Offroad
Watch Bryce Menzies Jump an Entire Ghost Town
Feast your eyes as Menzies launches himself into the Guinness Book of World Records.
2 min
Bryce Menzies New Frontier
Bryce Menzies New Frontier
For Bryce Menzies, 2016 has been a year of progression. While most of his career has been spent pushing limits in the world of offroad racing, for the last three years Menzies has been working to realize a dream, jumping his Pro2 truck to a world record distance. With the help of Red Bull and Pennzoil, the puzzle pieces fell into place and the crew spent the last six months bringing the dream to life.
Taking flight over the ghost town
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
The crew started off with test jumps at an undisclosed location outside of San Diego about four months ago. Through the process, the crew did everything from adjust basic suspension settings to wind tunnel testing to find out what was slowing them down in the air. While the process has been lengthy, it’s one Menzies says will push them further when they return to the track. "At the end of it with all the testing we’re doing it’s really going to help our team to better understand our truck. It’s great to be going after the record, but at the end of the day I think this project is going to help us progress and win championships throughout the years."
As the jump date began to close in, the crew converged on the ghost town to prepare for the ramps and truck for the death-defying feat. After a few days of testing the ramps, Bryce and his crew broke the distance world record with a jump of 379.4 feet, something Menzies describes as one of the greatest moments of his life. With the record already broken, the crew continued to train in hopes of beating their record live on Red Bull TV, Aug. 27.
Prepped and ready to jump a ghost town
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
Just as the crew had prepared to break the record, they had also prepared for the unlikely event if things didn’t go to plan. They spent countless hours preparing extensive safety precautions in the landing ramp, Bryce’s gear and the truck itself, and that proved to be time well spent. As they wrapped up the final stages of training, Menzies experienced a crash. While the truck sustained severe damage, Menzies was able to walk away from the crash. He was taken to a local hospital, diagnosed with a broken shoulder and released the same day.
We broke a world record, which is incredible; we went 379 feet flying a truck. This has been my dream and to see it come to life was surreal — it was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Despite the injury and being forced to cancel the live show, Menzies is in great spirits, knowing what he and the crew achieved. "I’m extremely happy with the outcome," he said. "We broke a world record, which is incredible; we went 379 feet flying a truck. This has been my dream and to see it come to life was surreal — it was one of the greatest moments of my life. I’m so glad I did it. I came away with a broken shoulder, that’s not bad at all, and I’m just glad I’m in the record books."
Bryce Menzies sets the world record
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
Now that the dream of setting a record has been realized, it’s time to focus on the symbolic meaning behind the feat: His leap into international racing. While he will continue to participate in short course and desert racing in the United States and Mexico, Menzies will expand his career into the international sphere over the next year. And he’ll do so with a world record and a ton of confidence in his team and their knowledge of their truck.