There’s something equally scary and intriguing about a motorcycle propelling 50 feet into the air inside an arena.
And after looking at the thousands in attendance, this feeling seemed equally spread across the spectators in the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. last weekend.
Talk about a stunt show…Gravity Slashers brought some intense freestyle motocross to the arena, along with some extra styles of riding; each rider putt on their best possible performance due to the show being the penultimate round of 26 nights of competition.
For the stunt savvy, the FMXers performed tricks such as Hart Attacks (not heart, but Hart for a trick named after Carey Hart!), Cliffhangers, Sterlizers, Tsunamis and the crowd-favorite backflip.
One rider, J.J. Roman of Flagstaff, Ariz., did four backflips in a row on two separate ramp-to-ramp setups with 65 feet of air in between to fill with stunts.
The Gravity Slashers show has one main focus: to bring ultimate awe to the spectators. But there is also some competition to create that drama edge to the sport.
But it’s not fierce, or point-based like motorcycle racing; the winner derives simply from the crowd’s pleasure.
And the winner at the Mohegan Sun show? No other than Justin Stoltzfus of Honey Brook, Pennsylvania…yes, he grew up about two hours from the venu
e.
But the star of the night from the cheering crowd was Romans of Flagstaff, Ariz., who appears to be the biggest showman of Gravity Slashers, making his entrance to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” wearing a pink helmet. The other competitors included Adam Cousino of Bristol, Vt., Ben Veyna of Las Vegas, Jason Rowe of Chicago, John Distler of Gilbert, Ariz., Paul Smith of Nova Scotia and Vince Morgan of St. Johns, Ariz.
The show didn’t consist of only high-flying action…riding a 150-lbs. Gas Gas 300 Pro, Trials rider Keith Wineland ran a good 10-minute display with some sickly-balanced tricks, all without ever placing a foot on the ground. And there was also a BMX show with some young riders equally awing the crowd as much as the Gravity Slashers themselves.
The next Gravity Slashers show, which will be the last of this tour, will be on April 10 in Omaha, Neb.
