Here it is, as reported by the NY Times:
DECEMBER 31, 2009, 10:27 AM
Pastrana Attempts Rally Car Jump Record
By JIM MOTAVALLI
Garth Milan/Red Bull Photofiles Travis Pastrana testing at Lake Elsinore, Calif., for his New Year’s Eve jump.
On New Year’s Eve, Travis Pastrana will “test the laws of physics†and get airborne in a Subaru Impreza STI for Red Bull’s annual New Year’s event, “Red Bull: New Year. No Limits.†The goal is to break the 171-foot world record for the longest distance jump in a rally car.
Mr. Pastrana, a four-time champion in the Rally America series, expects to take off from a ramp on the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach, Calif., and travel 40 to 50 feet above the water, landing on a floating barge in Rainbow Harbor. If he falls short, according to a Red Bull spokesman, Jordan Miller, waterborne rescue crews will be standing by.
* * *
Mr. Pastrana, 26, said in a phone interview that the approximately 250-foot jump turned out to be “a lot bigger than it looked when I drew it up on a napkin.†His motivation, he said, is topping previous “No Limits†stunts (the event is in its third year). Mr. Pastrana said he also considered jumping into a stadium and hopping over a freeway. He crashed one of the rally cars during testing, but he remains upbeat. “The car disintegrated, but I’m doing O.K.,†he said.
Mr. Pastrana, a former motocross and supercross phenom, said his passion remains racing. And he asserted that the jump, which will put a fleet of Subarus through extreme testing, “is helping progress rallying as a sport.†The jump car has had $250,000 in modifications, adding horsepower, a stiffer suspension and a roll cage. But Mr. Pastrana said the car is still “street legal.â€
Red Bull and ESPN, which will televise the event live, are presumably getting what they wanted: not rally research, but an entertainment spectacular, albeit one that will last only a few seconds.
“Red Bull: New Year. No Limits†will be presented by ESPN and ESPNHD on Dec. 31 at 11 p.m.
DECEMBER 31, 2009, 10:27 AM
Pastrana Attempts Rally Car Jump Record
By JIM MOTAVALLI
Garth Milan/Red Bull Photofiles Travis Pastrana testing at Lake Elsinore, Calif., for his New Year’s Eve jump.
On New Year’s Eve, Travis Pastrana will “test the laws of physics†and get airborne in a Subaru Impreza STI for Red Bull’s annual New Year’s event, “Red Bull: New Year. No Limits.†The goal is to break the 171-foot world record for the longest distance jump in a rally car.
Mr. Pastrana, a four-time champion in the Rally America series, expects to take off from a ramp on the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach, Calif., and travel 40 to 50 feet above the water, landing on a floating barge in Rainbow Harbor. If he falls short, according to a Red Bull spokesman, Jordan Miller, waterborne rescue crews will be standing by.
* * *
Mr. Pastrana, 26, said in a phone interview that the approximately 250-foot jump turned out to be “a lot bigger than it looked when I drew it up on a napkin.†His motivation, he said, is topping previous “No Limits†stunts (the event is in its third year). Mr. Pastrana said he also considered jumping into a stadium and hopping over a freeway. He crashed one of the rally cars during testing, but he remains upbeat. “The car disintegrated, but I’m doing O.K.,†he said.
Mr. Pastrana, a former motocross and supercross phenom, said his passion remains racing. And he asserted that the jump, which will put a fleet of Subarus through extreme testing, “is helping progress rallying as a sport.†The jump car has had $250,000 in modifications, adding horsepower, a stiffer suspension and a roll cage. But Mr. Pastrana said the car is still “street legal.â€
Red Bull and ESPN, which will televise the event live, are presumably getting what they wanted: not rally research, but an entertainment spectacular, albeit one that will last only a few seconds.
“Red Bull: New Year. No Limits†will be presented by ESPN and ESPNHD on Dec. 31 at 11 p.m.
