Racer/daredevil Guy Martin accomplishes feat broadcast live March 28 on Channel 4 in the UK
MINNEAPOLIS (April 4, 2016) — Indian Motorcycle®, America’s first motorcycle company, is proud to announce that accomplished English road racer and flourishing daredevil TV presenter Guy Martin used an Indian Scout motorcycle to prepare for a new world record he recently set for the fastest speed around a ‘Wall of Death’.
The feat was televised live on Channel 4 in the UK on March 28 and immediately certified as a Guinness World Record. A silo-shaped cylinder made of wooden planks, a Wall of Death installation usually ranges from 20 to 36 feet in diameter. Motorcyclists traveling along the vertical wall of the silo at a typical speed of approx. 20 mph are held in place by centrifugal force. To reach the 60 mph Martin needed to achieve, yet limit the g-force plying his body, the Wall of Death built for him in an otherwise unused hangar featured a 387-ft. circumference.
[supsystic-gallery id=4 position=center]
Viewers saw Martin set the overall speed record on his own custom-built motorcycle, but to prepare for the live attempt, he used an Indian Scout supplied by Krazy Horse, an Indian Motorcycle dealership in Bury St Edmunds, UK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvnmrHS3d9s
Riding the Indian Scout, Martin hit 60.1 mph – an instant Guinness World Record – on his first attempt and reached a confirmed 70.33 mph on his second attempt. Then he switched to his own custom-built BSA R3 powered by aviation fuel. The result: 78.15 mph, the speed logged for the official Guinness World Record.
The Indian Scout Martin rode was a standard machine lightly prepared by Krazy Horse to be ‘Wall ready’. Add-ons included Renthal handlebars, lay-back risers, modified lower frame struts to accommodate foot-plates, 18″ wheels, a shortened rear fender and a special paint job.
“Seeing Guy ride the Indian Scout in preparation for the live show and initially setting a new world record was an extremely proud moment for us,” says Jim Clarke, Country Manager for Polaris UK & Ireland. “It’s testament to the Scout that a production motorcycle with very little modification could ride around that gigantic Wall of Death and help to set a new World Record.”
Click on Channel4.com to watch the event online. Learn more about Indian Motorcycle by visiting IndianMotorcycle.com and Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media channels.
Photo Credit: Guy Martin’s Wall of Death: LIVE – ALL4
###
ABOUT GUY’S WALL OF DEATH: LIVE
The ‘Wall of Death’ is an epic stunt that involves riding a motorcycle around a circular vertical wall at high speeds. The spectacle dates back to the early 1900s and became a popular staple of travelling fairgrounds across America and Britain. Guy and his support team of scientists and engineers planned to revive this stunt in epic fashion by attempting to set a Wall of Death world speed record. The record attempt required them to build the largest Wall of Death the world has ever seen. Guy, a professional motorcycle racer, then had to learn how to ride along the vertical wall at high speed and how to cope with extreme G-forces usually only experienced by seasoned fighter pilots. Guy trained with the legendary Ken Fox’s Hell Riders – the UK’s No. 1 Wall of Death troupe. The Fox family has been touring and entertaining since the 1920s and Ken Fox is recognised as one of the world’s leading Wall of Death riders. Guy then graduated to ride the largest ever Wall of Death. It spanned a massive 40 metres in diameter – over four times larger than a traditional fairground Wall of Death. To allow Guy to train day and night, rain or shine, in the run up to his record attempt, the huge structure was built in an aircraft hangar close to Guy’s Lincolnshire home. Finally, almost two years of graft all came down to one spectacular night of live TV, when Guy attempted to ride at over 60mph on this vertical wall. The show – Guy’s Wall of Death: LIVE – was commissioned by Sara Ramsden, Commissioning Editor for Specialist Factual for Channel 4 and was produced by North One Television. Sara Ramsden says: “Yet again Guy shows his daring appetite for speed. This time he proves you don’t have to cross to the other side of the world to get a major adrenaline rush. Instead he’s travelling just a few miles from his home to push the limits of what a human body can withstand.”
ABOUT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE®
Indian Motorcycle, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII), is America’s first motorcycle company. Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle has won the hearts of motorcyclists around the world and earned distinction as one of America’s most legendary and iconic brands through unrivaled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. Today that heritage and passion is reignited under new brand stewardship. To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com.
ABOUT POLARIS® INDUSTRIES
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) is a global powersports leader with annual 2015 sales of $4.7 billion. Polaris fuels the passion of riders, workers and outdoor enthusiasts with our RANGER®, RZR® and POLARIS GENERAL™ side-by-side off-road vehicles; our SPORTSMAN® and POLARIS ACE® all-terrain off-road vehicles; VICTORY® and INDIAN MOTORCYCLE® midsize and heavyweight motorcycles; SLINGSHOT® moto-roadsters; and Polaris RMK®, INDY®, SWITCHBACK® and RUSH® snowmobiles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with parts, garments and accessories sold under multiple recognizable brands, and has a growing presence globally in adjacent markets with products including military and commercial off-road vehicles, quadricycles, and electric vehicles. www.polaris.com
# # #
