Monster Energy’s Paul Thacker Sets World Distance Jumping

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Monster Energy’s Paul Thacker Sets World Distance Jumping

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Monster Energy’s Paul Thacker Sets World Distance Jumping Mark…On A Snowmobile!
News release

With Monster Energy’s Paul Thacker setting an astonishing world record jump on a snowmobile yesterday – 238 feet – Monster Energy’s stable of action sports athletes now contains the world distance records on both a snowmobile and motorcycle (Ryan Capes).

On April 13th at a municipal air strip in Hill City, Minn., Thacker cracked whatever that lever is called on the handlebars that makes you go fast like a dirt bike’s throttle and got his Artic Cat sled up to 73 mph on the radar then berzerked it off a custom-built SCS Racing launch ramp and into history – some 53 feet off the ground and 238 feet out before landing in a makeshift dirt/hay/snow mountain AND into the Guinness Book of World Records.

“I’m super competitive, so to have an opportunity to be not only the best, but the first, is an absolute honor,” said Thacker of his record leap. “We made history and I’m thrilled. The coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of.”

Thacker, 31, who hails from Anchorage, Alaska, said that his effort was the first of its kind. He figures he’s come close in the past, riding back country, to hitting 200 feet – but never has anyone ever come close to that on a ramp-to-snow(w/ dirt & hay) jump.

“We’re the first ones and we’ve set a mark that we will look to stretch out in the months to come,” said Thacker, one hand on his cell phone, the other he pointed out was on a can of Monster Lo-Carb. “The goal now is 300 feet.”

Coincidently, Monster also sponsors Ryan Capes – the first human to ever break the magical 300 foot barrier on a motorcycle. Thacker says he and Capes are good friends and he’s asked Capes for some distance jumping advice, including ramp construction and geometry.

“It’s not out of the question that we’ll some day meet in some sort of snowmobile vs. dirt bike distance jumping event,” said Thacker. “I’d stay tuned on that one.”

Some more facts on the jump:

. The SCS Racing-built take off ramp was 53 feet long and 14.5 feet high.
. A snowmobile weighs in excess of 450 pounds, a dirt bike is around 220 pounds.
. Thacker started jumping in 70 feet, then increased the increments by 50 feet for the next several warm up jumps.
. On April 13th at 11 a.m. (CST), Thacker jumped into the record books at 238 feet.
. Footage of Thacker’s jump will air on Slednecks #9, which is set to be released on Sept. 1st, 2006.

Finally, the previous record for snowmobile distance jumping, according to Thacker, really didn’t exist. “There wasn’t one,” he said. “This is the first time anything like this has been attempted, with measuring techniques developed for motorcycle jumps that would hold up to the scrutiny of the Guinness Book of World Records. So, in theory, when we broke the 100-foot mark for the first time during practice we had the world record.”

http://www.amamotocross.com/article.php ... Ykj7qlW3uH

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