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 atAlyeska 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 tworuns 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 XDance 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."
Always pushing the sport of freestyle snowmobiling, the 2006 Red Bull Fuel + Fury featured sixteen of the world’s best backcountry riders, who selected and teamed up with the industry’s top videographers. Together, they took part in the six-day filming competition featuring Alyeska Ski Resort as home base and the Chugach Range, which gets more annual snowfall (600+ inches) than anywhere else on earth, as their playground. In addition to the new location, the public had the final say in who took home a share of the $20,000 purse.
All of the videos, along with photos of the competition, can be viewed at www.redbullfuelandfury.com.
Fuel and Fury
