Suitcase of Courage

Flying Squirrels

What is the Suitcase of Courage? It's what these guys looked in before filming this segment.
wingsuit base jumping from doubleA on Vimeo.

Red Bull hits .500 for New Years Eve

    We posted earlier on Red Bull's latest crazy ass stunt planned for New Years Eve in Las Vegas where two hopped up X-treme types were going to attempt some world records. Unfortunately for Rhys MIllan, the man attempting a back-flip in a Baja racing truck, one of the practice jumps before New Years didn't go so well and he ended up in the hospital instead of on ESPN.
    I guess that's why Red Bull made sure they had a slightly more achievable stunt in mind as well. Robbie Madison went for glory and cleared the requisite football field. 322' 7" is the new record! Here's the clip.

Robbie Madison Breaks Record Motorcycle Jump, 322 Ft 7 Inches - The best video clips are here

Red Bull's latest crazy-ass-stunt.

New Year's Eve will see what is possibly one of the craziest things Red Bull has ever sponsored. And that is saying quite a bit. In Las Vegas, home to everything over the top and outrageous, Pikes Peak veteran Rhys Millen will somehow manage a back-flip in a Baja racing truck while Robbie Maddison jumps a football field on a moto-cross bike. Success hinges mostly on their ability to fit helmets over their trucker hats. Check it out.

Tuesday Tirade: F1, Alex Yoong, and the Rockies

    F1 has been, for as long as I've been watching, a sport that requires a certain amount of work to appreciate. Its a sport for those who like to recite engine specifications and sporting conduct guidelines, although once in a wet race it'll have the carnage appeal as well. Add in a secret rulebook, the grandiosely named "Concord Agreement," and you have a race series that manufactures elitism.
    Until recently, all this had seemed like a somewhat comedic backdrop to what was inherently a great series, dare I say the best in the world. Formula 1 cars are like nothing else on pavement and as cream invariably rises to the top we also get to watch the best drivers in the world race them. I love F1, but this year the politics have gone too far. It's confounding to me how Max Mosley and the rest of them have managed to cock up what could have been a truly great season. Schumi's gone, time for the new kids to take over! Not. Time for politics to take over, and this weekend we arrive at the championship finale, the Brazilian Grand Prix, which is normally one of my favorites. This year however, thanks to the FIA ruining the constructor's championship and the bickering among Dennis, Alonso, and Hamilton JesusDriver (sponsered by Vodafone!) turning this year's Driver's Championship into a who-gives-a-shit affair, I find myself strangely excited about the upcoming World Series.
    That's right, baseball. The eternally horrible Colorado Rockies are going to the World Series and for me that's about like taking a ten year break from F1 and then hearing Alex Yoong has come back with an old Minardi and won twelve races in a year.
    Of course, in the end I'll be watching this weekend's race in Brazil with as much enthusiasm as ever. It is a three way shootout for the biggest prize in motorsport after all, but what I'd like most is to move past the egotistical political in-fighting that almost brought the sport to its knees this year.
    Bring on 2008, and bring on the World Series!

Kimi Hunt is at it again!

Earlier this year we told you about Kimi Raikkonen showing up late for the Australian Grand Prix (which he won) because he was busy racing snowmobiles across Scandinavian tundra. (Which he also won) In a world where most sports stars seem tamed to the point of boringness, Kimi's adventures never cease to amaze, or attract attention. For this reason he's been known to use James Hunt as a pseudonym while off carousing and word has come in from the Finnish tabloids via SofC reader Mikko Tikkanen that James Hunt was on the prowl again.

According to Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat, Raikkonen was expected to take part in the Hanko Poker Run boat race this month where hordes of fans were waiting to greet him. Ever the reclusive type, Kimi managed to avoid detection by kitting his team out in full gorilla suits. In this manner they arrived at the crowded pier unannounced and instead of being mobbed by autograph hungry fans they elicited little more than chuckles from onlookers. Shortly after the three man gorilla team had moved on Kimi's friend Jussi Salonoja arrived with the Ice Man's yacht, aptly named Ice Eleven, and one of the gorilla team was spotted getting on board. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when one looked at the list of race entrants and found a certain Mr. James Hunt driving the gorilla team boat.

While we had heard of Raikkonen's use of the James Hunt pseudonym, the gorilla trick is news to us but apparently its another staple in the KR book of avoiding the prying media. In 2004 the Ice Man apparently suited up and partied like a gorilla for his friend's bachelor party in Tampere. Maybe he should also wear this to strip clubs in London when he's out with his mates and had a few pints... Or how about on the podium this weekend after he dominates the field.

Thanks again to SofC reader Mikko for tipping us off and translating the story!

Ferrari on the water

Ferrari may not be breaking any records so far this year in F1 but last week speedboat designer Eugenio Molinari threw a production F430 V-8 in the back of this beautiful craft to break a couple speed records on Lake Como. Crowds along the beautiful lakeside witnessed the machine hitting 123 km/h in celebration of the prancing horse's 60th anniversary.

via autoblog

The Stig of the Sky Screams with Jets On His Wings

A hundred years ago, two innovative brothers from South Carolina proved that man wasn't bound to use his feet for transportation. It took nearly 50 years, and multiple wars, to allow air travel to catch up with the common lay person. And after the exuberant Howard Hughes went batshit crazy, the aviation industry was hijacked by corporate militarism producing more destruction and less for leisure. And you all know, the exhuberence of leisure is what we're all about. But I digress...

Along comes a 'polysportsman' called the Jet Man who 'performs' through falling out of the sky on boards from hot air balloons, straddling two biplanes mid-flight, and cutting through the air on a winged board. For however insane his high-altitude arobatics seem, the Jet Man, a.k.a. Frenchman Yves Rossy, has had an admirable career to date with over 1,100 seat hours and just as many skydiving jumps racked up on his CV. 

The Jet Man's latest "Flying Man" contraption mixes the simple spirit of the Wright Brothers with the desire to fly like Superman. With his 3 meter wings attached to his back, he jumps out of a plane, unfolds the wings, fires up his specially made model airplane engines, waits for stabilization then he is off. And by "off", he is flying at over 100mph controlling himself through small body movements. Hats off, Jet Man. May you be the Stig of the Sky!

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MotoGP Will Keep F1 Honest in 2007

Even though the 2007 F1 season hasn't as much as turned a wheel, this years championship have all the ingredients to be a classic thriller. The two fastest men in F1 for better or worse have changed teams, new regulations and the absences of Das Schu on the grid will bring upon the unavoidable babble phrases like "changing of the guard", "end of an era", "why didn't your younger brother retire instead", etc...

In the years of Michael Schumacher's borefest where he obliterated the championship(s) in his Ferrari, many F1 fans turned to another source of entertainment. MotoGP is the absolute pinnacle of bike racing and has garnered a loyal European centered following. In Fernando Alonso's home country, MotoGP was, and to a point still is, hugely more accessible and popular than "the most popular sport behind soccer" - Formula 1.

When F1 continues to ruin itself with petty inside politics, inane rule changes and increasingly makes itself inaccessible to fans, MotoGP has done the opposite. Valentino Rossi was smart to walk away from his Ferrari F1 deal and stay where the racing is true, raw and requires its sportsmen to have both brawn and fine tuned tact. That said, there are no Ralf Schumachers in MotoGP.

Even though Valentino couldn't defend his title in 2006 after switching to an uncompetitive Yamaha, he is absolutely fired up about winning again in 2007. Honda is dropping once cylinder from its V5 engine and will more likely be playing catch-up thought the year. This is bad news for riders like RealityTV Star/Champion Nicky Hayden, Marco Melandri and Dani Pedrosa but expect them to bounce back with some wins. Suzuki and Yahama have been the quickest manufacturers in the Sepang test sessions but we'll see who's on top at the season opener in Qatar on March 10th.

Like F1, MotoGP gets new rubber rules that will surely shake-up the weekends with riders now have a far smaller selection of tyres to use. The tyre war is heating up between Michelin, who have always been a force in MotoGP and relative newbies Bridgestone. The dubious Michelin front end grip has caused riders like Casey Stoner to crash out 5 times from losing the front end last season; now, he'll be on Bridgestones so hopefully he'll be on a podium or two...

Well there's far too much to cover so head over to the expert analysis at KROPTKIN THINKS to find out his predictions and learn all things MotoGP.

Bruno Senna Moves to GP2

Arden Motorsport has just signed Bruno Senna to GP2 for the 2007 Season. Before the 1994 Season, Bruno's famous uncle Ayrton said, "If you think I'm good, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno." After Ayrton's death, Bruno's karting career was put on hold until he recieved a memorable gift in 2004 - Ayrton's 1986 Lotus 98T. Bruno drove it in demonstrations at Imola and Goodwood wearing a similar rendition of Ayrton's famous helmet colors.

After competing in only 5 Formula BMW and Formula Renault races, he moved to British Formula Three in 2005 for Raikkonen Robertson Racing. He drove for Raikkonen's team and his career manager is Ayrton's old friend and Toro Rosso boss Gerhard Berger. With that sort of support and a fairly successful 2006 British Formula 3 season behind him, Bruno moves on to be part of the F1 "Feeder" Series for 2007. Hopefully he proves the naysayer's wrong in that he has the speed (and not just the name) to be where he is today.