Dirty Corey

In Devon, England, the world’s best BMX riders competed for one of the most desirable prizes in BMX: the world’s first BMX dirt slopestyle title. Finally Australian Corey Bohan was crowned winner of Red Bull Empire of Dirt 2008.

After last year’s Red Bull Empire of Dirt was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, this year’s competition and course exceeded all expectations. Five-thousand spectators negotiated the tight lanes, flocking to a small field to witness the gravity defying tricks on the 400m long dirt-and-wood course. From the very first practice session all the way through to final on July 26 the standard has been sky high … just like many of the tricks.

Fantastic four

On July 25, 33 riders started the qualifiers; by the end of the day the number had been whittled down to an excited 16. The list of finalists read like a who’s who of the BMX world. In the Super Final it came down to just four men, and after one spectacular run each it was Aussie powerhouse Corey Bohan (92.67) narrowly beating US legend Gary Young (91.00). Another Australian, Dane Searle, grabbed third with 90.67, with event creator and Devon-local hero Kye Forte taking the last spot on the podium with a score of 86 after crashing on this run.

Risk and fun

Kye Forte said: ‘At this event I’m a rider and an event organiser so it was hard to juggle both, especially after qualifying first yesterday. On the start ramp, for the Super Final, there was a lot of pressure on me and I knew Corey, Gary and Dane were going to go full out to take top spot. I tried to step it up, took a risk, and crashed in my run but it was an amazing event and I’m really happy everyone had such a good time. It was rad.’

Tonnes of dirt

The construction of the Red Bull Empire of Dirt course took three months alone and it is the only one of its kind on the planet. The course required 10,000 tonnes of dirt to sculpt the huge dirt superpipe, massive double jumps, hip, wall rides, and the many other features, which have never before been combined.