£ Belgium’s Gilles
Dejong throws a big
Turndown as the sun
goes down
Showtime! Over 250,000 people
were scattered around the Formula
Jerusalem circuit. It was really cool
to see the Ferrari and Caterham
teams roar through the streets
- it was even cooler to be able
to wheelie through the streets
between all the people. We headed
out to our locations on Yitzhak
Kariv Street and King David Street.
It’s always special to do a show
in an area where freestyle is not
burned out and the crowd really
appreciates every trick you do.
We put our best into the event
and as for our show… I guess it’s
best to let the pictures speak for
themselves. As soon as the event
ended, we needed to head back
and load everything up for the
streets to be cleared. Tuesday, we
did the whole thing again. As tough
as it was, it was exciting. When
you get the opportunity to ride
at such a unique place, you pull
out all the stops to get the best
footage and the best memories
possible, because you may never
get the chance again.
During our tear-down, we had
a chance to chat with some of
the locals walking by. No one
really believed that we were the
guys riding. A few students were
amazingly generous and were
happy to help us pack up. Even
the truck driver who had us on a
2 minute wait for 7 hours turned
out to be a great guy and gave a
big helping hand. We also had a
chat with an Israeli soldier from
the local bomb squad. He had
been in the force for 5 years and
was obviously successful since
you only go wrong once in that
field. He joked with us and said
that when bombers really want
to mess with them, all the wires
in the explosives are the same
colour. One lady introduced us
to a phone app that the locals
use to see where there could be
a bomb threat so they can adjust
their shopping or activity plans
accordingly.
After the time we spent in the
Old City, it was really hard to
believe that the area poses any
particular threat or risk. People
were extremely friendly and polite
and life seems completely normal.
Locals say the media make
situations sound a lot worse than
they really are, but then again, if
there was no threat, there wouldn’t
be a full time bomb squad or an
app which tells you about high risk
areas. It took no more than a few
weeks after we had left, before
the streets of Jerusalem hit the
headlines once again. Although we
had an amazing trip, it cannot be
denied that the situation between
the Palestinians and the Israelis is
tense. The fight for control of the
Holy Land (often with Jerusalem
at the centre of the conflict), has
been going on for centuries.
Unfortunately, despite the efforts
of other countries to mediate
and to help find a solution to the
problems in the area, there seems
to be no peaceful end in sight.
To some people it may seem
crazy to willingly go to a place that
is often seen as being rife with
tension and risk, but we were able
to experience a different Jerusalem
than the one you often hear about.
Through all of these unsolved and
endless issues, it was good to
see that the majority of the people
we met said they wanted peace.
Music and sporting events bring
people together in a positive way
and always seem to create a good
vibe. It’s important to continue
creating a good vibe in order to
get rid of the bad. On behalf of the
whole FMX4Ever team I’d like to
thank the fantastic motorsports
event Formula Jerusalem 2014 for
the adventure. T