RED BULL “NEW YEAR. NEW LIMITS.”

Red Bull have become well known for putting on crazy stunts over the past few years with their “New Year. New Limits” events. Previous years have seen multiple jump records being broken, Trophy Trucks being back flipped, Rally cars launching into barges and Motocross riders jumping up onto the the replica of the Arc De Triomphe in Las Vegas!

This year was no exception and to see the new year in with a bang, Red Bull FMX rider Robbie Maddison and Snowcross racer Levi LaVallee tried to break the Motocross and Snowmobile distance jump record simultaneously in San Diego, California! Thousands of hopeful spectators crowded into every available viewing spot in the marina in the hope of catching a glimpse of the action. The gap between the two piers in the San Diego Marina is over 300ft and the speed needed to clear the water and make it to the landing ramp meant both riders had huge run ups and roll in towers! Months of planning, preparation and practice went into making the jump possible – from aerodynamic testing in the wind tunnel to modifications to the bike and sled to make them fast and light enough to cover the massive distance!

29 year old Levi LaVallee soared an incredible 412ft 6 inches on his specially designed snowmobile, touching down on the massive landing ramp smashing the previous record of 361ft and setting a new world record that will surely be hard to beat!

“I just landed an over 400-foot jump. I’m not sure how the sled’s doing, but I’m OK, so it was good. It’s an amazing feeling. You have no idea how pumped I am.” Said LaVallee shortly after the the jump which was planned to happen the previous year, but a serious crash in training resulted in the entire event being cancelled and caused Levi to miss the the Winter X Games!

The event also turned out to be pretty spectacular for Robbie Maddison as he yet again beat his own record jumping an enormous 378ft 9 inches! However, Robbie set a new world record of 391ft during a practice jump the previous day, but wasn’t able to match this distance on the night. Shortly after the jump he said “I was confident we were going to go a long way tonight and we’re going to come back and go even further.” Maddison also said he plans to make some changes to his bike to go even further next time!

With the bar now raised even higher, well, longer, we wonder what could be in store for us next year?

Img source = www.redbull.com