Birmingham, UK - National Indoor Arena

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Trucks: USHRA Monster Trucks including Grave Digger, Iron Man, Monster Mutt dalmatian, Disney XD, Captain's Curse, and Swamp Thing. Also featuring Freestyle Motocross.


Friday 7:30

It was the first time ever in the UK that the Monster Jam Freestyle Mania has taken place. The great fans of Birmingham were the first to witness this exciting action. The results were in favor of Grave Digger and Captains Curse who came out on top as winners again this week. The difference was they had to fight harder for their wins because of the addition of Dan Evans in Disney XD.

Evans fought hard in the Disney XD truck and took second in the Wheelie contest, third in the Maniac challenge, Donuts and Freestyle. In all, every truck was in it to win it especially against Charlie Paukin and Grave Digger. Honestly, I don't see that happening to easily as Paukin has been on a role ever since Las Vegas and doesn't want to give it up any time soon. Tonight proved to be one of those nights and you can see by the results.

The night started off with the Wheelie contest and Swampthing started us off with three excelent wheeli's scoring 14 to open the round. From there it seem like a ladder as each truck scored higher and higher as they came out. Dalmatian scored next a 15 followed by Captain's Curse with a 17 then on to Ironman who took the lead with a 19. Disney XD took the lead away with three awesome wheelies and a score of 21 only to be out done by Grave Digger who won the event with a score of 27.

Here are the scores from the rest of the competitions:
Maniac Challenge Doughnuts Freestyle
Grave Digger 19.57 winner 17 25
Disney XD 22.97 2o 22
Captains Curse 24.00 24 winner 23
Monster Mutt D 23.16 19 19
Ironman 22.15 21 23
Swamp Thing 26.37 8 16

All of the Freestyle riders amazed the crowd with their high flying tricks when it was time for the Freestyle Mania jam session and the fans wanted more. I can't wait until tomorrow as it too is my first time to see Monster Jam Freestyle Mania.

Saturday 1:00pm

Freestyle Mania is a hit in the UK. The fans love all aspects of the show and how different it is from the normal Monster Jams. It is amazing the talent and level of competition there is from all of the performers and each one feeds off of the crowd to give the fans an amazing show.

Today's winners were Grave Digger in the Wheelie contest beating out Ironman by three points. Digger continued his quest to win all four events by having the fastest time in the Maniac Challenge with another sub twenty time. It was not until the Donut contest until Alex Blackwell knocked off the Black and Green Wrecking machine with a perfect score of 30. Grave Digger scored a 29 for his performance which was spectacular. Charlie Paukin had the most amazing reverse move from one direction to the other without lifting on the throttle which is about impossible and the first time in eight years that I have seen it done. WOW! Grave Digger went on to defend his title as freestyle champion with a winning score of 29

Here are the results:
Wheelie Maniac Challenge Doughnuts Freestyle
Grave Digger 28 winner 19.19 winner 29 27
Disney XD 23 23.50 23 22
Captains Curse 22 22.35 30 winner 24
Ironman 25 24.50 23 22
Monster Mutt D. 18 22.35 19 21
Swamp Thing 16 25.97 5 14

Sunday 1:00

Sunday 1:00
Grave Digger continued his reign of Freestyle Mania champion as he again swept the field and won three out of the four events. Captains Curse was the only truck to take the Doughnut competition away from the Black and Green Wrecking Machine. Alex Black well also broke his own cyclone record with an astonishing 49 revolutions for his performance beating his previous record which was 48.
Some of todays highlights came in the wheelie contest when Iron Man hit three awesome wheelies in a row and seemed to be on the way to a victory. But Grave Digger took it away with an amazing wheelie to slap wheelie to another wheelie as he hit the last stack of cars. You had to be there trust me it was awesome. Captains Curse had a great freestyle going until he sky wheelied it over the double car stack and caught the rear tire and rolled him over faster than you could say OH NO! Here are todays results.
Wheelies Maniac Challenge Doughnuts Freestyle
Grave Digger 30 winner 18.53 winner 24 27 winner
Disney XD 25 24.69 21 21
Captains Curse 22 22.06 30 winner 18
Iron Man 25 27.84 18 Broke
Monster Mutt D. 17 31.29 16 9
Swamp Thing 16 39.12 17 10

It is amazing to see the reaction of the U.K. fans when they see so many different types of freestyle in one show. When the Monster Trucks came out one by one for each competition the fans waved and clapped each time for the Trucks and never stopped. Durring the Jam session they never stood up like the fans in the U.S. but contently watched in awe. At the end of the show they all stood and gave a standing ovation as if it were a play or concert that they were watching, but in the end they truly appreciated the true performance of what Freestyle Mania is all about. Mission acomplished I would say!

Saturday 6:30

Saturday 6:30
Third show for the weekend and the fans keep filling the National Indoor Arena to near capacity to cheer on their favorite Freestyle competitor. Grave Digger was again victorious as Paukin won the Wheelie contest, Maniac Challenge and Freestyle. Captains Curse again took the Doughnut trophy with a 41 revolution cyclone that went on and on. The crowd was also on their feet during the Freestyle Mania Jam session. Every rider did a phenominal job entertaining the fans with amazing tricks off the freestyle ramps.
One more show Sunday afternoon and it already looks like a full crowd will be on hand. Some other highlights tonight was the close times that Iron Man had against Grave Digger in the Maniac Challenge. For the past two weeks Lee O'donnel has been trying to figure out how to beat Grave Digger in this competition. Lee is known for racing and ran a 20.48 second run only to take second to Digger who had a 19.84. We will find out tomorrow how much closer he can get to his first possible victory. Disney XD