Here’s a rare treat – a close up look at the 2011 FIM Motocross World Championship final, with the focus on Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha team member Arnaud Tonus of Switzerland. It’s all shot in gorgeous, crystal-clear slow motion, and with the backdrop of the bucolic countryside surrounding the track just outside Fermo, Italy, motocross has probably never looked better. Highly edited and stylized this may be, but in a way it gives you more of a feel for the atmosphere and sheer sense of adventure at one of these events than straightforward TV coverage ever could, plus the soundtrack is far cooler than any commentary we’ve heard recently.

Over 18,000 spectators somehow managed to cram themselves onto the steep slopes and tin-roofed stands surrounding the many banks, turns and jumps of the rough dirt track. Temperatures of up to 30 degrees Celsius could only have added to the intensity. Arnaud in particular must have been feeling the pressure, as with a couple of third place race finishes already under his belt from earlier in the event, and having finished third overall at Fermo the previous year, he was a clear favourite for a spot on the winners’ podium.

In the end, Arnaud may not have taken home any medals this time, but with a performance which saw him claw back a fifth place overall finish after a series of mishaps including a disastrous fall in the first lap of the second race, he remains a very strong contender for a World Championship win in the future. And if the end result was decided on the basis of style and determination alone, he would have been unbeatable.