NOTJ
13. Apr. 2025
Crashes, Drama and an Epic battle between Mincha & Ackermann
Munich April 12th, NIGHT of the JUMPs returned to the Bavarian capital of Munich for the opening round of the 25th anniversary tour for NIGHT of the JUMPs and the fans inside the Olympiahalle witnessed history with all new tricks being landed at NOTJ for the first time in an epic battle for the Freestyle Motocross World Tour Championship.
Pre-Game
Coming into the first round of competition, the battle-lines had already been drawn in a 3-way battle which would be between the 2 World Champions, Luc Ackermann (3-time champion) versus Maikel Melero (5-time champion) and the new young-gun from Spain who already finished his first ever NIGHT of the JUMPs in Hannover 2024 in second position, Jose Mincha.
In the previous 2 weeks, Mincha had taken a win over Ackermann in Costa Rica and then again over Melero in Spain. Coming into NIGHT of the JUMPs with World Championship judging, the FMX prodigy Mincha was about to really be tested if his different style of FMX would compete on the World Stage.
Qualifying Group 1
Libor Podmol started the season with a solid FMX run with big backflip combos and could have made it to the Top 4 Final if it weren’t for his Double-Up crash on the Backflip Cliffhanger when he attempted to land without hands on the bars, swapping out on the landing. Maikel Melero was surgical in his qualifying round bringing the first Front Flip Indy at NIGHT of the JUMPs resulting in 249 points and the highest points of Quali group 1. Matej Cesak was struggling with his continuing shoulder injury, however after his mistake on the Lazy Flip, it was evident the injury wouldn’t allow him to advance to the final. Davide Rossi then rode smoothly and finishing with the first time ever landed, One-hand-Nac Front Flip to make it to the Top 4 final.
Qualfying Group 2
Paul Manesse was looking to impress with his tricks held as long as possible. However it was the Saran-Wrap Backflip and holding the throttle hand in the air without a bar-check which was his undoing. Mikolej ‚Zapsa‘ Tempka returned to NOTJ with a full season contract and arrived on a new bike. Riding the new YZ450F, Zapsa was looking a little hesitant with some of his bigger tricks and avoided the Next Gen ramp until he’s more confident on the new machine. Jose Mincha turned up the heat on qualifying by sending his newly-renowned tricks on the Front Flip mechanised ramp. With more Frontie tricks than anyone in a run, Mincha landed Nac, Recliner, Cordova and Indy Front Flips to lead Qualifying. One man remained and Luc Ackermann wanted to set the standard for the night with his unrivaled variety across the ,big tricks,. Double Backflip, Front Flip Combos, 360, Backflip Combos and big let-go tricks and Luc secured his spot in the final with 264 points. He almost missed the final, when his handlebars folded forward on a Clicker-Tsunami Backflip, but he still went for the Double Flip regardless.
Best Whip competition
It was a tight battle between the 2024 Best Whip Champion, Matej Cesak up against the Spanish young gun, Jose Mincha. Mincha showed more variety with different whip styles, dropping his leg and getting under his bike more and throwing huge turn-downs. It was enough to convince the crowd to crown Mincha the first Best Whip winner of the season in Munich.
Synchro Competition
The debutant rider from Australia, Alex Bucholtz made his first appearance in the team event riding side by side with Mikolej Tempka. While Bucky and Zapsa were more in-sync with their timing of jumps, the second team consisting of World Champions Libor Podmol and Maikel Melerosimply had far more technical combos to take the first Synchro win in 2025.
New 2-Wheel Competition
The MTB / BMX / Scooter competition saw the return of old riders and a few new faces joining the 11-rider qualification line-up. While Petr Castka showed perhaps the highest progression since 2024 to 2025, it just wasn’t enough for the Czech Scooter rider to make the final. Jerome Hollinger who had qualified, wasn’t able to compete in the final after injuring his hand and was replaced by Dan Miler. Miler made the most of his sudden inclusion and finished in 3rd position overall. Lennox Zimmermann blew the lid off the Olympiahalle when he landed the first ever Triple Backflip on MTB at NIGHT of the JUMPs and as soon as the crowd calmed down for a moment, Tom Pfeiffer rolled down next and also landed his first ever Triple Backflip immediately after. Lennox would take the win from all 3 jumps scored with a total of 243 points, narrowly ahead of Alejandro Bonafe after his Twister to Bounce-Frontie with 237 points and Dan Miler with 213 points.
The Final
The Top 4 Final was always going to be bring fireworks, with the original battle lines having been drawn between Melero, Ackermann and Mincha plus Davide Rossi thrown into the mix as a wild card to perhaps disrupt the party. Rossi put together a cleaner version of One-Hand-Nac Front Flip for at total of 246 points. Maikel Melero also increased the amplitude of his qualifying run, bringing with him the first body varial of the night, his California Roll. Melero would take over the Hot Seat with 262 points and at least guaranteed himself a spot on the podium.
All eyes were on Jose Mincha to see how he could possibly go bigger in the final. And Mincha did not disappoint! Bringing more new tricks to NIGHT of the JUMPs for the first time, Mincha landed the first Tsunami Front Flip at NOTJ and finished his Double-Up with the first ever Front Flip Seat Grab Indy in 25 years of competition. Add in his new California Roll body varial, Mincha took the highest score so far, with 279 points and overtaking Melero on the Hot Seat.
One rider remained. The current 3-time consecutive World Champion, Luc Ackermann and he knew that the hype around Mincha could be his biggest curse but Luc was not fazed by the task at hand. Landing arguably one of the biggest Ruler Flips ever, bringing his own Front Flip combos on the mechanised ramp, 360 and before he even made it to the Double-Up, Luc Ackermann landed the first ever ‚Real‘ Front Flip without the rocker-mechanism on the Next Gen ramp at NIGHT of the JUMPs. Finishing out the Double-Up Luc stomped a Double Backflip to beat Mincha by only 4 points with a total of 283 points. Luc took the highest spot on the podium with the first win of the 2025 season.
This win can only fuel Ackermann’s fire of bringing more big tricks, but it can only inspire Mincha to keep coming with new variety and combos to try take his first ever win in the future.
Next Round - Dresden, June 14th
The second round of the 2025 tour will be in Dresden on June 14th which will celebrate the actual 25th anniversary event. The first ever NIGHT of the JUMPs was held in Riesa, Germany in 2001, only 50 kilometres away. The Rudolf-Harbig Stadion will be a much larger venue to bring new ramps, new vehicles, new tricks and new riders for the celebration event. Tickets are available for Round 2, Dresden at www.nightofthejumps.com
LINK LIVESTREAM NIGHT of the JUMPs Munich (Rd 1):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBXBQ2miISU
More information, pictures and videos at www.NIGHToftheJUMPs.com.
NIGHT of the JUMPs
Munich – 12.04.2025
Results
Freestyle Motocross Finale
1. Luc Ackermann (GER) 283 Points
2. Jose Mincha (ESP) 279 Points
3. Maikel Melero (ESP) 262 Points
4. Davide Rossi (ITA) 246 Points
Freestyle Motocross Qualification Group 1
1. Maikel Melero (ESP) 249 Points
2. Davide Rossi (ITA) 231 Points
3. Libor Podmol (CZE) 214 Points
4. Matej Cesak (CZE) 205 Points
Freestyle Motocross Qualification Group 2
1. Luc Ackermann (GER) 264 Points
2. Jose Mincha (ESP) 259 Points
3. Mikolaj Tempka (POL) 190 Points
4. Paul Manesse (FRA) 134 Points
Whip Contest
1. Jose Mincha (ESP)
2. Matej Cesak (CZE)
Synchro Contest
1. Maikel Melero (ESP) & Libor Podmol (CZE)
2. Mikolaj Tempka (POL) & Alex Bucholtz (AUS)
Best Trick MTB/BMX/Scooter Final
1. Lennox Zimmermann (GER)
2. Alejandro Bonafe (ESP)
3. Dan Miler (CZE)
NIGHT of the JUMPs World Tour Ranking 2025 (after the first competition)
1. Luc Ackermann (GER) 20 Points
2. Jose Mincha (ESP) 18 Points
3. Maikel Melero (ESP) 16 Points
4. Davide Rossi (ITA) 14 Points
5. Libor Podmol (CZE) 12 Points
6. Matej Cesak (CZE) 10 Points
7. Mikolaj Tempka (POL) 9 Points
8. Paul Manesse (FRA) 8 Points
More information, pictures and videos at www.NIGHToftheJUMPs.com.
Press, Inquiries & Partnerships
Media, arenas, promoters, and brand partners interested in collaboration can reach out directly via: info@notj.de
2025 Tour Dates:
Sat, April 12, 2025 – Munich – Olympiahalle
Sat, June 14, 2025 – Dresden – Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion
Sat, September 27, 2025 – Kraków – TAURON Arena
Sat, October 4, 2025 – Budapest – MVM Dome
Sat, October 25, 2025 – Hamburg – Barclays Arena
Sat, November 8, 2025 – Düsseldorf – PSD-Dome
Sat, November 22, 2025 – Stockholm – Avicii Arena
Tickets for all Events: