26-Year Old Sets New Record For Longest 'Rally Car' Jump

On New Year Eve, 26-year old Travis Pastrana, stunned a cheering crowd of 35,000 people, by establishing a new record for the longest rally car jump ever! His eye-popping 269ft. leap surpassed the previous record of171ft., by an astounding 98ft!

Pastrana who was competing at the Red Bull New Year, No Limits event in Long Beach, California, drove a souped-up rally version of the Subaru Impreza WRX ST, for the stunt.

After warming up the car, the fearless youngster drove off the designated ramp and 'flew' over the stretch of water that lay between him and the landing area. While his 'flight' was smooth, he skidded on landing, thanks to moisture caused by dew condensation, and crashed right into the safety wall at the end of the barge.

While the Subaru looked a little beaten up, Pastrana was absolutely fine. Emerging triumphantly from the car minutes after the jump, he celebrated his victory, by jumping out 19ft into the freezing Pacific Ocean. 

While thrilled with this achievement, Pastrana has two regrets - He had wanted to break the existing record by 100ft. and more importantly, had dreamed of celebrating his victory, by spinning doughnuts with his car, which he was unable to do, because he crash landed into the barrier!

Pastrana, who is a television star in a stunt show called Nitro Circus, is no stranger to extreme sports or to setting world records. He first made headlines in 1999, at the tender age of 15, when he not only won a gold medal at the X-Games, but delighted the crowd even further, by jumping into the cold San Francisco Bay with his motorbike! 

With this latest achievement, this extreme sportsman holds a total of eleven Guinness World Records, including,' First Person to perform a double back-flip on a Motorcycle and, 'Most Motorcycle flips in 30 seconds.

To read more about this amazing athlete and see some great pictures and video clips, check out his website: travispastrana.com.

sources:dailymail.co.uk, wikipedia.org,sports.espn.org