El Vaquero

Issue date: 1/14/10 Section: Features

Media Credit: Richard Kontas

On New Year's Eve, extreme sports icon Travis Pastrana made history in Long Beach. Performing in front of an estimated 70,000 revelers, the four-time Rally America Champion and nine-time X Games Gold Medalist set a new world record at "Red Bull: New Year. No Limits."

At approximately 9 p.m., Pastrana launched his Subaru rally car off the Pine Avenue Pier at about 90 miles per hour, flying 269 feet across Rainbow Harbor and landing on a floating barge. The jump put Pastrana almost 100 feet over the previous record, which was 171 feet.

Slideshow Media Credit: Richard Kontas

"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!"

Pastrana, 26, is a pioneer in extreme sports - he completed the first ever double back flip on a motorcycle at X-Games 12, has jumped out of an airplane without a parachute, and now officially holds the world record for the longest jump in a rally car.

Once he completed the record jump, Pastrana then did a back flip off the top of the barge's landing ramp into Rainbow Harbor.

TO RESTART SLIDESHOW CLICK ON "01" THEN THE ARROW (>) AT FAR RIGHT BOTTOM
Slideshow Media Credit: Richard Kontas

Also on hand was 16-year-old motorcycle stunt riding phenom Aaron Colton and a
crew of FMX motocrossers who did demo jumps, flips, assorted tricks and stunts to entertain the crowd while waiting for the Pastrana jump.

The event billed as "Red Bull: New Year. No Limits" was telecast live and worldwide on ESPN.


For more information on Red Bull events visit: RedBull.com. For more information on Travis Pastrana visit: TravisPastrana.com

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