It was the stunt that Evel Knievel said could never be done: jumping the length of an American football field. When Australian rider Robbie Maddison did just that on December 31, 2007, it marked the official passing of the torch from the ultimate stunt rider of the 20th Century to a new star.
Sadly Knievel did not live to see the stunt: earlier that month the daredevil had been laid to rest in his home in Montana. Maddison had flown in to say farewell to his great hero.
"I went there to pay respect, because this was a man who started something insane," Maddison told ESPN. "When I sat there, something hit me. It was crazy. I got a feeling I never had before, and I kind of don't want to say it, but some people have said, 'You've got his power now.'"
Maddison was certainly taking the spirit of Knievel into his next public appearance: the first Red Bull: New Year. No Limits spectacular. To ring in 2008, Maddison and Rhys Millen were preparing to break two world records. For Maddison, the distance jump on a mororbike, while New Zealander Rhys Millen was attempting the first backflip of a pick-up truck. But then Millen was injured in testing and suddenly Maddison was the sole attraction.
On New Year's Eve, 40 years to the night that Knievel jumped the fountain at Caesars Palace, Maddison blew through the parking lot of Las Vegas' Rio Casino at 95mph. He hit the ramp, and jumped 322 feet, seven inches – extending the world record by 50 feet.
In fact, a strong headwind meant he came up short of his goal of 360 feet, not that anyone was complaining. It signaled the start of a remarkable 2008 for the young Australian who 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 – as well as compete at the Red Bull X-Fighters.
Visit the official Red Bull: New Year. No Limits microsite.
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