Watch Levi LaVallee break his own world record for distance jumped on a snowmobile by launching 412 feet at the 2011 Red Bull: New Year. No Limits event on Saturday night.
The previous record was 361 feet. He jumped alongside Robbie Maddison, who unofficially broke the world
record for distance jumped on a motorcycle during practice for Saturday night's event.
Polaris Terrain Domination is not restricted to the snowbelt, as snocross racer and snowmobile freestyle champion Levi LaVallee proved on New Year’s Eve when he soared 412 feet, 6 inches, on a Polaris IQ®
Race Sled to set a new world record for snowmobile distance jumping.
LaVallee soared to the record during a Red Bull-sponsored event staged at Embarcadero Marine Park in San Diego. LaVallee flew across the park’s salt water channel alongside motocross rider Robbie Maddison, who flew 378 feet, 9 inches.
LaVallee’s jump was actually the longest in the history of all motorsports categories as it beat the current motorcycle jump distance mark of 390 feet, 4 inches, set in 2008 by Ryan Capes. LaVallee’s previous snowmobile jump record of 361 feet was already far beyond the record jump distances for ATVs (176 feet, 11 inches) and cars (332 feet).
After successfully landing the epic jump on the race-tuned Polaris sled, LaVallee was understandably ecstatic. He hadn’t just covered 412 feet, he had completed a year-long journey of recovery from injuries suffered in a practice crash in December 2010.
LaVallee was originally scheduled to attempt a world record jump on New Year’s Eve 2010. Early practices for that event went well and he set a new snowmobile jump record at 361 feet. But LaVallee crashed hard on a later practice jump. Both lungs collapsed and he suffered a fractured pelvis and multiple broken ribs. He missed the 2010-2011 snocross racing season, worked through grueling physical rehab, then
immersed himself in intense physical training to prepare for the jump on December 31, 2011.
After completing the record-setting jump, LaVallee explained why he worked so hard to complete the project: "To me, it was an open book. It was something I had to overcome, otherwise it was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. To be here today and land an over-400-foot jump, you can't make it any better. I can finally close this chapter of my life that started over a year ago.”
