View From The Floor: Red Bull Straight Rhythm

Red Bull threw a completely different brand of spin at their Straight Rhythm event this year, by allowing two-strokes only. The racing may have been a bit slower than it would have been if the riders were on 450s, but on the other hand, it was probably also closer racing than it otherwise might have been. It was also interesting to watch riders and crews struggle to get their jetting dialed in, and some of the new breed of riders wrestle with adapting to the unfamiliar bikes. One thing that wasn't in short supply? Smiles. There were plenty of those to go around. Here's a peek at the action.

It was fun to see Ryan Dungey and Roger DeCoster paired up again, and they were as serious as ever about trying to take the win here.

Darryn Durham (159) held up his part of the deal to ride the Alta, despite getting the news earlier in the week that the brand was ceasing operations.

There was both 125 and 250 class action on tap, and Carson Brown nabbed the win in the 125 class.

Click below for post-race audio with your winner, Carson Brown.

Besides the two-stroke action, there was also a serious throwback theme for the event. We had a tough time deciding who did it best, with the James Stewart-themed '04 KX125 that Spencer Luczak built up. AJ Catanzaro was on board and flying.

We were having a tough time deciding who did the retro theme better. AJ Catanzaro (above) or Luke Renzland (below), who was on a modern-retro take on Jeremy McGrath's Peak 125. What's your pick?

Things started getting serious when Josh Grant and Ryan Villopoto went head-to-head. They both had their moments, but Ryan advanced.

Cameron McAdoo getting seriously contorted in an effort to keep it close to the ground over one of the speed check jumps.

Squint a little, and it wouldn't be hard to imagine that it was Bubba and MC going at it out there. That was one of the more fun head-to-head matchups.

The way the brackets came together after qualifying was a little unfortunate, as this semi with Ryan Dungey and Ryan Villopoto could have easily been a final. Dungey grabbed this one. We (and the crowd) loved seeing the ex-champs going at it again.

Unfortunately for the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM crew, Shane McElrath and Jordon Smith met in the semis. Shane took this round...but it was close.

Jordon Smith kept things close, but he got edged out by Ryan Villopoto.

Carson Brown spooked us a little with this run through the whoops on his final against AJ Catanzaro, but he held it together for the win.

While it wasn't the win, Ryan Villopoto was stoked to edge out Jordon Smith for third.

We love it. A full-on WFO drag race to the finish. Shane just edged out Ryan.

Click below for post-race audio with your winner, Shane McElrath.

And click below for post-race audio with your runner-up, Ryan Dungey.

Shane McElrath doing a little celebratory skeleton dance for his big win. He may not score big points for his dance moves, but he was on the gas at Pomona.