The official residence of the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos has housed an exclusive private school since 1923 and, with its blockbuster film credentials, provided the perfect setting for a very British warm-up ahead of the main event this weekend.

On Saturday 22 August at 20.30 hours local time the world FMX elite will swap the picturesque backdrop of Stow House and its century-old traditions for tonnes of dirt in London’s Battersea Power Station. Twelve riders will be on hand in the former coal-fired power plant on the banks of the River Thames to battle it out for the overall title at the last stop of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2009.

Red Bull X-Fighters was created in 2001, debuting in Valencia, Spain at the bullring where the legendary ‘Mad’ Mike Jones claimed victory. Since that historic night, Red Bull X-Fighters events have taken place in the world’s most legendary locations, including the famous bullrings in Madrid and Mexico City, Slane Castle in Ireland, the Sambodromo in Rio de Janeiro, a massive stone quarry in Wuppertal, Germany and the Stadion X-Lecia, a future European Football Championship arena in Warsaw, Poland.

Photographs available free of charge for editorial use only: Jörg Mitter, Daniel Grund for Global-Newsroom.com