Red Bull New Year No Limits: Catching Up With Robbie Maddison

On the eve of New Year’s Eve young Australian daredevil Robbie “Maddo” Maddison again finds himself in the shadow of danger, preparing for what could be the most harrowing jump of his life (to date, at least). In case you haven’t been paying attention, Maddo headlined last year’s Red Bull New Year No Limits event, setting the Guinness World Record for a motorcycle distance jump of over 322 feet live on ESPN to ring in 2008. And he’s back…

Not one to sit back and rest on his laurels, Maddo and the Red Bull crew have come up with a new way to defy Newton’s law. Last year saw the distance record broken, while this year it’s all about going vertical – over 100 feet, virtually straight up, only to land on a skinny 40-foot wide plank. But not just any 40-foot wide plank: the top of the mock Arc de Triomphe in front of Paris Las Vegas. Upon completing the jump and getting his bike slowed down in the space allotted, he will then drop off the Arc and freefall 50-plus feet to a massive quarter pipe-style landing ramp below.

On the other end of The Strip at the Rio Hotel and Casino, fellow Red Bull athlete, multi-time Formula Drift champion and certified adrenaline junkie Rhys Millen will be attempting to make good on his promise of backflipping a trophy truck from ramp-to-ramp, and setting a Guinness World Record in the process. He was hurt practicing for the jump last year, suffering a broken back, but is back to full health and is ready to go.

MotoUSA is LIVE on the scene here in Vegas to give you updates and coverage of the event as it happens. Due to the proximity of the two jump sites being very far away from each other and their closeness in time for live TV, it is impossible to get from one event to the other, thus we will be focusing on Maddo’s massive motorcycle stunt—we are MotoUSA, not AutoUSA.

We just returned from the site of Maddo’s jump at Paris, and the ramp looks like something out of a video game. The sheer height on the Arc and the distance he will need to travel to make it up to the top – then only of have to slam on the brakes and get set for the massive drop back down – are absolutely insane. The man has lost his marbles. Got to love him. Though, even he knows how high the consequences are.

"This stuff, the height of this one, really is scary,” Maddo said. “It really is crazy to look at it from here (bottom of the ramp) and see how high up 100 feet is. A fall from there would be 100-percent fatal, but I love this stuff!”
He really is a likable young Aussie, so here’s hoping he’s been practicing…                                                                                 

We caught up with the modern-day Evil Knievel to see what was going through his head the day before attempting what may arguably be the most dangerous stunt ever attempted on two wheels, so be sure to check out the video! And stay tuned for coverage of his jump and more behind-the-scenes features.


Both events will be broadcast live on ESPN tomorrow night, starting at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time.