Nitro Circus lights up P.G. on Friday

It has to be seen to be believed.
If you’ve never witnessed a BMX bike rider flipping off a giant ramp, completing three full rotations before landing, or if you doubt a wheelchair-bound daredevil can turn a back flip off a huge jump and land it safely and you want to see it live, then PGARA Speedway is the place to be this Friday night.
Nitro Circus Live, the MTV reality show which spawned a feature length 3-D movie, has been touring the world this year and Prince George is one of the final stops in 2016.
The stunt show features 30 of the extreme action sport world’s most daring performers who will be using BMX bikes, mountain bikes, motocross bikes, scooters, wheelchairs, skateboards, quads and souped-up electric Barbie Power Wheels cars to pull off insane tricks.
In the spirit of Jackass, Nitro Circus Live hires professional stunt people to pull off amazing feats, and fans who show up at PGARA are in for a thrilling spectacle seeing it up close.
Nitro Circus began as an offshoot of the activities of motocross rider/NASCAR driver Travis Pastrana and his friends when they started filming in Utah in 2003. Every year, the performers push the envelope of what is possible on whatever contraption they try.
Motocross trick rider Josh Sheehan did the first double back flip on a motorbike, but now has an added twist, performing a heel clicker after his first loop, just to raise the bar a bit for when he enters the Nitro World Games. Nitro Circus has also given Aaron ‘Wheelz’ Fotheringham a chance to show the world he’s not letting spina bifida limit his ability to dazzle the crowds when he jumps off the ramp in his wheelchair. Jordan Clark’s triple front flip on a scooter is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
There’s also a motorcycle stunt train in which 10 bike riders pull off flips while followed closely behind by the next rider. A stunt featuring a series of BMX riders flipping with timed precision while fireworks explode in close proximity is another highlight of the show.
Ticket prices range from $39 to $99, not including taxes.
Chris Arronge, president of the Prince George Auto Racing Association, whose venue will be used for the show, said at mid-week last week, 4,000 tickets had been sold. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a show that starts at 7. With a near-capacity crowd of 6,000 expected, it would be wise to get there early and avoid long lineups at the gate.
“They’re looking to fill it, and that would be double the biggest crowd we’ve ever had there,” said Arronge, who will have a small army of 48 volunteers around on Friday morning to help set up 4,000 temporary seats in the pit area around the front straightaway on the PGARA stock car track, where all the action will take place. The grandstand seating areas and the area along the fence at the south of the track will also be reserved for spectators.
The show is also making stops in Grande Prairie (Saturday), Fort McMurray (Sept. 21), Victoria (Sept. 24) and Kamloops (Oct. 1), before it heads off to New Zealand and Australia in January.
“There’s not a lot of small towns, Prince George is pretty lucky to be getting this one,” said Arronge.