 Red Bull X-Fighters World Series, 2010 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
Nickname | Rubber Kid[1] |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Born | (1991-10-22)22 October 1991 (age 34) Palmerston North, New Zealand |
| Education | Palmerston North Boys' High School |
| Occupation | Freestyle motocross rider |
| Years active | 2002-2020 |
| Other interests | BMX,golf,remote control cars,snowboarding[2] |
| Sport | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sport | Motocross Freestyle motocross |
Events | |
Medal record | |
| Updated on 19 July 2017 | |
Levi Sherwood (born 22 October 1991) is a retiredfreestyle motocross rider from New Zealand, nicknamed "rubber kid".[3]
Sherwood was born inPalmerston North, New Zealand, attendingPalmerston North Boys' High School.[4] Starting out inmotocross racing, he followed in the footsteps of his father Dave Sherwood, who was a professionalspeedway racer. Sherwood's love for speed and adrenaline translated into his move to freestyle motocross. He started ridingmotorbikes at the age of 4. At 12 years old he was invited to ride on theCrusty Demons Australasian tour, giving him a taste of professional freestyle.[5]
In March, Sherwood was in theUnited States negotiating a sponsorship deal withRed Bull when a rider withdrew from the X-Fighters series, backed by the drinks company. He was offered the unexpected chance to fill in.[6] At age 17, Sherwood competed in his first professional event and clinically beat the best riders in the world in front of 42,000, winning the opening round of theRed Bull X-Fighters inMexico.[7] He rode a KX450F, the only four-stroke that had ever been seen in at the huge competition. He qualified fourth and had arguably the hardest run to the finals. In the quarterfinals he beatNorwegian legend André Villa, then shocked the world when he closed out 2008 defending championMat Rebeaud in the semifinals. Sherwood then metJapan's Eigo Sato in the finals, but Sato was simply no match.[8]
A starting place for the following Red Bull X-Fighters event inCanada followed. Despite not being able to repeat his debut win, Sherwood established himself as one of the top riders on the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2009 with solid performances and including another podium finish, coming second inEngland.[9]
Sherwood won silver in the Moto X Freestyle final of theX Games XVI inLos Angeles. The field started with sixteen riders and carved back to the top four point scorers for three run final. Sherwood at the age of just 18 and the onlyNew Zealander at the games, finished with 79 points from the best two scores of three rides, one point behindTravis Pastrana of the United States. Pastrana had locked up the gold before his final run when Sherwood was unable to catch up with his third round.[10]
His sixth place in the overall standings in 2009 got him qualified for the 2010 season, and Sherwood was one of the five guys to battle for the title that year. Everything seemed to work in Sherwood's favor with a win in Moscow, and another victory in London, but then he crashed badly at the ASA World Championships of FMX inPomona, California. He found himself with a dislocated wrist and badly broken femur.[11] The injuries forced him out of the final battle inItaly and Sherwood watched the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour finale on television.
Later that year it was confirmed that Sherwood, would ride alongside FMX legend Travis Pastrana and the entire Nitro Circus crew for their huge one night only show atNorth Harbour Stadium on February 5, 2011. Thus being Sherwood's first ever Nitro Circus Live performances.[12]
| World Tour | Entrant | Moto | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | KTM | KTM 250SX |  | X | X | X | X | X | – | – |
| 4 | ||||||||||
| 2015 | KTM | KTM 250SX |  |  | |  |  | X | 185 | 5th |
 | 8 | | -- | -- | ||||||
| 2014 | KTM | KTM 250SX | |  | |  | | X | 270 | 2nd |
 | |  | | -- | ||||||
| 2013 | KTM | KTM 250SX | | |  | | | | 225 | 5th |
| | -- | 5 | 6 | -- | |||||
| 2012 | KTM | KTM 250SX | | |  | | |  | 335 | 1st |
| 7 | -- | | 6 | | |||||
| 2011 | KTM | KTM 250SX | |  |  | |  | | 180 | 7th |
| 5 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | | |||||
| 2010 | KTM | KTM 250SX | |  |  | |  | | 290 | 4th |
| 7 | 5 | | 5 | | -- | |||||
| 2009 | Kawasaki | Kawasaki KX450F | |  | | | | X | 210 | 6th |
| 7 | -- | -- | |
| World Games | FMX | Stadia | Host | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freestyle | Best trick | |||
| 2016 Nitro World Games | | -- | Rice-Eccles Stadium | Salt Lake City |
| 2017 Nitro World Games | | -- | Rice-Eccles Stadium | Salt Lake City |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Incumbent | TransWorld Motocross Awards: FMX Rookie of the Year 2009 | Succeeded by Incumbent |
