CRASHES

These are records of failure while attempting motorcycle jumps. Some are subjective. They are simply recorded for entertainment purposes, not as a legitimate record-breaking category. Some of these can be broken down by category, i.e. Longest Jump Over Cars With Crash. Well marketed crashes don't take precedence over better crashes that are lesser known.

1. LONGEST JUMP WITH CRASH.

Current record holder: Doug Danger, Loudon, NH, 265 feet, June 1991.

Honorable Mention:  

Seth Enslow, sand dune overjump on Crusty.

Zhu Chaohui, longest jump over river with crash, 141 feet total jump distance, Hukou Falls, Yellow River, China, June 20, 1999.

Bob Gill, longest jump over a lake with crash, Appalachia lake 190 foot attempt, short, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, August 1974

Current quad record holder: Matt Coulter, 205 feet over paddlewheel steamboat in England

Honorable quad mention: Henry "Pitbull" Rife, 168 feet over mobile home

2. TIME PERIOD CRASHES. This is not for the most publicized crashes, but rather the best or most astounding crashes.

    a. CRASH OF THE MONTH. The most astounding crash of a given month.

February 2007: Trigger Gumm, 190' jump to nose-diving flatlander, clearing a 90' ramp gap and a 90' long, 18 foot tall dirt landing ramp. Surprised everyone with an unannounced jump, no speedometer and no cameras rolling. First jump since he broke his back in Oklahoma. Massive head shot onto Renthals, broke his back again, crushed 3 vertebrae, broke one, dislocated two. Trashed his shoulder. Front rim egged out, broke at least 16 spokes and broke the Excel rim, he endoed and tumbled into the street into live traffic. Police were there to block traffic, but since the jump was winged without warning they didn't get the chance to block any traffic. Luckily, he didn't get run over. Profuse bleeding. This jump occurred on February 8 at a Hansens/Monster Energy Drinks/Lost Energy Drinks executive meeting in Palm Springs, California.

January 2007: Mike Metzger, overjumped flip on 100' ramp gap barge to barge near Queen Mary ocean liner, broke vertebrae, crashed, bike tumbled into water. January 17, Long Beach, California.

July 2006: Trigger Gumm, 202' 8" jump onto the protective apron with a 220' ramp gap, landed in a depression in a nose dive and crossed up, swap to highside, head shot, broke two vertebrae. Dirt landing ramp 32' tall, 120' long with a 20' protective apron. This jump occurred in a silty grass field on July 22 at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami ("Miama") Oklahoma. 

August 2000 - June 2001: No crashes.

July 2001: Bubba Blackwell, jump over 22 cars at Del Mar near San Diego, California, July 4th. The Harley rider came up short and his entire rear wheel hooked the protective apron, which left a pie-shaped dent in his rear rim, pushing it into the hub. He flipped over the bars in a classic rag doll, flipping a full 1-1/4 rotations before slapping to the ground at the low end of the landing ramp. His bike went into an insane dance, flipping no less than 3-1/4 times and then pirouetted one full rotation on the front tire before flopping to its final resting place. Blackwell suffered a broken pelvis, ribs, leg and had bleeding on the brain.

November 2001: Pepper Porter in Nashville, TN, November 17, landed, stuffed head-on into a quad parked on the landing ramp, endo. Big injuries.

December 2001: Larry Linkogle, December 9, hit in head with helicopter blade, then did a piledriver into dirt landing ramp. Unhurt.

    b. CRASH OF THE QUARTER. The most astounding crash of the quarterly period January 1 to March 31, or April 1 to June 30, or July 1 to September 30, or October 1 to December 31.

July - September 2000: No crashes.

October - December 2000: No crashes.

January - March 2001: No crashes.

April - June 2001: No crashes.

July - September 2001: Bubba Blackwell at Del Mar, CA, short, clipped entire rear wheel on edge of protective apron, endo.

October - December 2001 Nominees:

Larry Linkogle, December 9, hit in head with helicopter blade, then did a piledriver into dirt landing ramp.

Pepper Porter in Nashville, TN, November 17, landed, stuffed head-on into a quad parked on the landing ramp, endo.

    c. CRASH OF THE YEAR. The most astounding crash of the year, bar none.

1999: Flying Mike Brown, short on 151' gap, Twin Falls, Idaho, July 1999.

2000:

2001 Nominees:

Bubba Blackwell at Del Mar, CA, short, clipped entire rear wheel on edge of protective apron, endo.

Larry Linkogle, December 9, hit in head with helicopter blade, then did a piledriver into dirt landing ramp.

Pepper Porter in Nashville, TN, November 17, landed, stuffed head-on into a quad parked on the landing ramp, endo.

    d. CRASH OF THE DECADE. The most astounding crash in a 10 year period. For example, from the year 2000 to the year 2010, not from 2002 to 2012.

January 1, 1960 to December 31,1969:

Evel Knievel, short to endo/breakdance, Caesars Palace, LV, NV, December 31, 1967.

January 1, 1970 to December 31,1979 Nominees:  

Bob Gill, Appalachia lake 190 foot attempt, short, Bruceton Mills, WV, August 1974

Robin Winter-Smith, short, 30 Rolls Royce jump, Elstree, England, 1979.

Bob Pleso, short, 30 cars ramp to ground, August 4, 1974

January 1, 1980 to December 31,1989:  

Doug Danger, long, stuff into wall, Hudson Speedway, Hudson, NH, 1985.

Reckless Rex Phelps, motorcycle flip, pool edge crash, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA, October 1987.

Gary Wells, missed landing ramp to the side, Caesars Palace, LV, NV, September 1, 1980.

Shon Wolfe, long, Superman to Faceplant, Mesa Marin Raceway, Bakersfield, CA

January 1, 1990 to December 31,1999 Nominees:  

Flying Mike Brown, short on 151' ramp gap, Twin Falls, Idaho, July 1999.

Butch Laswell, blown off course in mid-air to flatlander, Mesquite, NV, March 10, 1996.

Corey Scott, step-up jump 70' high to net, bounced out and landed on flat ground, Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida, February 8, 1997.

Quads: Todd Seeley, left side of quad dropped off left side of launch ramp, endo short, hit corner of protective apron, head impacted ground, July 1998.

    e. CRASH OF THE CENTURY. The most astounding crash in 100 years. For example, from 1900 to 2000.

January 1, 1900 to December 31, 1999 Nominees:  

Doug Danger, long, stuff into concrete wall, Hudson Speedway, Hudson, NH, 1985

Evel Knievel, short to endo/breakdance, Caesars Palace, 1968.

Butch Laswell, jump over pedestrian walkway to flatlander, Mesquite, NV, March 10, 1996.

Bob Pleso, 30 car jump, August 4, 1974

Gary Wells, missed ramp to side, Caesars Palace, September 1, 1980.

Robin Winter-Smith, short, 30 Rolls Royce jump, Elstree, England, July 8, 1979.

Shon Wolfe, Mesa Marin Raceway, Bakersfield, CA

3. DUMBEST CRASH. The crash that makes you wonder what was wrong with the jumper.

Nominees:

John Holland, 50 car jump with parachute, severely damaged 4 cars with his body, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Charles "Devil X" Mathee, 10 truck jump, landing on 4th truck.

Joe Reed, short on 30 foot gap, Henderson, Nevada.

Joe Reed, short jumping 4 wind fans (approximate rotor span: 6 feet) with one hand holding a strap behind his back, landed on 3rd and 4th fans which had protective frames around the rotors, then did a piledriver  head first into dirt landing. He borrowed someone's bike at the races and was bogging all the way to the jump. The handful of spectators who were there said they knew he wasn't going to clear it because they had seen other riders clearing it all day and they knew how much speed it took. He left the first jump at about 20 miles per hour.

Joe Reed, blindfolded flatlander riding double. Ramp gap: approximately 5 feet.

Honorable mention: When the quad rider parked on Pepper Porter's landing ramp, expecting to get out of the way before Porter landed, that quad rider caused the terrible crash that gave Porter some serious injuries. For that quad riding photographer's dumb move, this crash is listed here.

 4. WORST CRASH. The most sickening, most gnarly, horrible crash.

Nominees:

Flying Mike Brown, short on 151' ramp gap, Twin Falls, Idaho, July 1999.

Doug Danger, broke wrist and stuffed wall, Hudson Speedway, Hudson, NH, 1985

Seth Enslow, 245'3" flatlander, Apple Valley, CA, December 22, 1999

Seth Enslow, triple clamps break, Las Vegas, NV, 1999

Bob Gill, approx. 190' jump over Appalachia Lake, short, stuck, Bruceton Mill, WV, 1974.

John Holland, 50 car jump with parachute, short, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Evel Knievel protective apron lander, bars ripped from hands, endo, rag doll at Caesars Palace, December 31, 1967.

Robbie Knievel, short, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 30, 1989.

Butch Laswell, flatlander, Mesquite, Nevada, March 10, 1996.

Lawrence Legend, short, Wagga Wagga, Australia

Reckless Rex Phelps, motorcycle flip, pool edge crash, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA, October 1987.

Bob Pleso, short, 30 car jump, August 4, 1974.

Pepper Porter, ramp to ramp over a bus, 120' clear gap, hit a quad head-on that was parked 3/4 way down the landing ramp and centered on the ramp, November 17, 2001.

Corey Scott, step-up jump 70' high to net, bounced out and landed on flat ground, Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida, February 8, 1997.

Gary Wells, missed ramp to the right, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, September 1, 1980.

Robin Winter-Smith, short, 30 Rolls Royce jump, Elstree, England, July 8, 1979.

Shon Wolfe, long, Superman to Faceplant on dragstrip, Mesa Marin Raceway, Bakersfield, CA

Rod Woodworth, short, 32 cars

Quads: Todd Seeley, left side of quad dropped off left side of launch ramp, endo short, hit corner of protective apron, head impacted ground, July 1998.

5. BEST CRASH. The best, most spectacular and entertaining crash.

Nominees:

Evel Knievel, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, December 31, 1967.

Robbie Knievel, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 30, 1989.

6. FUNNIEST CRASH. The crash that looks funny, clumsy, or with the funniest outcome.

Nominees:

Big Ed Beckley, body bouncing crash

Robbie Knievel, 25 pickup truck attempt, short, landing on protective apron, over the bars, Cerritos, California, February 29, 1992.                

7. FASTEST CRASH. The rider who jumps at the highest speed and crashes gets this one.

Nominees:

Doug Danger, 265' crash, Loudon, New Hampshire, June 1991.

Trigger Gumm, 202' 8" jump onto the protective apron with a 220' ramp gap, landed in a depression in a nose dive and crossed up, swap to highside, head shot, broke two vertebrae. Dirt landing ramp 32' tall, 120' long with a 20' protective apron. This jump occurred in a silty grass field on July 22, 2006 at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami ("Miama") Oklahoma.

John Holland, 50 car jump, Sioux Falls, South Dakota                   

8. SHORTEST RAMP GAP CRASH. The rider who comes up short and crashes on the shortest ramp gap wins here.

Current record holders: Joe Reed, 30 feet, Henderson, Nevada

9. MOST GENIUS SHOWN DURING A CRASH. Some riders exhibit uncanny genius when minimizing bodily damage to themselves during a crash. The rider who shows high level crashing ability can win this award. Rag doll crashes don't win this category - it's the crash where the rider is really thinking and taking action during the crash to save himself from further injury. The crash must be accidental, not pre-planned.

Current record holder: Gary Wells, diving left to ease impact into brick planter wall, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV.

10. MOST INJURIES SUFFERED FROM A CRASH. This is for the rider who has paid the highest price in pain due to a crash and survived.

Current record holder: Flying Mike Brown, short on 151' ramp gap, Twin Falls, Idaho, July, 1999.

11. WORST ACCIDENT INVOLVING SPECTATORS. This is for the rider who accidentally kills or injures spectators.

Nominees:

Bob Gill, hit photographer in mid-air, broke photographer's arm, December 1970.

Evel Knievel, photographer's eye put out, Shark Tank Crash

Pepper Porter, jumped ramp to ramp and hit a quad head-on that was parked on his landing ramp, broke the photographer's arm, November 17, 2001.

Gary Wells, spectators broke wall and fell 14 feet, Caesars Palace, LV, NV Labor Day 1980.

12. MOST BONES BROKEN IN A CRASH. This is bone-specific. The single crash that results in the greatest number of the jumper's bones broken. Spectator bones do not count in this number.

Nominees: Doug Danger, broke wrist and stuffed concrete wall, Hudson Speedway, Hudson, NH

Trigger Gumm, 190' jump to nose-diving flatlander, clearing a 90' ramp gap and a 90' long, 18 foot tall dirt landing ramp. Surprised everyone with an unannounced jump, no speedometer and no cameras rolling. First jump since he broke his back in Oklahoma. Massive head shot onto Renthals, broke his back again, crushed 3 vertebrae, broke one, dislocated two. Trashed his shoulder. Front rim egged out, broke at least 16 spokes and broke the Excel rim, he endoed and tumbled into the street into live traffic. Police were there to block traffic, but since the jump was winged without warning they didn't get the chance to block any traffic. Luckily, he didn't get run over. Profuse bleeding. This jump occurred on February 8, 2007 at a Hansens/Monster Energy Drinks/Lost Energy Drinks executive meeting in Palm Springs, California.

13. MOST WATCHED CRASH. This is for the crash that gets watched by the most people worldwide.

Nominees:

Evel Knievel, Caesars Palace, LV, NV 1968.

Evel Knievel at Wembley

14. RAG DOLL CRASH. This is for the rider who crashes like a rag doll - who is so devastated by the initial impact, or so overwhelmed by the crash itself, that his only choice is to rag doll. The winner here is the rider who does the most entertaining and devastating rag doll.

Current record holder: Evel Knievel, Caesars Palace, LV, NV 1968.

15. BEST INTENTIONAL GET-OFF. This is for the rider who crashes intentionally during a ramp to ramp jump. This is for get-offs that are planned in advance.

Current record holder: Gary Davis, loop-out to back-lander on landing ramp doubling Evel Knievel for movie.

16. BEST ENDO. This is for the rider who goes over the bars.

Nominees:

Bubba Blackwell, short on 22 car jump, July 4th, 2001, Del Mar, California

Seth Enslow, triple clamps break, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1999.

Trigger Gumm, 202' 8" jump onto the protective apron with a 220' ramp gap, landed in a depression in a nose dive and crossed up, swap to highside, head shot, broke two vertebrae. Dirt landing ramp 32' tall, 120' long with a 20' protective apron. This jump occurred in a silty grass field on July 22, 2006 at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami ("Miama") Oklahoma.

Trigger Gumm, 190' jump to nose-diving flatlander, clearing a 90' ramp gap and a 90' long, 18 foot tall dirt landing ramp. Surprised everyone with an unannounced jump, no speedometer and no cameras rolling. First jump since he broke his back in Oklahoma. Massive head shot onto Renthals, broke his back again, crushed 3 vertebrae, broke one, dislocated two. Trashed his shoulder. Front rim egged out, broke at least 16 spokes and broke the Excel rim, he endoed and tumbled into the street into live traffic. Police were there to block traffic, but since the jump was winged without warning they didn't get the chance to block any traffic. Luckily, he didn't get run over. Profuse bleeding. This jump occurred on February 8, 2007 at a Hansens/Monster Energy Drinks/Lost Energy Drinks executive meeting in Palm Springs, California.

Michael Hillaby, 9 cars end to end, Nafferton, England

Evel Knievel, short, Caesars Palace.

Robbie Knievel, short, Hula Bowl, Hawaii.

Lawrence Legend, Wagga Wagga, Australia

Earl Majors, short, Hanningfield Horse Show, Essex, England.

Reckless Rex Phelps, short, breakdance

Pepper Porter, landed and hit 660cc quad parked on landing ramp, Nashville, TN

Gary Wells, short, bent swingarm endo.

Johnny Wonder, aka Johnny Fogwell, 218' jump to bottom of landing ramp. Landing ramp deck broke, which caused the front wheel to slap down hard and fail catastrophically during jump-off with Gary Wells. April 13, 1980, Calder Raceway, Victoria, Australia

17. BEST LOOP-OUT. This is for the rider who crashes on a ramp to ramp jump because the front end is too high.

Nominees:

Dale Buggins, launch ramp broke, jump-off with Gary Wells.

Gary Davis, doubling Evel Knievel (intentional).

Super Joe Einhorn, bus jump (unintentional).

18. WORST FLATLANDER. This is for the rider who unfortunately landed on flat ground harder than anyone ever.

Current record holders:

Fiona Beale, 12 truck charity jump 190 foot flatlander, Donington Park, England, August 14, 1997.

Seth Enslow, dune jump flatlander, Crusty Demons of Dirt video

Super Joe Einhorn, flatlander in gravel, front wheel destroyed, endo

Robbie Knievel, practice jump in an arena, landed on his butt on flat ground.

Butch Laswell, 55' high to black top, Mesquite, NV

Corey Scott, step-up jump 70' high to net, bounced out

Shon Wolfe, long, Superman to Faceplant next to the bike, Mesa Marin Raceway, Bakersfield, CA

Johnny Wonder, aka Johnny Fogwell, 218' jump to bottom of landing ramp. Landing ramp deck broke, which caused the front wheel to slap down hard and fail catastrophically during jump-off with Gary Wells. April 13, 1980, Calder Raceway, Victoria, Australia

19. WORST CRASH COMING UP SHORT. This is for the rider who comes up short and sucks ramp or obstacle.

Current Record Holders:  

Bubba Blackwell, short on 22 car jump, July 4, 2001, Del Mar, California

Flying Mike Brown, short on 151' ramp gap, 1999, Idaho

Bob Gill, lake jump, approximately 180', short, stuck in bank

Trigger Gumm, 202' 8" jump onto the protective apron with a 220' ramp gap, landed in a depression in a nose dive and crossed up, swap to highside, head shot, broke two vertebrae. Dirt landing ramp 32' tall, 120' long with a 20' protective apron. This jump occurred in a silty grass field on July 22, 2006 at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami ("Miama") Oklahoma.

John Holland, 50 car jump with parachute, short, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Robbie Knievel, short, Hula Bowl, Hawaii

Lawrence Legend, short, Wagga Wagga, Australia

Earl Majors, short, Hanningfield Horse Show, Essex, England

Reckless Rex Phelps, no protective apron, short, breakdance

Bob Pleso, short, ramp to ground 30 car jump

Gary Wells, short, bent swingarm jump

Robin Winter-Smith, short, 30 cars

Rod Woodworth, short, 32 cars

20. WORST CRASH GOING LONG. This is for the rider who jumps too far and either lands too far down the landing ramp or he flatlands. This is a different category from "Worst Flatlander" because the emphasis is primarily on going long.

Current Record Holders:  

Fiona Beale, 12 truck charity jump 190 foot flatlander, Donington Park, England, August 14, 1997.

Seth Enslow, dune jump flatlander, Crusty Demons of Dirt video

Seth Enslow, 245'3" overjump to flat ground on dirt road next to Mike Cinqmars' house near Apple Valley, California. His head slapped the bars at the clutch perch and the bolt head knocked a hole in his skull above the right eye. KO. Helicopter ride. 3 custom plates in head.

Super Joe Einhorn, flatlander in gravel, front wheel destroyed, endo

Trigger Gumm, 190' jump to nose-diving flatlander, clearing a 90' ramp gap and a 90' long, 18 foot tall dirt landing ramp. Surprised everyone with an unannounced jump, no speedometer and no cameras rolling. First jump since he broke his back in Oklahoma. Massive head shot onto Renthals, broke his back again, crushed 3 vertebrae, broke one, dislocated two. Trashed his shoulder. Front rim egged out, broke at least 16 spokes and broke the Excel rim, he endoed and tumbled into the street into live traffic. Police were there to block traffic, but since the jump was winged without warning they didn't get the chance to block any traffic. Luckily, he didn't get run over. Profuse bleeding. This jump occurred on February 8, 2007 at a Hansens/Monster Energy Drinks/Lost Energy Drinks executive meeting in Palm Springs, California.

Robbie Knievel, Atco jump, landed at bottom of landing ramp a little sideways, spinal compression to swap/endo/highside, body-beating crash on black top at night.

Butch Laswell, Mesquite, Nevada overpass jump, he was blown long and left to a flatlander from 55 feet high.

Shon Wolfe, long, Superman to Faceplant next to the bike, Mesa Marin Raceway, Bakersfield, CA

Johnny Wonder, aka Johnny Fogwell, 218' jump to bottom of landing ramp. Landing ramp deck broke, which caused the front wheel to slap down hard and fail catastrophically during jump-off with Gary Wells. April 13, 1980, Calder Raceway, Victoria, Australia