Slaw Dog
In September, nine of the best freeride motocross riders will once again take to the rolling hills and backlands of Kansas for the return of Red Bull Imagination. The expanded rider roster will see both former riders and event rookies at Red Bull Imagination 2021, the groundbreaking freeride motocross competition dreamt up by Tyler Bereman and brought to life by Jason Baker of Dream Traxx. The riders will bring their dirt bike visions to life in the ultimate four-day “expression session,” with the most creative lines getting rewarded in a timed competition on the final day.
In the vein of consistently pushing the evolution of freeride, the bespoke life-sized “playground” course will debut expanded features and new concepts that move away from the confines of racing and traditional freestyle motocross. Riders returning for Red Bull Imagination 2021:
- Leading freeride motocross rider and 10-time X Games medalist Tyler Bereman
- 2021 X Games Gold medalist, nine-time X Games overall medalist Colby Raha
- Motocross’s jack-of-all-trades, the Generalist himself Ryan Sipes
- 2021 X Games Gold medalist, four-time X Games overall medalist Tom Parsons
- Pro Supercross and Motocross star Cole Seely comes out of retirement (again)
- Four-time X Games medalist and World Record Holder Vicki Golden
- Former AMA Supercross/Motocross rider Darryn Durham
Riders competing for the first time:
- Former AMA Supercross/Motocross rider and current freeride motocross rider Josh Hill
- X Games medalist Jimmy Hill
The Red Bull Imagination course draws heavy inspiration from other slopestyle action sports and has features freeriders can find all over the world. The event will see rider’s session riding and familiarizing themselves with the course features the first several days and will culminate with a final competition day. Each rider will get a chance to showcase the most visionary line they see for a panel of legendary judges including Robbie Madison, Jeremy ‘Twitch’ Stenberg and Steve Haughelstine.
The format will be quite different from last year’s timed and scored runs. The removal of the start and finish lines from this year’s event are sure to emphasize and up level the competition by allowing riders to attack the wide variety of course features however they desire. The three distinct feature zones are:
- Technical Jib Section – snowboard-style jib section, including a wallride and hip that riders can hit in opposite directions at the same time
- The Transfer Zone – supercross-inspired transfer with skatepark vibes, providing a clean slate for riders to express themselves on myriad line combos
- Big Dawg Section – a spine feature on the side of the quarterpipe so riders can get more creative in that space, with options to use the landing from all directions
While the scoring rubrics are still being finalized, the key judging criteria will be based on the riders’ creativity in carving their own unique line. The champion will be determined by the total of the three scores each rider earns. Red Bull Imagination 2021 is supported by Bereman’s partners Fasthouse and 100%.
All the action can be followed via an exclusive behind-the-scenes series, launching September 14 on Red Bull Motorsports YouTube and Red Bull TV. Catch up on all the action from last year’s Red Bull Imagination by visiting https://www.redbull.com/us-en/projects/imagination.
