X-Fighters Turkey cancelled due to heavy wind

The first-ever Red Bull X-Fighters event in Turkey was cancelled on Saturday due to heavy crosswinds that gusted up to 45km. The $1 million six-stop 2012 World Tour will thus be reduced to five stops.

“The number one priority for us is the safety of the athletes,” said Red Bull Sports Director Tes Sewell. “What the 12 best FMX riders do takes an incredible amount of skill and precision and it can be very dangerous when it goes wrong.”

Heavy winds had buffeted the location and repeatedly forced the cancellation of training sessions in recent days as well as Qualifying, which after several delays was scrapped on Saturday morning. Crew members had worked around the clock for several days to move the event location from the original site inside the Yedikule Dungeons after local authorities revoked their permits to an area just outside the castle near the seaside.

The next stop of the 2012 World Tour will be in Madrid on July 20 at the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas. The tour then moves on to Munich, Germany on August 11 before concluding in Sydney, Australia on October 6.