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IFMA Freestyle Motocross Fall Series Rounds 9-10: Selland Arena that included a huge cliffhanger, a nothing Superman and a no-hander lander. First out in the finals was Caleb Wyatt, who started off well, but hit the arena wall on his third jump and was done for the night. Brian Downing came out and did some whipped nacnacs and "Superman" variations, but was unable to get a trick off on each jump. Matt Buyten took the hot seat away from Wyatt with a solid run, but his time was limited. Jesse Olson continued to be a nice surprise by completing a very respectable final run thai included nearly every Superman and can-can variation and finished with a no-hander lander. Next came the big boys. Jones really got the crowd hyped with huge tricks like his patented coffin and kiss STORY 6- PHOTOS BY EDDIE GRAVELINE/ WWW.MOTOPRESS.NET SATURDAY FRESNO, CA, OCT. 5-6 oing into the second half of the IFMA Series, several riders have a realistic shot at the title. In the driver's seat is Dustin Miller, the diminutive Arizonan with a penchant for perfect execution of the most technical tricks in the sport. Hot on his heels are Nate Adams and Jake Windham, last year's IFMA champion. Surprisingly, Windham has never won an IFMA event, but his consistency keeps him in or near the points lead at all times. "Mad" Mike Jones has also been riding quite a few of the events, and with several rounds remaining, he could very realistically make a run from his current position of fifth in the series points. When the series caravan rolled into Fresno, the second- and fourth-place points-sitters (Adams and Drake McElroy, respectively) were AWOL, replaced by a couple lesser-known riders (and one complete unknown) who nonetheless drove the crowd. Everyone knew that Miller, Windham and Jones would be exciting, but Jesse Olson, Caleb Wyatt and Matt Buyten rode very well both nights. Really impressive, however, was Kornel Nemeth, on a mission all the way from Budapest, Hungary. After Fresno, he won't be an unknown again. There was limited floor space in the basketball/hockey venue, and the less experienced riders had a hard time with the short distances between Night two's qualifying rounds were quite familiar, as seven of the eight riders that made the Friday finals did so again (the only change was that Brian Foster made it instead of Brian Downing). First out was Wyatt, who's famous for attempting a backflip a few months ago. His solid two-minute run featu red a Lazy Boy a nd severa I Superman variations, as well as a nice nac-nac, and he earned an 82.0point score. Foster ran next, but didn't get tricks off on several jumps and failed to remove Wyatt. Jesse G 60 OCTOBER 24. 2001 • cue • of death, as well as a kiss of death Indian air combination and a suicide no-handed landing, putting him in the hot seat. Nemeth assaulted the tiny arena with a full menu of tricks, among them a perfectly executed Saran Wrap-to-nac-nac combination, and scored a 91.09 that left Jones in the hot seat. Miller pulled all kinds of variations and combinations, including the more technical tricks (like an impressive cordova) that the IFMA judges seem to value, and when his 93.0-point score was announced, the Jones fans were disappotnted. Miller, however, has clearly figured out what the judges are looking. Windham was the only one with a shot at dethroning Miller, and he rode an action-packed two-minute final run that began with a Lazy Boy, continued with a switchblade can-can, an Indian air, a nac-nac, a pendulum and a giant kiss of death, and ended with a Hart attack. In the end, the judges stayed with Miller's technical prowess and only awarded Windham a 92.5. the corners and the ramps, although those with more experience had less trouble adapting. FRIDAY The top-three qualifiers were easy to pick on the first night, as Miller, Windham and Jones came out and delivered very clean runs. Miller stuck all of the technical tricks, while Jones and Windham got the crowd going with the biggest ones. When the tall, lanky Nemeth came out (With his visor on backward), the fans seemed to collectively ask, "Who's this?" but as soon as he started his run, it was apparent that he had it. The Hungarian daredevil ripped off an amazing qualifying run • n e ..., lIS Brian Downing made the final on Friday night with bicks such as this huge no-legged Can Can.