Pastranaland Ep 1 & Ep2 !

Storm the Embassy : Pure Madness on a Electric Trials Bike

Ken Block’s Brand New Custom Lid Painted by Troy Lee

Ken Block’s brand new custom lid painted by Troy Lee himself

 

Slow Motion Double Grab

Yeah, yeah - we know you're fed up with 100fps slow motion footage. But you're just going to have to deal with it for a couple more minutes after watching this video of Norwegian FMX star Ailo Guap performing a double grab. In, rather worryingly, what looks like his ganddad's pyjamas... Regardless, it you didn't already, being able to see the athletic talent and just how much time these guys are in the air and not even touching their bikes will give you a new respect for Freestyle Motocross dudes.

Unit's Custom Carbon Fmx Bike

Officially launched to an international audience at the American International Motorcycle Expo in Florida, Skycraft is the world’s first purpose built freestyle motocross machine and a collaboration between action sports innovators Unit and world-renowned motorsport entity Triple Eight Race Engineering Australia.

Conceptualised by Unit co-founder Ian Everest, the Skycraft prototype was engineered by an expert team at Triple Eight, led by acclaimed Technical Director Ludo Lacroix.

A central goal was weight reduction. Skycraft is constructed almost entirely from carbon fibre and titanium components. At just 75 kilograms (165 pounds), the bike is over 25 percent lighter than a standard motocross machine.

Ian Everest stated: “The original design brief recognized the opportunity for an ‘out of the box’ product for freestyle motocross. All other forms of motorcycle sports use purpose built machines.

“FMX riders have no option but to adapt and heavily modify motocross bikes. It made sense to explore what an FMX specific bike might look like. Being a concept motorcycle it also meant we were not constrained or restricted by production or cost requirements.

“As an experimental platform, Skycraft will allow for test data and rider feedback to lead towards a potential production bike.”

The Skycraft concept challenges conventional motorcycle design rules with a heavy duty carbon fibre monocoque frame containing a fuel cell. The tail design has integrated grab handles and a forked seat. While engineering boundaries were pushed even further with the silencer integrated inside a carbon fibre swingarm.

“We felt that weight reduction represented the best characteristic to provide riders in their quest for bigger tricks as well as helping them innovate new maneuvers,” added Everest.

“The prototype we’re launching today is the product of a combined effort and the engineering foresight and expertise of Triple Eight Race Engineering Australia's Ludo Lacroix.

“There are of course a number of other people and parties that have contributed to the project, each adding input and resources on the basis of their own background and expertise.”

“We must extend a special thanks to the Triple Eight team including Roland Dane, Daniel Williams and Robert Clarke along with Unit's Marketing Director Matt Cousins."

Other contributors to the Skycraft project include LSM Composites, Lightning Composites, John Titman Racing, Talon, Scalvini, De-Tris, Galfer, Mainmoto, Raptor and Racetech Titanium.

Skycraft specifications:

• 75 kilograms (165 pounds)
• Uses existing powerplant and suspension setup typical to FMX
• Carbon fibre monocoque frame with integrated fuel tank
• Carbon fibre swingarm with integrated silencer
• Ultra-slim carbon fibre bodywork
• Grab handles integrated into carbon fibre body
• Carbon fibre rims
• Compact front-mounted cooling system with single radiator core
• Custom-built titanium expansion chamber
• Full titanium axle and bolt kit
• Titanium shock spring
• Front air suspension
• Unit magnum grips (patented design)
• Increased/adjustable turning angle

Insane Quad Bike Compilation

Okay, so we know that quad bikes can be a dirty word in MX circles. We know that many of you would rather ride the fiercest whoops section without any pants than be seen dead on one. To be fair, most of these mental quads would be next to useless as soon as they leave the tarmac. True, some of them are more like Superbikes with four wheels. But we couldn't resist sharing this completely crazy collection of quads to help set you up for the rest of the week. Come on, even the most cynical would be tempted by the opportunity to sample a ride on a quad with a supercharged V12 engine...

Lazarus Wazuma V12

Engine: Supercharged 6.0 litre V12 from a BMW 7 series

Power: 500bhp

Price: €200,000 Euros

0-62mph: 3.2 seconds

Top Speed: 185mph+

Spy 350 F-1 Drift Quad

Engine: 350cc, Water-cooled 4-stroke

Power: 30bhp

Price: £3000 GBP

0-60mph: n/a

Top Speed: 78mph

Yamaha YFM700R Raptor (standard spec)

Engine: 686cc, 4-stroke

Power:45bhp

Price: $,8000 USD

0-62mph: n/a

Top Speed: 78mph

Jet Quad:

Engine: A freakin' jet engine

Power: n/a

Price: n/a

0-62mph: n/a

Top Speed: 200mph+

Quad Bike on 22s

Engine: Who knows

Power: Some

Price: n/a

0-62mph: eventually

Top Speed: n/a

Suzuki Hayabusa Quad

Engine: 1340cc, 4-cylinder

Power: 197bhp

Price: n/a

0-62mph: n/a

Top Speed: n/a

GG Quad

Engine: 1150cc BMW flat-twin

Power: 100bhp

Price: $75,000+

0-62mph: 5 seconds

Top Speed: 115mph

                                                                     Subzilla STi ATV

Engine: Turbocharged 2.0 litre Boxer engine from Subaru Impreza WRX STi

Power: 210kw

Price: $96,000 NZD

0-62mph: 4.7 seconds

Top Speed: n/a

The Greatest Custom Drift Trike Gallery You Will See This Year

We love Drift Trikes and the burgeoning custom community around them. As a comparatively cheap past-time that is enjoyed around the world, the simple process of placing plastic pipe sleeves over the rear tyres of a Huffy Slider has evolved into a diverse scene filled with impressive talent and great new ideas. Take a look at this awesome gallery of custom Drift Trikes - all under one roof for your viewing pleasure!

 


Some Trikes in this gallery are clearly DIY jobs, welded together in a garage from old bits of scaffold pole and cannibalised children's bikes. Others, like the DW Custom Trike (complete with airbag suspension) has been built by a car chop shop in the spare time between installing lowrider suspension to custom cars.

This one has to be our favourite

How Not to Drive in Russia

Today we bring you a polite notice of how not to overtake in Russia, or anywhere for that matter. Thankfully nobody in the crash was seriously injured, but you have to ask… what on earth was that rider thinking?! Stay safe people!

New Alpinestars MX boot range

Alpinestars has unveiled its new Tech 10 boots, in what could be a direct response to the Fox’s new Instinct boot line. As well as being lower profile and lighter than previous incarnations, the new Tech 10 boasts enhanced shin blade protection and a more secure buckle system. The outcome is a more flexible boot which better protects against hyperextension, and which should require less adjusting once out on a bike. Astars work for years researching and developing these bad-boys, so it’s unlikely the changes are a knee-jerk reaction to the guys in California, but it’s good to see no-one’s resting on their achievements – and if you want a pair of pro-level boots you’ve got more options than ever. One of the best things to see is the technical breakthroughs working their way down the range into the mid and even entry level boots. The Tech 7’s have seen an update alongside the 10’s and share a lot of the advancements including the new buckle system and a reduced weight and profile. Even the Tech 3’s now use a bonded sole and offer better protection and flexibility than ever for a new rider. Check out the full range for yourself at FreestyleXtreme.com

DBK’s X-Games Highlights

Twitch is one of our favourite riders, Dirt Bike Kidz is one of our favourite crews and X-Games is our favourite event. So as you might imagine then, we were pretty stoked when Twitch dropped an edit of DBK’s behind the scenes highlights from last month’s LA X-Games. Featuring practice runs, exclusive commentary and general dicking around – this is a cool peek behind the curtain and just another reason why the DBK crew are on top of their game.

Rock The Ramp

 FMX4Ever recently put on Rock the Ramp, a weekend of music, FMX and partying in Zelzate, Belgium. And boy did it go off! Check out the video to see 11 riders from six countries going at it in front of 2500 wild fans. Wish we’d have been there!

Libor Podmol FMX

 It shouldn’t be a secret by now. Here at Big Air Jam, we love Libor Podmol. The guy has some unmatched skills and a style that most riders would kill for. Well the dude just went even higher in our estimation after releasing this rear facing GoPro of him playing around at his home track in Czech Republic. Seriously, even when this guy is clowning around he’s still sick.

Smoothness Magazine

The latest Smoothness Magazine just dropped and is looking like another fine issue. Covering all the action from X Games in Berlin with some stunning double spreads and a run down of the US freeriding scene, this is one of their strongest issues to date. Oh, and it’s free to read online! So go check it out today.

Immersed With Rob Adelberg

Being at most FMX events, we thought we had a pretty good handle on how riders are feeling going in to a big event. It was interested to see this short documentary with the Mulisha rider then, as he discusses his feelings going into the event and explains his motivation to keep pushing himself in this increasingly competitive sport. With some exclusive footage from training as well as from the big event itself, this is an edit not too miss!

Backflip World Record at Masters of Dirt

Wow. Just… wow. This is one of the craziest things we’ve seen during our ten years.

When Jimmy Blaze trashed his buggy in practice last weekend, the Masters of Dirt crew scramble to plan a fitting replacement for the Sunday crowd. The outcome? 41 FMX riders in a train, hitting continuous backflips and setting a new world record in the process.

George from Masters of Dirt is an absolute legend for pulling this off and has put a trip to one of his Vienna shows right at the top of our bucket list.

Mini Air Jam 2013

We would like to announce this weekend August 18th we have the Mini Air Jam as part of the Brackley Festival Of Motoring. Some of the finest mini bike riders going head to head in an airborne battle, to find out who is king of mini bike FMX. For more info on a tidy day out, loads to do and see. check out http://www.bfomc.org.uk/

JEFFREY HERLINGS AND PIRELLI FIM MOTOCROSS MX2 WORLD CHAMPIONS

The Dutch KTM star defends his championship with three rounds to spare providing Pirelli with their 59th Motocross Championship while the Scorpion MX again ‘owns’ MX1 

Loket (Czech Republic), 5 August 2013 ­– Pirelli won its 59th FIM Motocross World Championship thanks to the performance of eighteen year old Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings who closed out the MX2 category with three rounds to run.

The KTM rider guided his factory 250SX-F with Pirelli Scorpion MX MidSoft 32F front and Scorpion MX MidSoft 32 rear to victory and confirmed his second title after winning all fourteen of seventeen rounds in the series so far. In the Czech Republic Herlings was again unstoppable and logged his twelfth double of the year ahead of other Pirelli riders Christophe Charlier, Aleksandr Tonkov, Alex Lupino and team-mate Jordi Tixier; the latter maintaining second spot in the MX2 standings.

While the MX2 class followed the formbook, MX1 was a little different as works Suzuki and Pirelli rider Clement Desalle celebrated his second triumph of the campaign with a resolute double run. The Belgian classified ahead of team-mate Kevin Strijbos; his countryman posting second and fourth positions. Like other Pirelli representatives in the category he used Scorpion MX MidSoft 32F front and Scorpion MX MidSoft 32 rear with dimensions of 120/90-19 to offer the best chance of traction on the stony terrain that hardly any grip.

MX1 points leader Antonio Cairoli could only finish fifth overall, just beaten by team-mate Ken De Dycker and unable to find a decent feeling on the track across the weekend. In the first race he stalled his bike and lost ground, recovering to take fourth, while in the second moto he crashed in the opening phases trying to pass Jeremy Van Horebeek and again had to fight for positions to take seventh. Despite the events of the Grand Prix of Czech Republic, Cairoli can still count on an advantage of ninety points over Desalle and can toast a seventh title come the next round of the series at Bastogne for the Grand Prix of Belgium on August 18th.

At Loket the Scorpion MX also shone in the sixth fixture in the European EMX250 Championship where a fifth victory was obtained by series leader Valentin Guillod.

Grand Prix of Czech Republic, Loket Circuit: Temperature 30, Humidity 67%

MX1 Overall Classification:

1. Clement Desalle Suzuki Team Rockstar Energy

2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki Team Rockstar Energy

3. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda Team World Motocross

4. Ken De Dycker KTM Team Red Bull Factory

5. Antonio Cairoli KTM Team Red Bull Factory

MX1 Championship standings after 14 rounds:

1. Antonio Cairoli KTM p. 643

2. Clement Desalle Suzuki p. 553

3. Ken De Dycker KTM p. 514

4. Gautier Paulin Kawasaki p. 465

5. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki p. 437

MX2 Overall Classification:

1. Jeffrey Herlings KTM Team Red Bull Factory

2. Christophe Charlier Yamaha Team Monster Energy

3. Aleksandr Tonkov Honda Team ESTA

4. Alex Lupino Kawasaki Team CLS

5. Jordi Tixier KTM Team Red Bull Factory

MX2 Championship standings after 14 rounds:

1. Jeffrey Herlings KTM p. 692

2. Jordi Tixier KTM p. 515

3. José Butron KTM p. 438

4. Christophe Charlier Yamaha p. 405

5. Glenn Coldenhoff KTM p. 377

More information regarding Pirelli’s entire range of off-road and road tyres can be found atwww.pirelli.co.uk/moto

X Games Brazil: Taka Higashino and Lance Coury Get Gold + Jackson Strong Freestyle X Crash

X Games in Brazil might not have worked out great for Ken Block, Travis Pastrana or Tanner Foust. But the weekend of events at Foz do Iguaçu still saw it's fair share of winners. Check out the winning run from Taka Higashino in Moto X Freestyle X (landing him another gold medal after his performance in Los Angeles) and watch Lance Coury triumphing over Andre Villa to win Moto X Speed and Style.



Even despite Best Trick being removed from the events line-up, Moto X wasn't completely free from injury - Australian Jackson Strong under-rotated a backflip in his Freestyle X run, leaving him with concussion and a broken right tibia. The rider is fine though and posting on his Facebook page after being released from hospital

Levi Sherwood: Home Again - Episode1 (Part 1 & 2)

2012 was a greater year for Kiwi FMX rider Levi Sherwood but his crowning achievement has to be his position as the current reigning Red Bull X-Fighters champion. Which probably explains why Sherwood has been treated to his own Red Bull series. Taking advantage of some downtime before the next X-Fighters, Levi takes us around his compound, reflects on the events of the last season and, in the second video below, shows us how he likes to spend some of his free time. Basically, go karting and fishing. Doesn't sound too bad.

#RECOIL - Ballistic BJ Baldwin in his Monster Truck

We love the internet. The days of boring commercials are long gone, and have been replaced by incredible infomercials such as this one, released yesterday from Monster Energy. In essence, it's a dude driving through the desert (and into Las Vegas) in a trophy truck. Really quite quickly. Starting out in his garage, BJ Baldwin heads out to a casino in Vegas. While doing so, he happens to stumble across a rather attractive young lady, who appears to have broken down in her Nissan GT-R. Nightmare. As the gentleman that he is, he stopped to pick her up and take her to the casino. To make sure they get to said casino in time, he jumps, drifts and occasionally flies through the desert in spectacular fashion. That's pretty much the size of it! Now for our opinion.. Overall, it's a pretty darn cool. They are trying a little hard in places (notably the girl who gets covered in dirt), but it's worth spending the 5 minutes to have a watch. GNARLY BRO!

The Best Moto Heli Video of all time?

Brett Cue Road 2 XGAMES Episode 4 Heli Shoot from WhiskeyThrottleTV on Vimeo.

Getting into the X Games is an awful lot easier said than done. If you aren't part of the elite, you'll need to create a couple of awesome videos and hope you're in luck. Brett Cue has produced (or Whiskey Throttle TV) what can only be described as one of the greatest heli shoot videos of all time. Yup, it really is that good. The video features Brett launching his dirt scooter around a really cool MX track, as well as throwing a couple of gnarly whips, lazy-boys and hitting some sweet berms. Watch. Enjoy. Dream. Then repeat. (Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!)

Guerlain Chicherit's Car Backflip

You've already watched stunt driver Guerlain Chicherit backflip a John Cooper Works Mini Countryman on a specially-made ramp in Tignes, France, right?

Well, now you've got the chance to see how it all happens from the point of view of the man himself (oh, and his rear axle) courtesy of GoPro.

2013 FMX Farm Jam Highlights

New Zealand's Farm Jam looks like one hell of an impressive event for a Freestyle location. In fact, if you squint your eyes real tight and look really carefully, you'll spot Frodo and Samwise on their journey to Mordor in the background.

This year, the Unit Farm Jam, attracted some great freestyle motocross, BMX and MTB talent, who clearly relished the chance to get stuck into the incredible jumps.
The 2013 winners were Nick Franklin (FMX), Andreu Lacondeguy (MTB) and Kyle Baldock (BMX).
Also, check out some footage from the MTB contest below:

Mini Pulls off first car backflip

What happens when you drink too much Monster energy?  You get a John Cooper Works Mini Countryman, and convince French Rally Raid world champion, Guerlain Chicherit, to make it do a backflip.

This is what the manufacturer claims is the world's first successful backflip in a car. It took Checherit four years to plan the stunt, which involved him jumping the car, flipping it, then landing on a 8-meter high snow ramp in French ski resort, Tignes.

Motocross Casino Freestyle Nitro Circus Style

So, you've already seen Robbie Maddison in an Airplane Graveyard this morning. Why not watch
Gavin Godfrey ride a motocross bike through the Eureka Casino in Nevada this afternoon?

This particular jaunt is to advertise Nitro Circus visiting the Mesquite Off-road Weekend on Feb 22nd-23rd. You can find out more at the Facebook page: http://facebook.com/mesquiteoffroad/

Robbie Maddison Air.Craft Movie

We've waited patiently and here it is: Robbie Maddison and DC's Air.Craft movie!

Robbie ‘Maddo’ Maddison is no stranger to danger. In fact, the two must be pretty good buddies by now. Over the course of his illustrious career, the daredevil motocross rider has picked up X Games medals, won rounds of the Red Bull X Fighters and completed some of the most daring, record-breaking stunts ever seen. Maddo is the only man in the world who has backflipped London’s Tower Bridge, jumped a replica of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, leapt the Corinth Canal in Greece and flew nearly 400 feet over the San Diego Bay. He’s even acted as Daniel Craig’s stunt double in the recent James Bond movie Skyfall. Not your average day job.

So, when Maddo and his chief sponsor DC Shoes announced a new short film called Air.Craft would drop early February, we could not wait to see what the daring Aussie had up his sleeve.

Filmed in the famous Mojave Airplane Graveyard (known as ‘the Boneyard’) amongst over 4000 retired military aircraft, Maddo has once again raised the bar for bravery and freestyle innovation. Check out the Air.Craft video above!

Red Bull Stratos: The Final Facts

For the last three months, Red Bull has been doing some serious number crunching to get the official statistics for Felix Baumgartner's incredible Red Bull Stratos freefall jump from space. We were sent all the facts and figures in a massive press release yesterday but, to be honest, all the numbers made our eyes hurt.

Conveniently, Red Bull are well aware that most people are lazy sods who don't like reading lots of words, so they made this dramatic CGI recreation of the event with some easy-to-digest figures. Bit of a shame they didn't recreate his worrying Mach 1.25 spin as he dropped to earth but maybe they're saving that for another day.

Couple of things we did pick up from the press release that this video doesn't explain: Baumgartner's maximum vertical speed has been revised to 843.6 mph (up from 833.9 mph) but the distance he jumped has been recalculated to 38,969.4 m (from 39,045 m). So, much easier then.

PIRELLI ANNOUNCE MAJOR SPONSORSHIP OF AMCA BRITISH MASTERS MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP- INCLUDING PRIZES TO THE RICKY CARMICHAEL UNIVERSITY!

Pirelli takes its 58 World MX title winning tyres to the popular AMCA Wulfsport British Masters Motocross Championship, becoming a major sponsor of the series. The agreement will see Pirelli running competitions to give free tyres as prizes and three lucky riders a dream trip to the Ricky Carmichael University!

Pirelli has offered up a large number of their market leading Scorpion MX tyres as prizes for riders in the two main classes - which will now be known as Pirelli MX1 and Pirelli MX2. To support racers using Pirelli, the best performing riders will be eligible for these free tyres to keep down the cost of racing at this important grassroots series. 

 

The Pirelli rider with the best results from these two classes and the exciting Youth Mini Masters division will be picked to spend time at the unique Ricky Carmichael University. Riders will get a fantastic riding experience with this US MX legend which can only help their future racing progression. The series will also benefit from a guest appearance from CLS Kawasaki and Pirelli MX star Tommy Searle, probably the UK’s most promising young rider.

The AMCA Wulfsport British Masters Championship has a long and proud history acting as a breeding ground for talented motocross riders. The depth of talent in both the MX1 and MX2 classes is arguably the strongest it’s been making for close, exciting racing. There has been a knock-on effect in the IMBA series as the AMCA has performed strongly on the International stage. The widely supported series boasts impressive entries and has been won by such motocross luminaries as Jamie Dobb, Brad Anderson and Tanel Leok.

Pirelli has an enviable heritage in Motocross with Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings notching the Italian brand’s latest World Championship crowns extending their tally to 58 World titles. The legendary Pirelli Scorpion MX tyres again took on and excelled in deep mud, energy sapping sand, loamy dirt and hard pack conditions around the World. With an extensive range of tyres for all ability levels, the Scorpion family have become the benchmark for novice to Pro riders. 

Series organiser Ken Winstanley commented “It is a great privilege to be associated with Pirelli who manufacture the best Tyre as used by world champions. It is great to give the British Masters riders the opportunity to be part of this great prize package with the Pirelli Scorpion MX Tyres. I am looking forward to a long relationship working with Pirelli UK and look forward to the up and coming season”

Pirelli UK Off Road Racing Manager Barry Urand added, “We’re proud to be involved with the AMCA Wulfsport Masters Championship and thank Ken and his team for this opportunity. With generous prize allocations of Pirelli Scorpion tyres it’s good to know we are helping amateur racers with the running costs of motocross sport. The end of year prize of three places on the excellent Ricky Carmichael University really is the icing and a great opportunity, especially for all young, aspiring riders.”

2013 AMCA Wulfsport Masters Series dates

Round 1 – 9 & 10 March – Preston Docks
Round 2 – 27 & 28 April – Foxhills
Round 3 – 25 & 26 May – Whitby
Round 4 – 15 & 16 June – Hawkstone
Round 5 – 13 & 14 July – Bevercotes
Round 6 – 17 & 18 August – Brookthorpe
Round 7 – 7 & 8 September – Pontrilas
Reserve Date - 27 & 28 July


More information regarding Pirelli’s entire range of off-road and road tyres can be found at www.pirelli.co.uk/moto

Supercross Crash Compilation

Does your morning need five minutes of Supercross crashes to a soundtrack provided by White Zombie? What do you mean that's how you start every morning? And you brush your teeth with Smirnoff? Man, that's nasty. In this compilation, you'll spot a number of repeat offenders, but we'll leave you to discover who they are. When you aren't busy sucking air through your teeth and wincing while you watch a bunch of guys break bones and eat dirt.

Mega Bargains At The FreestyleXtreme Super Reduction Sale!

Normally a Spring Clean means busting out the feather duster and the marigolds. At FreestyleXtreme, it heralds the ar.rival of something epic... 

The FreestyleXtreme Super Reduction Sale!

Okay, so they might not have given it the most imaginative name but you will forgive them when you see all the money that you can save..

Travis Pastrana Unveils His Wild New NASCAR Paint Job

What the hell is going at the moment? First Ken Block reveals his Miami Vice and Hair Metal-inspired Hoonigan Fiesta. Now Travis Pastrana has gone full-on 1980's with his 2013 NASCAR Mustang.

“I said, ‘I want it bright, I want it bold, and I want it ’80s.’ It’s a little pinker than I had originally planned. I think that was the guys just thinking they were going to try to get me beat up at a NASCAR race,” said Pastrana.
Last year, Pastrana had a disjointed NASCAR program with a Boost Mobile Toyota Camry that was disrupted by injury and commitments to the Global Rally Cross Championship. For 2013, as a driver for Roush Fenway Racing, Pastrana has signed up for a full NASCAR series.

To show his dedication to NASCAR (and satisfy his sponsors Red Bull and DC, who have invested heavily in Pastrana), Travis won't be doing any NASCAR/GRC double shifts and has been warned off from motorbikes. So, anyone expecting to see TP attempting an 'American Roll' this year is going to be disappointed. “Everyone is like, ‘When are you coming back to motorcycles?’” Pastrana said. “For me to say I’m not, a lot of people are like, ‘What the hell, you’re leaving us?’ “I’m like, ‘No, it’s a new challenge.’ I appreciate the fans that stuck with me and hopefully by the end of the season we’ll be in the hunt for some wins. I know we need to win to get the fan base over here.” 

With a colour scheme like that, we certainly won't be able to miss him. Time to get that '199' sticker sorted out though, Travis!

More info at Sporting News 

Big Bikes Can Fly!

KTM rally racer Marc Coma took to the air after winning his fifth Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. In the deserts of the UAE, Coma tried his hand at launching the 140kg 2011 KTM 450 Rally bike over the sand dunes with help from X-Games gold medal winner Ronnie Renner.

The two riders had some fun swapping between Coma’s rally bike and Renner’s freestyle motocrosser — a weird experience for both, with Coma making a 15 meter long, 6 meter high, jump on the usually terrestrially grounded rally bike. Photos after the jump.

“Normally, for us the important thing is keeping the bike in contact with the ground. The speed is what matters,” said Coma. “That’s why it’s not usual for Rally riders to be jumping these heights and distances. Compared to a Freestyle bike, my bike weighs about a dozen kilos more than this. The tank alone can hold 40 liters.”

“That was really an eye-opener!” exclaimed Renner. “I was able to take a spin on Marc’s bike and I’ve got to admit I must have looked pretty awful. The speed is incredible and the handling compared to a Freestyle bike is extremely hard. Taking this jump on a KTM Rally bike is phenomenal.”