Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Las Vegas Extremes video star Paul “Pauly” Sherer won the first-ever XSBA (Xtreme Sport Bike Assn.) stunt competition in front of a very appreciative crowd at Pocono International Raceway during the Sunday lunchbreak of last weekend’s Formula USA National Road Race Series weekend at Pocono. For his efforts, Sherer was dubbed the “King of Pocono” and won $1100.

The XSBA stunt competition was modeled after the highly-successful freestyle motocross jump competitions held by Clear Channel Motorsports (formerly known as SFX Motorsports and before that, PACE Motorsports). Contestants were invited based on submitted video resumes, proving their abilities as stunt riders. Some of the 13 contestants were teenagers with little more than one year of riding experience, but the show was not the amateur hour that many expected it to be.

Each competitor was given a one-minute warm-up in front of the crowd, followed by three minutes to perform as many stunts as possible within set boundaries on the front straightaway at Pocono. Each competitor scored between 5-100 points awarded by a panel of judges and was then given an average score. Meanwhile, announcers tried to call the action, making up names for new stunts as they went along.

The preliminaries were held Saturday evening at the conclusion of the F-USA road racing activities. The 13 entries made their performances and the top eight were invited back for the finals on Sunday at lunchtime. Although the program needed polishing on Saturday evening, XSBA Director Cliff Nobles and his staff made improvements to the competition on Sunday.

Sherer won with a routine that included “nac-nac” wheelies, a “Christ-switchback” (standing backwards on the gas tank with arms extended), a footpegs-to-tank jump called an “elevator”, a reverse handstand dropped into skiing behind the bike with one hand, laying backwards on the bike face-down, and high-speed “bulldogging” (skiing beside the motorcycle).

Sherer not only won for his selection of tricks, but also for smooth execution, choreography and presentation. From the winner’s circle, Sherer thanked the fans, XSBA and Clear Channel Entertainment “for giving us a safe place to do this and not ride dangerously on the street.”

Loose Riders’ Kevin Calo, from nearby Newark, New Jersey, took second but was the fan favorite for exploding his rear tire in a burnout during the preliminaries and dropping and standing on his Honda CBR900RR at the end of each routine.

Matt Blankstrom of Grand Rapids, Michigan finished third thanks to a combination trick where he jumped from his seat to the tank, spun around in circles on his bottom on the tank, wheelied with his feet over the windshield, and went straight into a one-handed stoppie with his feet over the windshield.

XSBA’s Nobles called the event “wildly successful” and said he plans to make the stunt competition a stand-alone event even though it seemed to work well in conjunction with the F-USA National Road Race Series.

For more information on XSBA go to www.xsba.com.