July 15, 2010 – Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, site of the 1932 Olympic Games and birthplace of the sport of Supercross in 1972, is back in the mix for X Games 16! The grand old stadium takes center stage as the world’s best motocross racers battle for the gold on July 29-31. The Moto X Super X (formerly known as Moto X Racing) competition is set to include men’s, women’s and adaptive athlete classes. It all kicks off at the Coliseum, Thursday July 29 at 3pm. Tickets are only $16.
Officially known as the “Games Of The X Olympiad,” the historic stadium hosted the 1932 Summer Olympic Games. It also marked the first time in the history of the games that the now-traditional victory podium was utilized. Most importantly for Moto X fans is the fact that 38-years ago on July 8, 1972, a promising 16-year-old Southern California future champion Marty Tripes made history by flying to the top of the victory podium at the very first Super Bowl Of Motocross in front of 28,000 screaming fans, creating the entire Supercross phenomenon.
“How cool is it that we are returning to the birthplace of Supercross,” notes 6-time AMA national champ Broc Glover. Although he was best known as an outdoor MX racer rather than a Supercross specialist, “The Golden Boy” won 10 SX races in his career which placed him in the top 10 on the all-time SX win list. In fact, Glover won the final AMA Supercross race he ever competed in — the season finale at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1988! And this year Glover returns back to the site of that last SX win — this time in his role as Dunlop’s Senior Manager for off-road motorcycle tires.
“I oversee the overwhelming majority of riders who will be competing at X Games 16 in all motorcycle disciplines,” adds Glover. “Most likely 90% of the guys and gals competing in the motorcycle events will be on Dunlop… That’s how we roll!”
Glover was definitely on a roll during his racing days at the Coliseum… in 1980 he won both rounds of a two-day Supercross, and he won the 1984 Miller Masters at the LA Coliseum. Students of SX will still remember the shocking pink riding gear Glover busted out that day! “There have been some epic battles in the Coliseum and I expect the competition at X Games 16 to rank right up there,” concludes Glover.
In addition to the Moto X Super X competition, the stadium will also host the fastest event of X Games, Rally Car SuperRally in, and around, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum… including the infamous “peristyle jump” from the top of the historic entrance to the stadium floor! Above and beyond the high-flying motorized action, BMX Freestyle Big Air, Skateboard Big Air and Skateboard Big Air Rail Jam competition will also be housed at the same facility. The human-powered flights of fancy should rival the MX bikes as the athletes will be launching over massive 50- and 70-foot gaps into a 27-foot quarterpipe that has been specially constructed for X Games 16.
X Games 16 On TV
More than 20 hours of live X Games 16 programming will be shown on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC – all showcased in high-definition and airing July 29-August 1. Don’t forget X Games Online: ESPN International, Xgames.com, ESPN Classic, ESPN3.com, SportsCenter, and ESPN2’s X Center will also provide coverage. For additional X Games 16 info, go to www.xgames.com
