Red Bull Fuel + Fury, The Final Chapter:
“Big Air” Soars to Big Win as Video Segment Judged Best Overall by the public
ANCHORAGE, AK (April 16, 2006) – Shortly after the stroke of midnight, the final public votes from across the country were tallied at the historic 4th Avenue Theater, and Chris Burandt (Kremmling, Colo.) and his videographer, Rich Van Every (Carlsbad, Calif.), hoisted their moose antler first-place trophy above their heads, bringing the curtain down on the Red Bull Fuel + Fury backcountry freestyle snowmobile video competition. The duo won the “Best Overall Segment” prize, along with $7,000, with their entry “My Hot Pocket Sponsor Me Video.”
“I’m feeling really good,” said Burandt, who also won the 2005 Red Bull Fuel + Fury in Milwaukee. “It was about teamwork. Rich and I put a lot of effort into our video. We were the first ones into the editing rooms and the last to leave, and it showed.”
ALASKA AS THEIR PLAYGROUND
From Sunday, April 9 to Thursday, April 13, sixteen teams of the world’s best freestyle snowmobilers and videographers spent their days riding and shooting in the majestic Alaskan backcountry at locations ranging from nearby Turnagain Arm to Valdez, some six hours south. When the sun set, the teams headed to their editing rooms – some until the sun rose – to produce their two- to four-minute original video segments.
The teams had one last chance to add content to their videos at Friday’s Red Bull Fuel + Fury jam session at Alyeska Resort. The riders threw down their best tricks on a sprawling natural terrain course, built by SCS Racing, in front of an enthusiastic crowd. In a sign of things to come, “Big Air” Burandt went big in his two runs and was voted the winner of the jam session, and $5,000, by top snocross racer Levi Lavallee, Zach Kirk of HMK and his fellow riders. After the jam session ended, the teams charged back to the editing rooms to meet the 11:59 p.m. video submission deadline, at which time the videos were digitized and posted online.
“This is such a unique event for not only the riders but for the filmers,” said Van Every, winner of the 2006 X-Dance best picture award. “I’m so proud to be a part of this competition. It was a lot of fun to feel the pressure of competition by having to make our video in a week.”
–EDITOR’S NOTE: Hi-res images are available at www.redbull-photofiles.com.
Red Bull Fuel and Fury, the final chapter 2006 – Part II
SCS would also like to extend our best to those riders who got hurt during the event. Unfortunately when you have this many athletes pushing themselves to new levels injuries are always a potential, and unfortunately some injuries took place. We appreciate what you have accomplished and what you will accomplish for years to come.
An event like Fuel and Fury comes along only so often, an event that from conception just makes sense. Fuel and Fury put together all the major driving factors in the snowmobile industry: Red Bull, Slednecks, and SCS. With this A-Team and some of the best snowmobilers Red Bull and company killed it in Jackson, Wy. Millwlkee WI. and now Alaska. Red Bull Fuel and Fury the final chapter brought everything together and sealed the deal with a loud and expressive exclamation point. The idea was to invite sixteen of the best snowmobilers to participate in a two-part competition. The first half: a full out backcountry assault with cinemaographers in tow. The second part of the comp: a freestyle throw down taken to new levels.
These chosen athletes along with their chosen cinematographers were required to work with limited time and resources for the first week and head off into the last great frontier and put together a 4-5 minute segment. This first part of the competition was amazing to witness, putting together the best riders with industry leading videographers with an absolute empty palette some amazing work was accomplished. The first week had its challenges but overall the riding and filming that took place was proof that the best were present. As many of the cinematographers were putting the last touches on their individual segments the riders headed up towards Glacier Bowl at Alyeska Ski Resort with bluebird skies above, a glaring Turnagain inlet behind and ahead of them was the sickest most elaborate freestyle course built to date. Steve Miller organized his own A-team of course builders that consisted of Eric (Junior) Heaps and Josh Lemperts (Snow Grind) and Jess Alberi. Together this crew groomed under the moon and northern lights for 5 long nights, and built a freestyle course for the riders that consisted of anywhere between 60 to 160 ft hits. Steve and company blew away everyone that laid eyes on the course first thing Friday morning.
The Freestyle playground was big, and with time the riders started stepping up and with the helicopter capturing everything from above put together some insane runs of big airs, whips and amazing creativity.
Red Bull Fuel and Fury 06 was a collaborative effort from many amazing teams such as Highline Productions, Freeride, Red Bull and SCS. The snowmobiling industry is filled with some very professional athletes that are helping take this sport to the next level, SCS Thanks you.
Have a Question?
