Q: What do Robbie Maddison, Rhys Millen and Travis Pastrana all have in common?
A: They are all willing to put their life on the line to bring in the new year at Red Bull New Year. No Limits.
The date's constant – December 31 – but since 2007, when New Year. No Limits made its debut in Las Vegas, Maddison, Millen and now Pastrana have set their sights on going faster, higher and further than ever before. Maddison and Millen have already succeeded – now it’s Maryland-born Pastrana’s turn.
Maddison and Millen rang in 2008 in sensation style. The plan? Jump the length of a football field (360 feet) on a motorbike and backflip an off-road truck respectively – both world firsts. But drifting champion Millen had his dream cut short by a back injury suffered in his final warm-up jump when the truck overshot the safety barriers. That left Maddison as the star attraction in Las Vegas.
And star he did. Exactly 40 years after his hero Evel Knievel set the jump record over the fountains at Caesars Palace, Maddison leapt 322 feet, live on ESPN, to write his name in history.
Ever the perfectionist, the Aussie turned around and attempted to break the 360-foot barrier – but fell short of his original attempt. The daredevil twice went on to break his own world record at the Crusty Demons Night Of World Records in Melbourne in March 2008. The mark now stands at a shade under 351 feet – still shy of that football field ambition.
New Year: No Limits returned to Vegas on December 31 2008 and, not content with Maddison hogging the limelight, Millen remained undeterred with one goal in mind – to prove it was possible to back-flip an off-road truck. The flip – at 36 miles per hour, over a distance of 80 feet and a height of 50 feet – was flawless, the landing not so, and the truck landed off-balance and rolled as the crew rushed to attend to Millen. But while the New Zealander’s campaign ended with injury before it begun 12 months earlier, Millen emerged scratch-free this time.
“You come as prepared as you can, knowing all your numbers - speed, distance and height,” said Millen. “But you get only one opportunity to get it right. I landed, but I landed with a twist.”
If Millen’s achievement was superb, Maddison’s was sensational. Having broken the Guinness World Record for the longest jump a year previous, the Australian had nowhere to go but up. And Maddison wowed the 300,000-strong crowd by jumping up a ramp onto a 96 foot replica of the Arc de Triomphe, before dropping a dizzying 60 feet back to the ramp.
“The risk level of my jumps was extremely high, and although I was confident in my abilities and preparation, I knew there could have been major consequences, but that is what pushing the limits is all about,” said Maddison, with the immense force of the impact on the return jump lacerating his left hand.
And how to better that as Red Bull welcomes in the new decade? Step up Pastrana. After two years in the Nevada desert, New Year: No Limits moves to Long Beach, California, where the nine-time X Games gold medallist will attempt to jump further than anyone else in a rally car.
The current record is 171 feet – but Pastrana will take-off Pine Street Pier at close to 100mph with a floating barge anchored in Rainbow Harbour his target looking to smash that mark. Crazy? You bet – but that’s what New Year. No Limits is all about.
KEY FACTS:
Who? 26-year-old motorbike and rally superstar Travis Pastrana.
What? Pastrana will attempt to break the world record – 171 feet – for the longest jump in a rally car, launching off Pine Street Pier and landing on a floating barge anchored in Rainbow Harbour.
Where? After two year’s in Las Vegas, Red Bull’s New Year. No Limits moves to Long Beach, California.
When? December 31, 2009, 11pm ET / 8pm PT, live on ESPN
Why? With four consecutive Rally America championships, nine X Games gold medals, the first double backflip on a motorcycle and a hit television series under his belt, why not?
Visit the New Year. No Limits microsite.
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