Levi LaVallee and Robbie Maddison kick off 2012 with a bang at Red Bull: “New Year. No Limits”
The much-awaited Red Bull: “New Year. No Limits” delivered on the promised thrill on New Year eve as the freestyle motocross (FMX) star Robbie Maddison and snowmobile rider Levi LaVallee simultaneously jumped over 300 feet of water at San Diego Harbour in
California, America.
The 29-year-old LaVallee launched into the air from the huge take-off ramps and soared 412 feet 6 inches before making a touchdown on the massive landing ramp. This set a new record for the longest distance-jump on a snowmobile, beating the previous certified
record of 361 feet that was also set by him.
“I'm as excited as I think a person can be,” said an ecstatic LaVallee. “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.”
The Longville-based rider was slated to perform the record-breaking jump at last year’s Red Bull: “New Year. No Limits”, but got injured in a training jump, which not only resulted in the cancellation of the event, but also kept the rider out of competing
at Winter X Games 15. However, he finally redeemed himself after last year’s disappointment by breaking the previous record comprehensively.
New Year Eve turned out to be pretty memorable for the 30-year-old Maddison as well as he surpassed his previous certified record of 351 feet 3 inches by jumping a distance of 378 feet 9 inches.
The Australian-based rider had unofficially broken the existing world record of 391 feet jump during practice, but was unable to repeat the feat in front of the crowd at Red Bull: “New Year. No Limits” on Saturday.
Regardless of falling short of the existing record, Maddison was glad to have landed safely on the other side and plans on making a few more changes to his bike to go even further next time.
“It's a cool feeling to do what I do and have the backing I do,” said Maddison. “I was confident we were going to go a long way tonight and we're going to come back and go even further.”
The two action sports athletes made the New Year Eve a memorable one through their much-hyped feat, raising the bar even higher for the coming years. The action sports fans will have to wait one more year to see if the two riders make their return to the
event to treat the crowd to something even more incredible.
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