ESPN’s Navy Moto X World Championships Schedule Released

Sal Masekela to Host with analysts Pastrana, Carmichael, McGrath & Other Top Competitors

April 8, 2008 -- ESPN will kick off its inaugural Moto X World Championships Saturday, April 12 at 3 p.m. ET with X Games host Sal Masekela leading an unprecedented line up of athlete analysts, including Travis Pastrana, Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Doug Henry and Brian Deegan.

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ESPN and ESPN2 will air eight hours of live coverage of the Moto X World Championships April 12 and 13 – all available in high definition on ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD. Extensive additional coverage will be provided via ESPN360.com and EXPN.com. The new annual event will feature the best Moto X riders in the world competing for the title of Moto X World Champion in a variety of disciplines, including Freestyle, SuperMoto, Speed & Style, Best Trick, Step Up and Moto X Racing. “The fact that ESPN has dedicated eight hours of live programming to the Moto X World Championships is a testament to the power of action sports in the 21st century,” said Sal Masekela, ESPN host. “Freestyle motocross continues to explode and deserves a knock-down drag-out weekend showcasing its biggest stars and as a San Diego native I'm so stoked to be coming home to what is sure to be the best crowds in the universe.”

Selema (Sal) Masekela worked his first X Games event in January 1999 as a snowboarding reporter during coverage of Winter X Games Three. Since then, he has worked every Winter X Games and X Gamesin a variety of capacities, including skateboarding and snowboarding host and X Games reporter. In 2001 at X Games Seven in Philadelphia, Masekela expanded his responsibilities to host ESPN and ESPN2’s overall coverage. Five months later (January 2002), Winter X Games Six from Aspen, Colo., marked the first time Masekela hosted the winter version of the premier action sports event. Currently, he is a co-host on E! Network’s The Daily Ten.

The line up of Pastrana, McGrath, Carmichael, Henry and Deegan brings together legends in the sport of motocross as well as a combined X Games medal count of 29 – fourteen of which are gold. In addition to announcing, Ricky Carmichael and Brian Deegan will be competing in Step Up and Travis Pastrana will race in both the Speed & Style and Racing competitions. Other commentators and reporters will include ESPN’s Todd Harris, Cameron Steele, Tes Sewell and Kimberly Pressler.

ESPN’s Moto X World Championships Schedule:
Date Time (ET) Network Event

Sat., April 12 3 - 5 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD SuperMoto Final
Best Trick Final
5 - 7 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Step Up Final Part I
Speed & Style Final

Sun., April 13 4 - 6 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Freestyle Elimination Round
Step Up Final Part II
6 - 8 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Moto X Racing
Freestyle Final

Information on all X Games events, including updated athletes lists, can be found at www.expn.com for fans.

Source: ESPN