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The King has been crowned. On Saturday the 4th February the King of the Whip Best Whip competition presented by LW Mag and Monster Energy in association with Fox, DC Shoes, VonZipper, Motul and Dirt Bike Life took place at Biker’s Warehouse in Northriding, Johannesburg. It was Alastair Sayer that wowed the judges and the 3000 strong fans to take the title.
Twenty of the country’s top motocross and freestyle motocross riders went head to head to battle it out for the King of the Whip title. A rider introduction train kicked off proceedings and gave the crowd a small taste of what was about to be witnessed. A massive 20-metre long landing gave riders the opportunity to push their limits resulting in one of the most exciting and closely fought whip contests ever seen.
Split into four 15-minute jam sessions, riders had the opportunity to showcase their whip skills for the judges and fans. The judges, three two-wheeled motorsport legends – Nick de Wit (FMX), Ian Topliss (MX) and Brent Le Riche (Trails), had the hard task on their hands of eliminating riders into a ten man final. Riders were judged on style, amplitude and variation. Top placed whip champ, Chad Taylor, was on top form throwing some of the biggest whips of the competition. Unfortunately Chad crashed in his qualifying round and sustained a concussion forcing him out of the event.
Event host, Nick Clarke (Canadian pro Freestyle Mountain Biker) kept fans informed throughout the event, while DJ Grimehouse entertained from behind the decks. The gorgeous Monster Energy girls were also on hand with their t-shirt cannon, shooting prizes into the crowd.
7:00pm saw the ten finalists take to the course, the last chance to huck their best whips possible before being eliminated into the final four. An insane display of the biggest whips ever seen on African soil resulted in 15 minutes of adrenaline fuelled mayhem.
Then we were left with four. Danny Lailvaux, Dallan Goldman, Jason Hannan and Alastair Sayer impressed the judges the most securing their slot in the last part of the final. Each rider was given five jumps, five more chances to claim the title. Each with their own style and variation of whips made for an extremely close and exciting final. It was Alastair Sayer who proved to be the best and clinched the crown and title as ‘King of the Whip’ 2017, and took home R10 000 in cash prize money. Danny Lailvaux followed in 2nd with Dallan Goldman finishing closely in 3rd, Jason Hannan rounded off the top four.
King of the Whip organiser, Ryan van der Spuy said “A lot of time and effort went into making this event possible and it paid off! All expectations were exceeded resulting in a massively successful event. I cannot thank the sponsors, everyone involved and the fans enough. The riders put everything on the line and rode their hearts out – this event is for them. Now, it’s time to start planning the next one, we’ll see you all soon”.
Photos by Eric Palmer
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