Last Saturday, an event took place that stirred passions among motorsports fans. Monster Jam 2016 arrived in Madrid, and we could feel it from the moment we saw the preparations . This year it came loaded with new features and 10 protagonists ready to give it their all on the sand to win. They were El Toro Loco, Scooby-Doo, Monster Energy, El Diablo, Blue Thunder, Monster Mutt Dalmatian, Captain's Course, Son Uva Digger, Max-D, and Grave Digger.
Before the show, many fans flocked to the Pit Party . This is an effective way to bring the public closer to the trucks and drivers. From 15:30 PM to 17:30 PM, the Vicente Calderón Stadium opened its doors to a portion of the public, giving them the opportunity to stroll around the arena. There, they could take photos with their favorite monster trucks and even get autographs from the drivers.
But this 'party' was short-lived, giving way to the main event : Monster Jam. It kicked off with the speed test , a competition where drivers faced off in pairs, completing two laps of the improvised circuit. Two vehicles were eliminated in qualifying, as only the eight fastest times advanced. Following this came the elimination rounds , thrilling head-to-head battles leading up to the final.
The semifinals brought together the four fastest cars of the afternoon: Blue Thunder, Grave Digger, Monster Energy, and Son Uva Digger. After two close matches, the final pitted Blue Thunder against Son Uva Digger, with the 'blue thunder' emerging victorious, having dominated every round. Driver Todd Leduc accepted the first prize of the night and showed his appreciation to the fans by climbing into the stands and giving it away to the spectators.
There was a short break to continue preparing for the evening and the monster trucks. Upon returning, we witnessed a small freestyle motocross demonstration , this time performed by two-wheeled vehicles. Eight professional riders tackled two moving ramps, leaving some in awe with their spectacular tricks. Of course, a few backflips were also thrown in to get the crowd pumped up.
After this, the four-wheeled stars returned with a new competition: the 'donuts' . And that's exactly what it was about: drifting in circles as smoothly as possible. The key factors were returning to the starting position, speed, and the number of turns. They also competed in pairs, and this time the audience chose the winner by making as much noise as possible.
Max-D had something special planned for us tonight. Two of his vehicles were on the track that night, and one of them was to perform a stunt we hadn't seen before. The driver had to fly through a stack of eight cars , and the crowd cheered him on enthusiastically. After getting a running start, Max-D would jump and mercilessly crash into the stacked vehicles, passing through them without any problem.
After that came the icing on the cake, the most important and eagerly awaited competition: Freestyle . In this event, each rider would have 90 seconds (60 + 30 additional) to perform as many jumps and tricks as they wanted. The performance would be scored by the judges from 1 to 10, with the lowest and highest scores being dropped, so riders could obtain a maximum of 40 points . A specialist judge scored the 30 seconds of additional time from 1 to 5.
Monster Mutt Dalmatian started with a score of 27 points, which was soon overshadowed by Monster Energy , who set a high bar with 36 points. Next up was Captain's Course , who delivered a very complete performance and kicked things off with backflips. He came up short and ended up upside down, having to tow the car, but still managed to score 28 points.
El Toro Loco arrived eager to put on a show, but his car broke down due to a mechanical failure—a real shame. It was Blue Thunder 's turn , and he was looking to repeat his victory. He took first place with 38 points and a great sequence of jumps. Scooby-Doo then entered the arena , but he couldn't keep up with the other competitors and finished with a score of 29 points.
El Diablo brought the excitement back with another backflip attempt. However, it ended the same way as the previous one, and he couldn't complete the rotation. They removed his monster truck from the track, awarding him 31 points. The most charismatic pilots arrived, and Son Uva Digger proved he was a worthy successor. His flights were many meters long, and he made the most of his performance until, during a landing, one of his axles broke, leaving him without a wheel. Even so, he took first place with 39 points for his bravery.
Next up was Max-D , another promising talent who was doing well until he flipped over after one of his jumps, his car catching fire to the delight of the crowd. All eyes were on the legend, Grave Digger, who went all out, but his performance was cut short by an unexpected rollover. The evening ended with Ryan Anderson being crowned Freestyle Champion, repeating the title he had won the previous week in Barcelona.
