Top Gear Live Completes Double Loop-the-Loop on KTM 250 SX-F – Video
The Top Gear Live Stunt Team completed the first ever double loop-the-loop on a motorcycle, with rider Gary Hoptrough successfully navigating the two 26-foot loops on a KTM 250 SX-F. Look for the video after the jump.
Hoptrough completed the “Deadly 720” stunt in front of an audience of 4000 as part of the live touring version of the BBC series “Top Gear” at the Birmingham NEC in the U.K. The stunt followed a similar one performed earlier in the year with a buggy. The four-wheeled stunt was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the first ever double loop by a car, and Hoptrough’s stunt will likely also be ratified as a first for a motorcycle.
“We started Top Gear in its current incarnation ten years ago as a pokey little motoring show and never dreamt of setting World Records,” says Jeremy Clarkson, co-host of “Top Gear”. “To be fair, all James (May), Richard (Hammond) and I did was to stand on stage and introduce a stunt man mad enough to want to turn him self upside twice on a bike. But it was pretty nerve wracking and spectacular!”
Hoptrough used a stock KTM 250 SX-F, with just the suspension dampers calibrated to meet demands of this particular stunt. As we can see from the video below, Hoptrough had a slight wobble after completing the first loop, nearly veering into a display, but managed to straighten himself and maintain momentum for the second loop.
[Source: Top Gear]
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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