | 10 |
| Mexico City | Plaza de Toros México | III | 2007 | Dany Torres (ESP) | Nate Adams (USA) | Robbie Maddison (AUS) | 10 |
| Warsaw | 10th-Anniversary Stadium | I | 2008 | Dany Torres (ESP) | Robbie Maddison (AUS) | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | 4 |
| Wuppertal | Steinbruch Oetelshofen | I | 2008 | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | Jeremy Lusk (USA) | Dany Torres (ESP) | 10 |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | VII | 2008 | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | André Villa (NOR) | Robbie Maddison (AUS) | 10 |
| Texas | Fort Worth Stockyards | I | 2008 | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | Jeremy Stenberg (USA) | Jeremy Lusk (USA) | 10 |
| Rio de Janeiro | Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí | I | 2008 | Jeremy Stenberg (USA) | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | Robbie Maddison (AUS) | 10 |
| Mexico City | Plaza de Toros México | IV | 2008 | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | Dany Torres (ESP) | Jeremy Lusk (USA) | 10 |
| Mexico City | Plaza de Toros México | V | 2009 | Levi Sherwood (NZL) | Eigo Satō (JPN) | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | 10 |
| Calgary | Stampede Park | I | 2009 | Robbie Maddison (AUS) | Eigo Satō (JPN) | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | 10 |
| Texas | Fort Worth Stockyards | II | 2009 | Nate Adams (USA) | Mat Rebeaud (SWI) | Cam Sinclair (AUS) | 10 |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | VIII | 2009 | Dany Torres (ESP) | Nate Adams (USA) | Robbie Maddison (AUS) | 10 |
| London | Battersea Power Station | I | 2009 | Nate Adams (USA) | Levi Sherwood (NZL) | Dany Torres (ESP) | 10 |
| Mexico City | Plaza de Toros México | VIII | 2014 | Levi Sherwood (NZL) | Josh Sheehan (AUS) | Dany Torres (ESP) | 12 |
| Osaka | Osaka Castle | II | 2014 | Levi Sherwood (NZL) | Rémi Bizouard (FRA) | Dany Torres (ESP) | 12 |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | XIII | 2014 | Thomas Pagès (FRA) | Josh Sheehan (AUS) | Levi Sherwood (NZL) | 12 |
| Munich | Olympiastadion | II | 2014 | Josh Sheehan (AUS) | Taka Higashino (JPN) | Levi Sherwood (NZL) | 12 |
| Pretoria | Union Buildings | II | 2014 | Josh Sheehan (AUS) | Dany Torres (ESP) | Adam Jones (USA) | 12 |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | XV | 2016 | Thomas Pagès (FRA) | Clinton Moore (AUS) | Josh Sheehan (AUS) | 12 |
| Madrid | Las Ventas | XVI | 2017 | Levi Sherwood (NZL) | Josh Sheehan (AUS) | Taka Higashino (JPN) | 12 |

### World Tours
## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 17 | 16 | 13 | 46 |
| 2 | Spain (ESP) | 8 | 6 | 8 | 22 |
| 3 | Australia (AUS) | 7 | 6 | 10 | 23 |
| 4 | New Zealand (NZL) | 7 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| 5 | Switzerland (SUI) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| 6 | France (FRA) | 3 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| 7 | Japan (JPN) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Totals (7 entries) | Totals (7 entries) | 48 | 45 | 45 | 138 |