Hey everyone,
After a few weeks off for Chrissy and new years, last weekend I got back into it with a super quick trip to Hong Kong for a demo at Hong Kong MX Clubs new track.
It was a tight schudule, I flew out of Brissy Saturday morning, arrived in Hong Kong that night and was taken straight to the track to check out the downy and the YZ250 2-stroke I would be riding. It's been a long time since I rode a two banger so it was always gonna be interesting.
I got a few hours sleep and it was straight back to the track to try to scrape the mud out of the way so I could ride. It had been raining solid for a few days so there was slop everywhere but we did what we could and set the ramp up at a small gap and just busted out some pretty basic stuff. It felt weird riding the YZ, it took me about three goes just to do a seat grab because I kept missing the grab holes! It was the first FMX show ever in Hong Kong though so the crowd still got right into it, especially when I got all sketchy and went head first into the mud haha.
We got three shows done for the day and then it was straight from the track to the airport for my flight back to Aus. All up I was in the country for just over 24 hours... and I felt sorry for the poor guy stuck next the stinking fmx'er the whole flight home!
Big thanks to Angus from MX Club for having me over, and Appsy for hooking the show up!
Cheers
Joe
Joe closes the ROTY points at REV HEADS 2009
For the second year in a row; a RFDmx rider claims the Freerider MX rider of the year title....
Joe Sheppard continued his consistant season with a very respectful 4th Place at Narrogin REV HEADS in Western Australia. Team mate and the 2008 ROTY winner Joel Brown returned from europe to make this event his first for the year. Browny finished well taking out 6th place on what is now the best course and contest in the country.
From all the crew here at RFDmx, we would like to formally congradulate Joe, for a solid year of hard work on and off the bike.... Well done buddy...
The X-Kings comp in McKay, QLD, went down last weekend and a few of the RFD boys decided to make the trek up and check it out. Joe Sheppard borrowed Chris McCallums bike and decided to have a ride while Joel Rayner kept the crowd pumped while busting out on the microphone.
The comp itself had some awesome riding, with local boy Clinton Moore, throwing backflip and 360 variations, and Robbie Adelberg was out showing what he's picked up during his time in the states.
At the end of the night it was Adelberg who got the win ahead of Moore, with Joe scraping together a third place.
Lismore Show 2009
Only one day after returning from Timor, RFDmx lads - Ryan Apps and Joe Shappard Hit the coast road for 3 days of riding at the annual Lismore show, The north coast NSW town filled the stands each night to see the boys do the FMX thing onto the Odes/RFDmx portable set up...
Injured team mate Joel Rayner is back on Aus, and offered his skills as a MC for the event.
After round 5 in Dili - Timor Leste, Joe Sheppard claims top honours in the 2009 RFDmx Underground Tour..
Round 5 seen ten riders make their way to Dili, to battle for final places and close out the series.. With tour leader Rhys Hillier unable to attend the event the top spot was open to Matt Lindores and Joe Sheppard, to fight it out...
With little to no wind during the practise days, it was obvious that everyone was riding well and a indication that anyone could claim the win on the 3 jump Dili course. Unfortunelaty the Moto Gods had other ideas and decided to turn on the wind for comp day, almost blowing the FMX away for the day....
The riders dedication to the event seen it run using only one jump that best suited the wind direction. All riders threw down safe but solid first runs and most opted to only have one run and walk away from the event... Lance, Revy, Todd and Joe quickly decided to throw in a second run which proved vital as they all raised there score... Leaving Joe to claim the day in the Dili heat, followed extremely closely by Revy then Lindores....
The result was enough to see Joe take the series.... A feat that seemed impossible concidering the work load he accepted as the Tour Co-ordinator for 2009...
Well done to Joe and a huge thanks to the sponsors and riders of the 2009 Undergournd Tour...
Stir Fried FMX
On October 1-3, Ryan Apps, Joe Sheppard and Lance Russell join the Chinese Full Throttle Honda team to perform the FMX at round 3 of the Chinese National MX in Yunnan Provance.. The event seen 40,000 chinese come to watch the show and rush the pits for a photo and signatures from the Aussie stars
There's only one week till the riders all hit the course in Dili for the final of the underground tour, so it's a good time to say thankyou to one of our biggest supporters in Timor - ESilva Motors. Sebastian and Sandra have put in countless hours behind the scenes to make sure this event goes off without a hitch, and they are a driving force behind the mx scene in Dili.
Thankyou ESilva Motors!
The Official RFDmx/Conoco Phillips Underground Tour Rnd 3 Video
Russell Brothers Films
Another great video put together by the Russell Bros...Follow the Video tab on to the top right on this website to check it out!!! Bloody awesome watch. Cheers Boys.
The bikes are on the way!
Thanks to the great support of Northline Freight, the bikes have been packed and have started their trip to Dili for the final of the 2009 RFDmx/ConocoPhillips Underground Tour!
They will arrive in Darwin monday, before starting their overseas adventure. We'll miss you bikes!
Greef Industries Round Four Results
Rhys Hillier returns to the top of the podium at the final Australian round of the 2009 series.
The riders were treated to perfect weather and a beautifully prepared course at Wayne Back's property in Boonah, Qld, for the last qualifying round of the series. The course featured two 75ft ramp hits and a poppier 55ft ramp, which added a bit of variety for the riders.
Riding in his old mans backyard, Todd Back was first rider out onto the course and wasted no time hitting all the jumps, showing all the boys how it should be done. This set the tone for the rest of practice, with all the riders conquering the course and throwing down some impressive tricks.
Cameron Sturtridge impressed in practice after coming back from his crash at round three of the series, throwing tricks off all the jumps on the course. Jake Thornycroft had a bit of a moment when he over jumped the poppy ramp and landed on the flat ground, but he came back and soon had the course dialed in. At the end of the two practice sessions all the boys were eager to get into the first round of Qualification.
For the second week in a row, Unit's Joe Sheppard was the first rider out onto the course, throwing out a solid run to get things under way. Luke Saunders again impressed when he took to the course, riding with a smooth style and throwing out a big bag of tricks.
Unfortunately disaster soon struck, when Cameron Sturtridge lost his footing while attempting a flip and he hit the ground hard. The ambulance was called, and meanwhile the next rider onto the course, Chris Peck, also had to hit the eject button and came down with an injured ankle.
The boys were taken to Brisbane as a precaution but both were later cleared of any serious injuries.
After seeing two of his mates go off in the ambulance, Rhys Hillier came out and rode incredibly solid, throwing out the best run of the day so far. Rhys' run had massive extension on all his tricks and he finished it off while a perfect backflip.
As the riders went out on their second round of runs, the mood was slightly tenser as nobody wanted to see another rider get injured. Adam Bayard lightened things up by throwing his best run of the tour, but also doing a great display of goon riding to finish his run, which was enough to earn him the Greef Industries Goon Award for the day. Matt Lindores continued his impressive form, throwing out massive whips and huge extension an all his tricks.
At the end of the two runs, the judges decided that Lindores, Sheppard and Hillier would go into the three man final. Lindores was the first rider out and impressed with his smooth style but a couple of small mistakes put him out of the running. Sheppard hit the course next and executed his run well, putting the pressure on Hillier to put together a perfect run. Once out on the course, Rhys threw out his best run of the day, including a massive nine o’clock nac and a perfect nac flip to end his run.
At the end of the day, Rhys got the win and extended his lead in the series, with Sheppard in second and Lindores in Third.
The series now heads overseas for the final, to be held in Dili, East Timor on the 18th of October.
The RFDmx/Conoco Phillips Underground Tour would not be possible without the help of our great sponsors, Conoco Phillips, Dirty Pumper, Sloth Industries, Slide Condoms, Greef Industries, High Roller Energy, Motorsports NT, Unit, PDL Toll and Northline Freight.
"posted by Joe Sheppard on Fmxaustralia.com"
RFDmx is pleased to welcome aboard two new supporters of the RFDmx/Conoco Phillips Underground Tour - High Roller Energy Drink and Motorsports NT.
We are stoked to have High Roller as the the official energy drink of the UGT. High Roller will be a great fit wth the tour, and in these tough economic times it is great t see an Australian company giving there support to the up and coming riders in the sport.
Motorsports NT have also stepped up and given there support, which is a real step outside the box for the RFDmx crew. The final round of the UGT, in Dili, East Timor, will feature FMX and a full day of MX racing, and Motorsports NT have come on board to help us get the Nothern Territories top riders over for the event.
RFDmx Welcomes both High Roller Energy and Motorsports NT to the tour, and thanks them for their support!
RFDmx’s Joe Sheppard has leapt to the top of the Freerider MX FMX Rider Of The Year Award standings after a solid third-place finish at the second round of the ConocoPhillips RFDmx Underground Tour on the weekend.
The RFDmx series’ current leader, Rhys Hillier, also boosted himself up into second place in the award standings after winning his second event in a row, shuffling South Australia FMX winner Steve Mini back to third place.
The next event that counts towards the FRMX ROTY Award is the third round of the RFDmx Underground Tour next weekend in Beaudesert, Qld.
FRMX FMX RIDER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
1. Joe Sheppard 180
2. Rhys Hillier 150
3. Steve Mini 150
4. Sam Balnaves 135
5. Cam Sinclair 132
6. Matt Lindores 126
7. Adam Bayard 123
8. Adam Grope 123
9. Joel Balchin 120
10. Truman Carroll 114
11. Michael Norris 108
12. Jason McGregor 96
13. Josh Sheehan 96
14. Brad Burch 90
15. Wayne Giblett 84
16. Todd Back 78
17. Brock Jones 60
18. Dylan Puckridge 60
19. Jake Thornycroft 54
20. Jessie Fairfull 54
21. Chris Peck 51
22. Tom Robinson 45
23. Luke Stojanovich 45
24. Lance Russell 39
25. Jimmy Grouse 33
26. Cam Sturtridge 30
2009 RFDmx/ConocoPhillips Underground Tour Results
Round two presented by Slide Premium Condoms
Rhys Hiller beats out a hungry pack of riders to make it two for two in 2009 by winning the Slide Condoms round two of the RFDmx/ConocoPhillips Underground Tour.
After steady rain the day the day before the event, the riders awoke to see the sun shining and Brock Jones’ course in Cooma, NSW, in pristine condition for the days riding.
Everyone was excited to get onto the course, and it showed in the riding with lots of new tricks being thrown by all the riders. Dirty Pumper rider Truman Carroll showed he meant business when he was the first rider on the course and immediately started throwing down some massive tricks and flip combos. Riding with Truman was 16 year old Jake Thornycroft, who was competing in his first ever FMX comp and was straight into it, hitting and tricking all the jumps on the course without hesitation.
Practice went down without accident, with all the riders enjoying the course put on by Jones family. “I had to drive over 20 hours to get here, but it makes it worth it when you have a course like this to ride” said South Australia’s Sam Balnaves, who is clocking up the miles while competing in the whole 2009 series.
The qualifying round had a lot of surprises, with Queensland’s Matt Lindores beating out the flippers to take the top spot. Balnaves, new RFDmx recruit Tom Robinson and compound owner Brock Jones all rode well but unfortunately missed the cut and were eliminated from the event.
With the first elimination round also came the wind, which made things very difficult for all the riders. The riders eliminated in this round included RFDmx’s Jesse Fairfull, Chris Peck, James Grouse, Adam Bayard, Lance Russell and Todd Back, who was riding the event just a day after popping the question the to his long time girlfriend, Brooke. It seemed to help his riding with a well deserved 7th place.
Unfortunately the wind became too much, and the decision was made to have a break and see how the weather would unfold. Luckily it was on our side and about an hour and a broken quickshade later, the semi finals were underway. After some close battles, Luke Stono, Jake Thornycroft, and in an upset, last week’s second place getter Truman Carroll were all left to crack a beer a watch the final unfold.
Joe Sheppard was the first rider out, and the Unit sponsored rider put down a solid run with his trademark whipped tricks and no mistakes. Rhys Hillier hit the course next, and threw down his best run of the day with a variation of right way up tricks and several flip combos over the various jumps. Top qualifier Matt Lindores was the last rider on the course, and threw down a run that included huge turndowns, massive extensions and his unique whipped seat grab indy as his final jump.
After the judges tallied up their scores, Hiller was announced the winner of the $1000 first place, courtesy of Slide Condoms. “I was coming here happy to just make the podium, so picking up another win is a bonus” Rhys said after the event. Second place went to Lindores, with Sheppard the final place on the podium.
The riders now have a weekend off before the series heads north for the two Queensland rounds, were the competition will heat up as they try to qualify for a position in the final, to be held in Dili, East Timor.
Thank you to our great series sponsors ConocoPhillips, Sloth Industries, Dirty Pumper, Slide Condoms and Greef Industries, whose support makes the series possible.
RFDmx/Conoco Phillips UGT, Round two presented by Slide Condoms results
2009 Overall Standings (after two of five rounds)
12. James Grouse – 11pts
Round Two Podium
Winner Rhys Hiller
Second Place Matt Lindores
Joe Sheppard
Cole, Brown and Rayner leave Australia
Three Aussie rippers, Matt Cole, FRMX 2008 FMX Rider Of The Year Joel Brown, and RFDmx founder Joel Rayner have all flown to Belgium today to start their new life as circus freaks.
The trio will stay in Belgium for a couple months training with the five other riders selected from around the world, then spend the next two years based on the super-swanky casino island of Macau, China performing as part of a Cirque De Soleil-type show in front of thousands of people.
"It's a pretty amazing opportunity for us," Joel Rayner told us over a beer on his last night in Australia. "Jimmy Verburgh, who runs the FMX4Ever team in Belgium, is the FMX advisor for the show, and we had a pretty intense auditioning process in May. Pretty much, the focus was on who can get along with everyone, and if you can back up a huge night on the piss with a quality FMX show, rather than the riding itself. I guess all my years of beer-training paid off!"
Once they get to China, everything will be laid on for the boys – they'll earn a six-figure annual income, get food allowances, get to live on The City Of Dreams, and generally just run amok when they're not riding in front of huge crowds of people.
At this stage all three have signed a two-year contract to ride the show, with the option to sign on year-on-year after that.
"It's going to be crazy," says Brown. "I'm really going to miss Vegemite, Australian beer and riding with my mates back home, but hopefully at the end of this chapter in my life I can buy my dream home back in Oz. It's always been a dream of mine to be able to ride full-time and make a decent living from it, and if I have to go overseas to do it, then that's what I have to do."
In Rayner's absence, Joe Sheppard has taken over the helm of the RFDmx team, and is organising the ConocoPhillips RFDmx Underground Tour for the next couple of years.
All the best over there, guys. Make sure you send postcards, because we're going to miss ya!
(Story from Freeridermx.com.au)
Well it's been a while since there was a addition to the family, but last weekend after the first round of the Conoco Philips RFDmx Underground tour it was decided that there were two young chargers who fitted the mould just right. And with the drinking of way too many beers Tom Robinson and Jessie Fairfull happly accepted thier life sentences to RFDmx... Welcome to the family guys. - Joel Rayner
Tom Robinson, 17yrs old, Temora NSW
Jessie Fairfull, 20yrs old, Goldcoast, QLD
