Source: Red Bull.

The Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour returns to Osaka, Japan, for a second year after Japan’s Taka Higashino won the first-ever stop in Asia a year ago in front of an enthralled hometown crowd.

Taka Higashino will have his work cut out for him trying to win on his home turf when the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour returns to his hometown in Osaka on 25 May.

New Zealand’s Levi Sherwood has the momentum on his side after winning the season-opener in Mexico City in style, while defending champion Thomas Pagès of France will be looking to revive his title hopes after a disappointing fifth place in the first of five 2014 stops.

Five up-and-coming riders from Japan will battle it out in the wildcard qualifying round on Saturday, in the hopes of advancing to the final on the biggest freestyle motocross (FMX) track in Asia.

Higashino beat Pagès in an epic freestyle battle in last year’s final in Osaka in front of the spectacular Osaka Castle in the city’s famous Nishinomaru Garden.

The world’s top FMX riders will be performing mind-boggling tricks off their bikes while jumping distances of up to 30 meters in distance and 15 meters high in front of the enthusiastic and knowledgeable Japanese FMX fans.

The riders will get an extra charge from the crowds in the grandstand seating set up directly around the Osaka track – a unique feature and the closest spectators get to a track anywhere.

The return of Red Bull X-Fighters to Osaka pays tribute to the rising popularity of FMX in Eastern Asia and it promises to be a high-stakes battle with two former and the reigning world tour champion are looking for the victory: Dany Torres of Spain (2011), Sherwood (2012) and Pagès (2013).

Sherwood in particular savored the victory in Mexico City, his first win since taking first in Sydney at the end of his 2012 championship year.

Pagès, who won two rounds in 2013 and was on the podium at all five stops, suddenly seemed beatable in Mexico City when he was knocked out in the quarter-final round by Adam Jones of the United States.

The Frenchman, who wasn’t able to train before the season opener as much as he would liked due to bad weather in France, also struggled with some of his tricks due to the high altitude of Mexico City.

In Saturday’s wildcard qualifying, Japanese riders Daice Daisuke, Bupper Shinichi, Gonta ‘little Daice’ Suzuki, Kuimura Kota and Watanabe Genki will be trying to earn a spot in the final round. They are the same five riders who delighted the Osaka crowd a year ago in the national qualifier.