Thomas Pagès on his way to the top qualifying score at Red Bull X-Fighters Dubai. Image: Red Bull Content Pool.

Frenchman Thomas Pagès has claimed top honours in Red Bull X-Fighters qualifying against the backdrop of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai.

Pagès put all of his effort into his first run, with two flairs, a special flip and a volt earning him 85.80 valuable points early in the piece.

“The first run was very good except for one little mistake that I don’t think anyone noticed,” said Pagès. “I was in first after the first run and because ‘Special Flip’ and ‘Volt’ are very hard I didn’t do them again but worked on other things like speed through the track. ”

Spanish rider Dany Torres, Australia’s own Rob Adelberg and 2012 Red Bull X-Fighters Champion Levi Sherwood all targeted their French counterpart’s top score in their second run but would each fall short.

Torres qualified a narrow second, on 85 points, with Adelberg third on 84.30 and Sherwood fourth with an 83.60 score.

The qualifying session, held in good conditions, was not without its dramatic moments. Australian Josh Sheehan struggled with his customary double-backflip, coming off both times upon landing.

Fortunately uninured, Sheehan has a final chance to make the top eight placings if he scores the top score in tomorrow’s final elimination session.

Japanese rider Daisuke Suzuki and Swiss Mat Rebeaud also crashed, while Frenchman Remi Bizouard was a non-starter after breaking his leg in the earlier training session.

The downtown Dubai event is the second of six rounds that form the 2013 Red Bull X-Fighers World Championship.