New decade. No limits
Saturday January 02 2010
Action sports star Travis Pastrana rang in 2010 by making history at Long Beach, California.
At about 9:00pm local time (midnight ET), Pastrana launched his Subaru Impreza STI rally car off the Pine Avenue Pier in Long Beach at 91mph, soaring 269 feet over Rainbow Harbour and landing on a floating barge. The jump was almost 100 feet further than the former record, set by Pastrana's friend Ken Block, which stood at 171 feet.
Red Bull: New Year. No Limits was broadcasted live on ESPN to a worldwide audience while more than 75,000 fans joined in the party at Long Beach.
"I was really nervous all day long, but when I got in the car I felt really calm," said Pastrana. "It was definitely a lot more fun than any of my practice runs, and when I landed, man did that retaining wall come up fast! I'm just happy the car and I didn't end up in the drink. What a way to head into 2010!"
It's the latest in a long line of firsts for Pastrana - he completed the first ever double back flip on a motorcycle, has jumped out of an airplane without a parachute, and now officially holds the world record for the longest jump in a rally car. After successfully completing the record jump, Pastrana celebrated by performing a back flip off the landing ramp into Rainbow Harbour.
Pastrana's successful feat follows in the footsteps of fellow motorsports athletes Robbie Maddison and Rhys Millen, who celebrated New Year's Eve in 2008 by pushing their physical, mental and technical limits to break boundaries and records in front of thousands of fans in Las Vegas and millions of viewers on TV.
