When the first ever Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour final on African soil went down on Saturday, Australia’s Josh Sheehan would not be denied.

The 28-year-old dominated the competition, winning every heat by unanimous decision to earn his first championship in the world’s most prestigious freestyle motocross series.

Spain’s Dany Torres finished strong in second for the day, with Adam Jones from the United States earning his first podium of the season in third.

Sheehan has been charging in recent events, making determined progress against New Zealand’s Levi Sherwood. After winning the first two events of 2014, Sherwood had clutched the top of the World Tour leaderboard all season long.

When an ankle injury sustained in qualifying prevented Sherwood from moving beyond the first round of the final, Sheehan could have taken it easy. But he gave everything he had, defeating every opponent, including a spectacular Torres, with electrifying tricks like the Double Backflip and the Tsunami Flair.

When the final World Tour standings were tallied, it was an emotional Sheehan in first, Sherwood in second, and Torres in third. Each now has one World Tour title under his belt.

“I’ve been wanting this for years and it’s a dream come true,” Sheehan said. “I’m on top of the world.”

Australia ultimately had three riders finish inside the top 10 for the season, with Rob Adelberg eighth and Clinton Moore ninth.

At the 50th Red Bull X-Fighters contest ever, the atmosphere was wild in the sold out stands at Pretoria’s historic Union Buildings, as 22,000 fans thrilled to a sport that many were seeing live for the first time.

2014 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour
Round five – Pretoria, South Africa

Overall results:
1. Josh Sheehan (AUS)
2. Dany Torres
3. Adam Jones
4. Rémi Bizouard
5. Thomas Pagès
6. Clinton Moore (AUS)
7. Taka Higashino
8. Maikel Melero
9. David Rinaldo
10. Alastair Sayer

Championship standings:
1. Josh Sheehan (AUS) 360
2. Levi Sherwood 270
3. Dany Torres 265
4. Thomas Pagès 235
5. Taka Higashino 180
6. Rémi Bizouard 165
7. Adam Jones 140
8. Rob Adelberg (AUS) 120
9. Clinton Moore (AUS) 90
10. Maikel Melero 85

Click here for detailed results