hoon69
02-01-2008, 12:05 PM
Australian freestyle motocross rider Robbie Maddison has jumped 98.1m, covering the length of a football field in the middle of Las Vegas, to set a new Guinness World Record.
After one false start, the 26-year-old from Kiama, on NSW's south coast, set the official longest distance jump for a motorcycle on a cold and windy night shortly after midnight on New Year's Day (United States time).
Maddison approached the ramp at speeds of about 150km/h and was in the air for about four seconds during the jump.
Maddison, who has been training at his southern California property, staged his death-defying stunt as part of New Year's Eve celebrations at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
advertisement
"This is awesome," Maddison told the crowd after making the record jump and receiving a welcome hug from his fiancéé. "I'm so happy".
Maddison, not satisfied with his first jump, made a second attempt but managed a slightly lesser distance.
He had dedicated the jump to his idol — Evel Knievel, who died on November 30, aged 69, after suffering with pulmonary fibrosis, commonly known as a scarring of the lungs.
Evel Knievel attempted a similar jump 40 years ago to the day by sending his motorbike 46 metres over the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Knievel didn't land the jump and spent more than a month unconscious in hospital.
A confident "Maddo" told ninemsn yesterday that he had been "praying for perfect conditions".
"The wind is pretty much my biggest enemy," he said.
Maddison already holds two world records — the longest jump on a 125cc motorcycle at 67 metres and the longest motorcycle jump with a trick at 75 metres.
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvqbo3cH_xA)
After one false start, the 26-year-old from Kiama, on NSW's south coast, set the official longest distance jump for a motorcycle on a cold and windy night shortly after midnight on New Year's Day (United States time).
Maddison approached the ramp at speeds of about 150km/h and was in the air for about four seconds during the jump.
Maddison, who has been training at his southern California property, staged his death-defying stunt as part of New Year's Eve celebrations at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
advertisement
"This is awesome," Maddison told the crowd after making the record jump and receiving a welcome hug from his fiancéé. "I'm so happy".
Maddison, not satisfied with his first jump, made a second attempt but managed a slightly lesser distance.
He had dedicated the jump to his idol — Evel Knievel, who died on November 30, aged 69, after suffering with pulmonary fibrosis, commonly known as a scarring of the lungs.
Evel Knievel attempted a similar jump 40 years ago to the day by sending his motorbike 46 metres over the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Knievel didn't land the jump and spent more than a month unconscious in hospital.
A confident "Maddo" told ninemsn yesterday that he had been "praying for perfect conditions".
"The wind is pretty much my biggest enemy," he said.
Maddison already holds two world records — the longest jump on a 125cc motorcycle at 67 metres and the longest motorcycle jump with a trick at 75 metres.
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvqbo3cH_xA)