THE FIRST EVER BIKE LIFE GRAND PRIX

Monster Energy flipped the script with the Bike Life Grand Prix, a first-of-its-kind championship designed to showcase the raw talent, creativity and community spirit of the Bike Life movement in a professional setting – turning passion into profession and developing street culture into sport.

Welcome to the first ever Bike
Life Grand Prix. This is a brand new motorsport format bringing together some of the most talented street riders in the world with a brand new competition format to find out who is the best of the best. My name’s Andrew Coley, this
is One Wheel Wavy. What’s up then, Andrew? Oh, good man. Are we gonna make this hard
for these guys? Bike Life GP is about to humble
a lot of these riders. They’re used to the culture,
not the competition. So today’s the day that we’ll
show the world what Bike Life’s really about. Let’s get things underway. Welcome to Greece. All right, let’s break it down. This is not your average motorsport
competition. First thing you need to know
is it’s everything in the Bike Life Grand Prix has got to be done in the
back wheel, Wavy. Yeah, correct. So imagine Moto GP but on one wheel. So if the boys drop their front wheel, it’s a five second penalty. Now the first bit, qualifying, it’s gonna be really tricky with
that rule in place. Two barrels, they’re riding
pursuit style, opposite directions, we are timing them. They wanna get a good time, but
there’s the risk factor. Yeah, so it’s gonna be a decision that the boys have to work
out the strategy, whether they wanna go fast
and get it done, but risk dropping the wheel, or they could do the slow and
steady wins the race kind of vibe and who knows, but we’ll see when we get out there. We will indeed. Now slow and steady is not gonna put them at the top of the grid, and of course the fastest times
get into the best Heat race the following day. Four Heat races, five riders
in each race, the top two from each of those
go straight through. That leaves us with 12 great riders that haven’t made the cut. So two last chance qualifiers, the winners of each of that will
give us our 10 finalists. The 10 best riders in theory
from Bike Life, then we’re gonna mix it up and
make it even harder. They’ve gotta do a hand drag
or a fender scrape on the front straight in the
middle of the race. Yeah, so this is gonna be something that the riders have to make
sure they remember, because if they forget to do it, or they don’t do it and they miss it, it’s a straight DNF, disqualification. There we go. I think it’s about time we met
some of these riders. Bikelife is my life, man. Save my life, I created my life. I ride the Bike Life all the
weekend when I can. For me, Bikelife is a lifestyle. It’s our life. It’s our culture. It’s our dream. It’s freedom. If something goes bad, I get on my bike, everything disappears. Soon as your on that bike, all problems… everything goes away. Where we’re from in London, there’s a lot of gang violence, and when you ride bikes, it brings
everyone together. Whatever problems we got with each other, we just put it away and
we ride our bikes. When I’m riding on my bike,
I’m just happy. It’s literally like you’re flying. Bike Life, it’s a discipline. It’s life. That’s the end of full stop
at the end of that. Bike Life is life. Good vibes only, good vibes only. It’s an honor for me that
I am painting here, and I’m waiting to see how this couch is gonna work at the end here. Yeah, I think it’s like
a marriage for me. I think it’s the same thing, you know, with different visual, but it’s the same. I think it’s all from the vibe
that I have around me. You know, when I have the music
and everything, I bring the streets in everything I do. Onto qualifying then for the first ever Bike Life Grand Prix. Three barrels, a start line
in the middle, the rider’s have to wheelie off the line and then make it around the hairpin bend and back to the line, crucially,
on the back wheel. What’s gonna be key to getting
this done, Wavy? Obviously, you wanna be fast, but you also don’t wanna drop your wheel and get a penalty, so it’s about
speed and control. It’s hard to straighten up a bike
after a 180 degree turn, so yeah, that’s gonna be what catches a lot of these riders out today. The track is very tight and
also the uphill and downhill factors are throwing
a lot of the riders off. Downhill, why were they struggling
so much? Barely anybody was getting
a clean run in. They were all dabbing the wheel. Uphill easily, downhill not so much. Downhill pushes your front wheel away from where you wanna go
and uphill kind of pulls you towards where you wanna go, so uphill’s a lot easier than downhill. We were allowing this, the dragging
of the left foot in the hairpin. A wheel down was a five second penalty, but we were allowing that. I mean, the foot down is frowned
upon in Bike Life normally, but the turn is
so tight and techie that we allowed it for this so the
riders could get round there. Yeah, super, super narrow. Of course, you see people dropping
wheels left, right, and center. Now, during the course of qualifying, some of the riders are like,
“This is too tight. “It’s too difficult.” So we said, “Okay, fine. “We’ll send one of our judges out.” So up next is Miami Skeet. Here he is. Incredible style from this rider. He went out to show them it is possible. Yeah, he went out to show
them it’s possible, but then I think he got a little
bit carried away at the end, didn’t he? Yeah, he did. And you could see he used the
absolute full width of the track down at both ends. That, to me, was what was interesting
about it. Yeah, he got a bit carried away. Like you said, he was using every
inch of the track and also every inch of those
knobbly tires. Yeah, and ran out of track in the end, but, yeah, styled it out big time. Amazing skills from him. This man, Manny, on his practice run, dropped the silencer off the bike. Yeah, Manny’s the kind of guy that
nothing can stop him. A wheelie’s all to do with
the brake control, throttle control. The brake stops you from flipping
too far back and the throttle keeps you
on the back wheel. All smiles from Manny after he
got the first run clean went out through the remainder
of the silencer off to the side of the track,
went down to the bottom, and did the hairpin that everyone
found so hard. Had to go full throttle over the
line to pull it off, but Manny, the only rider
to go double clean, no mistakes on either run. Interesting tech-ers from
this guy, Hobbs, low tire pressure in the back,
riding it slow. Different style. I mean, Hobbs has more of
a stunt riding style than a bike lifestyle. He’s more slow and controlled. It might work out for him tomorrow. You never know, man. It’s penalty-free style that
he’s going for compared to the other riders who
are just sending it. Results then after qualifying, Manny, the only rider to get two
super clean runs in. Junior P2, Adelbek’s P3, Massa, Mini P4, Manzato P5, the riders from
second to fifth manage one clean run. Everybody else with penalties
in both directions. So do we have our favorites
in those top five? We’ll find out tomorrow when we
go racing in the heats. Now, if you think Bikelife Grand Prix is just about the racing, think again. This is a sport that was born
on the streets. It was raised on the back wheel. It’s a culture, it’s a lifestyle. It’s about the way the riders dress, it’s about the way they move, it’s
all a big statement. And to run you through it in
a bit more detail, here’s a man who lives and
breathes this scene. One wheel wavy. The culture’s core is the same,
but then we’re in England. The whole vibe and style
is just different. In America it’s a lot more laid
back, chilled out. Where London is like, we’re
out, we’re going. It’s fast paced. London is so much worse than all the other
places in the UK for riding bikes. We still outside. We still active.
We don’t care. I’m from the high security
A camp for doing Wheelies Oh my God. You can see that it’s a sport. I’ve always understood that riding on the
streets is not a return on investment. So taking this off the streets
and putting it on a track gives Bike Life a future for sure. It’s race day here at Bike
Life Grand Prix. Shakedowns are done, Qualifying’s
finished. We’ve got our riders in their
Heats and good to go. Wavy, how did you feel qualifying
went yesterday for the guys? I mean, it went good, but I saw that a lot
of guys had a hard time qualifying. I think we only got one double clean run
all day yesterday in qualifying. Who was that? That was Manny from Baltimore. So, yeah, he done really well. So, format changes today. We’re going racing out on
the circuit here. So the clock’s going to be running,
it’s going to be two laps. The guy’s got to do a hand
drag or a fender drag as they come down the start,
finish straight. How hard’s that going to be
in the middle of a run where you’re pushing a bit more? Well, I mean, most of these guys are
used to doing it on a highway. Fair. So doing it on a track is
a lot different. It’s a lot more technical because
lining your bike up to get a hand drag or a fender scrape
coming out of a tight corner, it’s very technical, it’s very difficult,
it’s not easy at all. And that rider style, obviously style
is such a big part of bike life and we’re going to have a whole
different section which is completely based on
style and rider talent. Do you think we’re going to see the same
names at the top of that style section as we’re going to see on the time
section out on track? I do. I do think we are, yeah, for sure, because the speed and the
style go together. So the stylish guys are always going
to be the fast guys. All right, let’s get things underway. Five riders then in each of
the four heat races. Remember, the top two would go straight
through to the final. Race number one with our top qualifier,
Manny, on the pole position. Would the pole be an advantage
or not into turn one? Being tight on the inside line. Manny straight into the wheelie position. Wavy, he just looks so comfortable. Look at the gap he’s got in
the first corner. Just rode away from everyone. Yeah, man, Manny definitely just locked
in and he’s given it. his all right now. He’s come to win, as you can see. He’s not he’s not taking no
prisoners right now. None at all down the start finish straight. The mandatory either hand drag
or fender scrape. Got that done. Threw in another
one for good measure. That’s that Baltimore swag
right there, man. The Baltimore style that everyone
wishes they had. Something you can’t really emulate. Manny takes heat one. On to race two, this one with
Junior on the pole. Junior had had so much style during
the qualifying session and he showed it again here. Look at the angles on the
bike straight away. He just chucks it into every turn Wa vy. He’s flying. Yeah, man. Junior’s definitely got the
speed and the style, but right now he’s showcasing
that speed for sure. Fantastic run by him on lap
number one behind him. Everybody else left in his dust,
literally trying to keep up even a fender scrape when
he didn’t need one. When it came round to the
start finish line, and he did need to do a fender scrape, he had an absolutely massive moment. You’re going to see any minute now. There’s Menagati going around
nicely. Look at this. As you can see there, Junior nearly
came off on the hand drag. There’s actually a crack on the
start line right there where he performed the hand drag, and I think that’s what caused that
near miss right there. Huge moment there for him. Held on to it on lap two. Unfortunately, things went worse. Dropped the bike properly
on lap number two. Yeah, I think he’s got a bit too
fast for the corner there. The speed got away from him. So Junior with the style and the speed, and indeed coming across to take
the checkered flag in P1. But in fact, the win would go to Menagati after the penalties were applied
for dropping the bike. Onto Heat Race number three, and Adel Beks
proved that the pole position is the place to be. All of the pole
sitters got to turn one first. He was, though, passed by turn three
by two-stroke Sander. So, yeah, two-stroke Sander and Adel
Beks have had a good battle, but I guess it will boil down
to penalties in the end. And we’ve got Hobbs here, who’s been
taking a slow and steady route. I don’t know if it’s going to work
out for him on this one. Adel Beks with a fast time and a
hand scrape over the line. He takes the win in Heat Three. The final Heat Race then
Massamini, moving from the pole out wide to try
and claim a bit of land, but it didn’t work on the
way into turn one. Yeah, that’s a new technique. I haven’t seen anyone do that yet, but
he gave away the pole position. Did indeed to drop in down the order, but a few people with a wheel
tap here and there, and that meant that Massamini was able to go on and take an easy win in
Heat Number Four. That’s it. Then we’ve got our eight
finalists from the four. Heat Race is just the two winners of the
last chance qualifiers to come. LCQ number one, and it was
Hobbs using the technique that he used earlier
in qualifying. Didn’t work out that time, Wavy, but
he pulled it off in the LCQ. For sure, man. Slow and steady won the race this time. Zero penalties put in from last
place to first place. The final chance to make it through. Last chance qualifier two, and an absolutely
brilliant battle in this one between D-Rider and Nino on
the two yellow bikes. Yeah, man. D-Rider, Nino were trading
positions the whole race. It was a close one between them
two the whole way around. Sure was. Look at this. Fender scrapes almost as they come
through the middle section. Then finally, yes, over the line. Job done. D-Rider makes it through
to P number 10. That’s it then. The grid is complete for
the first ever Bike Life Grand Prix. From Heat Number One, it’s Manny
and dirt bike hills. From Heat Two, Menagati and Junior. Heat Three, Adel Beks and
Two Stroke Sender. From Heat Number Four, Mass,
Simini and Azza. From the LCQs, it’s Hobbs and D-Rider
who complete the grid. Okay, it’s time then for the first
ever Bike Life Grand Prix. Wavy’s here, the man who thought
all this up. Dude, you must be so excited. Can’t wait, man. I’m over
the moon right now. We’ve got our final riders. They’re starting to set in now that
this is really happening. Bike Life GP’s really about
to be a thing. Yeah, man. Let’s just see what
happens in the final. I can’t wait to see. We’ve had some good
heats today, some good qualifying. So, yeah, looking forward to it. Me too, mate. Get yourself up
to the commentary box. I’ll see you up there. Let’s get
right down on the grid. Have a quick chat with some
of our riders. Going to start with Manny, first
of all, who’s got the pole, the top qualifier spot. Manny, congratulations. Brilliant
riding all day. You’ve chosen the middle of
the grid. How come? I don’t know. I don’t really care
where I go on left to right. I’m trying to get out in the front. So I have my space to do my tricks. I know my speed’s going to be good. So that’s it. Keep that wheel up. So speeds and tricks. Like, are you trying to not put
the wheel down at all? Nobody’s managed a completely
faultless run today. I’m going for everything right now. I’ve got the top speed. I’ve got
a couple tricks in the bag. So I’m going to give it everything. Hopefully we take the belt
and the trophy. I’m not trying to leave nothing behind. All right, mate. Good luck.
Thank you very much. So that’s Manny. We’re going to go to P2. Junior’s over here. Junior, Manny’s
feeling really confident. You ready for this? Yeah, I’m ready. I’m not here for…
I’ll see them winning. So you want to win as well? Yeah, I’m here for a win. Fantastic. Thanks, mate. Good luck. Thank you. Right. And finally, over this side, let’s go on a quick chat with Adele. Adele, these guys, they’re
up for it. You ready? Yeah, I’m ready. All right. Send it. Yeah, so it’s all good. Cheers, mate. There we go. Right. First ever bike life Grand Prix. I’m going to come up to the
comments if you want. Let’s get underway. Here we go, then. It’s finally
time to settle this. The first ever bike life Grand Prix. Monster Energy Girls will shortly
be leaving the grid. In the middle is Manny,
the top qualifier. He chose that as the grid position
he wanted to be. To his right is Adele Beks, and
to his left is Junior. They are undoubtedly the favourites. The Monster Energy Girls leave the grid. The red light is on. All eyes now will
focus across to that right-hand side. Lights out. We’re off the line. Straight up onto the back wheel, Adele
Beks with the style immediately up onto the saddle. You’re on
board there with D-Rider and Hobbs at the back with a
slow and steady style. I mean, I don’t know if that’s going
to work in the final… But we’ll soon find out. There’s some quick riders out there. You’re on board with one of them now.
Junior with the lead into turn two as he comes around. You can see two-stroke
Sander’s got his front wheel down permanently through turn two there. I mean, two-stroke Sander kind of
needs to get out of the way. That’s got to be a disqualification. Big penalties ever. Two-stroke Sander. Our timing screen shows him dropping down
the order as you ride on board again up towards the right-hander.
This is the corner. They all find the hardest. Yeah, that right end to that sharp
left is super techie, especially after coming
down the straight. Most guys are going to try to pull
a trick off on the straight and then get back down and
get to the corner. So it’s very techie. Everybody going mad on the other side. No! Adele Beks drops it. Adele Beks
was in a good position, goes down hard in the final
quarter of lap one. What a shame runs away from the bike. He’s OK. Other riders avoiding him. And meanwhile, up front on
board with Junior, still on the back wheel and
still in the lead. He’s killing it out front. Junior is really on a speed
run right now. He is not playing any games. We’ve got Manny over there. Yeah, it looks like he’s setting
up for an overtake. Oh, look, yeah, that’s it. Manny’s into first. I don’t know about the penalties, but… So Manny then on the inside line,
gets past Junior, but the crowd are there waiting for it. Left-hand side. Ignore those guys. It’s the P3 man, Junior, coming
over the line. You’re on board with him now. He takes the first ever bike
life Grand Prix. Athens in Greece. Junior is the champion for 2025. What a great ride by him. Fist pump between him and Manny. They’ve enjoyed the competition, but it’s this man, Junior,
who takes the win in a bike life Grand Prix in Greece. I want to hear some energy. Is everyone ready for the
results of the day? Yeah? Yeah? So, all right, we’re going to
start with third place. We’ve got Manny. Manny. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Second place. Ooh! Oh! Where’s he at? No, I’m playing, I’m playing. Massimini. Let’s go. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE I think we all kind of already know who’s
in first place, don’t we? No? You sure? He’s from Paris. We’ve got Junior Le Grin in first place. Let’s go. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Congratulations. Congratulations. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE We also had another prize for the most
stylish swaggy rider of the day. The swag champ is obviously… Dirt Bike Manny! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Let’s go, let’s go! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE CHEERING We’re here with Junior, the winner of the first ever
Bike Life Grand Prix. Dude, the big trophy. How you feeling? I’m really happy that I come from far. And not for nothing, you know? Not for nothing, yeah, for the big prize. And you’ve enjoyed Bike Life Grand Prix. What did you think of the event? For me, it’s a good event because for me it’s the first
event for the Bike Life. I think it’s a commencement. Yes, the start. The start of the big story,
the biggest story. Well, you are the very start
of the big story. You’re the winner of the first ever
Bike Life Grand Prix. Congratulations. Thank you. Massimini P2 at the first ever
Bike Life Grand Prix. Congratulations, how you feeling? Feeling crazy. With a smile on my face. My first competition, my first
time on track. And it’s crazy to be here. Shout out to Monster and to all
people that are here. I love this world. Thank you so much. Mate, you are welcome. That’s fantastic to hear. What do you think we can
do with Bike Life? This can grow, can’t it? Absolutely, but absolutely. For me and for everyone here,
it’s a sport. This idea was absolutely
correct, you know? It’s on point. So I hope to participate in those
at the next race. With Manny P3 and Bike Life Grand Prix, but also the Swag champ. Amazing, mate. Thank you. Thank you very much. How you feeling? Obviously, which one means more? I guess you’d like to take the win. We told me on the grid you wanted
the win and the belt. You got the belt on P3, still
a great result. Hey, I’m super blessed to be here. I did exactly what I wanted to do. I never ever estimated myself, but I came here and gave it up. But this one is pretty important because one of my specialties is
a long distance wheelies and keeping it together. But also I’m from Baltimore. I got the trick and the swag, so
we put it all together and we ended up with both of them. Fantastic, man. And what did you think of the
first ever Bike Life? It’s a work in progress. We all know that, but everybody’s got
a big smile on their face. The atmosphere here is fantastic. I’m super happy that to be here. This is a huge thing for Bike Life. It’s gonna do a lot of things for the new talent that’s in the streets, to get them organized and get
them under something that’s really gonna do something
for the sport. If we do another one, you’ll come back and defend your title. Yeah, I’m flexing this belt all
year until anybody, yeah, we can run it next year too. I’m just gonna do my little show
for the next 12 months with this belt and then whoever
wants to take it, I’ll be glad to give it to them
if they can take it. You’ll be able to see him riding
around Baltimore with this on soon. Congratulations. Thank you so much. You’re welcome. Thank you, have a great day. Thank you. We were with a legend of Bike Life here. Chino all the way from Baltimore. One of your boys up on the podium. How are you feeling having seen the first ever Bike Life competition? I’m feeling great. I enjoyed it. Great start for Bike Life, coming
on a big scene. And then also one of my guys winning and winning the swag belt and also making it in third place
was great for me. So I love to see, I like to see everybody that
came out for it and just had a great time. It’s the start of something
special, I hope. Yeah, it’s definitely the start
of something special and just, we never had this. So I think it was great for the culture and it should get bigger. Should we bring this to Baltimore? Absolutely, Its got to come to the Capitol. That’s better. All good? All good. Let’s go. So that’s it, the first ever
Bike Life Grand Prix is in the bag. The sun is setting here in
Athens in Greece. Wavy, there’s been burnouts going
on in the paddock. Like, it feels like real Bike Life. The stoke level is super high here. How are you feeling? 10 years in the making and it’s happened. Mate, I’m feeling very, what’s the word? Emotional is the word, I think. You might be being there, yeah. Content. Yeah, man. I feel very content right now. It couldn’t have gone better today, man. So stoked for you. Everybody in the paddock’s loving it. They’ve been up there doing burnouts. We’ve had to ask them to stop
so we can film. It’s a full-on Bike Life atmosphere. I’ve got a bit wild in the
pits, as you said. The celebrations, the Italians are
over the moon, I think. They’re going to take the
celebration tonight to the next level. It’s been fantastic. We’ve got two great champions. Junior from Paris taking home the
Bike Life Grand Prix. Good performance by him. Amazing performance by him, man. It was so close between him and Manny for the Swag Champ belt. Manny took the Swag Champ belt, so that’s going back to Baltimore, one of the OG venues for the sport. I think it’s a pretty good result. Manny must be over the moon and also he must be relieved because if he didn’t take that
belt home to Baltimore, I think he wouldn’t have ever
heard the end of it. What a great way to start Bike Life. How are you feeling about the future
of the sport from here? The sky’s the limit, man. Where can’t we go from here? Where can’t we go? You heard it from the man himself. He’s in the middle of the scene. It’s been a fantastic first ever
Bike Life Grand Prix. The big trophy’s going back to Paris. The Swag Champ belt is going
back to Baltimore, one of the homes of the discipline, and we can’t wait for next time. So until then, we’ll see you soon. Let’s go.