Red Bull Epic Rise, an “all uphill” challenge

Red Bull Epic Rise – 75 scooters battled it out on Saturday 17 September to win the Red Bull Epic Rise. The crazy challenge on the "Ciglione" crossdrome track at Malpensa (Varese) saw the fierce pilots trying to reach the top of a 50 meter climb, riding the racing cars developed for the occasion.

Only a few have succeeded in the feat, conquering the title of "Epic Rider" with accelerator strokes, in front of the watchful eye of the jury, made up of the eight-time motocross world champion Tony Cairoli, Tamara Molinaro, considered the future pink of the Italian rally and the stuntbiker and YouTuber Andrea Pirillo. Mattia Pavani from Lodi with his Peugeot STR, after conquering the climb of the Arena Motorparty in Clusone in 2015, dominated the Rigged category for the second consecutive year, reserved for single-cylinder and automatic clutch mopeds with original chassis and a maximum of 75 cc. Second and third place respectively went to the Tuscan Alessio Gorelli (49,4 metres) and the Varese Davide Gasparini (47,5 metres).

Leader of the Proto class, which included handcrafted scooters created from scratch with a maximum displacement of 100 cc, 2WD, automatic clutch only, the pilot Peter Diulgheroff, riding his vehicle created by mounting a heat-welded homemade engine on the base of an old Piaggio Sì. The Piedmontese completed the ascent in 12,77 seconds, ensuring victory over the second place, Gianluca Biganzoli from Varese, who reached the 50 meter mark with a time of 14,72 seconds. On the third step of the podium was Andrea Caccianiga from Milan, who just missed the top by a few centimeters. The Stock section, new to the 2016 edition, saw the competition between single-cylinder and automatic clutch two-wheelers which maintained the original chassis and a maximum of 65 cc. Francesco Dodi (1st place – 45 metres), Riccardo Decanis (2nd place – 40,50 meters) and Lorenzo Magnani (3rd place – 39,9 metres) recorded the best performances in the category.

The top three riders in each class, Tricked, Proto and Stock, will fly to Madrid to attend the Red Bull X-Fighters 2017, the most prestigious event in the world dedicated to freestyle motocross. The prizes offered by Vibram, partner of the event, are reserved for the second and third place winners. The exceptional judges Tony Cairoli, Tamara Molinaro and Andrea Pirillo, who carefully observed the two heats of the race, awarded Dario Cauduro the special “Epic Moped” prize for the most imaginative and creative scooter of the event. Also worth mentioning is the recognition of the only female participant Chiara Riganti who, competing in the Make-up category, reached the 37 meter mark of the very steep Ciglione climb with determination and tenacity.