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People were everywhere. The Grand Sierra Resort’s massive parking lot was of full of cars, motorcycles and people.
All of them had their eyes glued to the massive motorcycle ramp, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ryan Capes attempt at setting a world record for a ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jump.
He first cleared 287 feet, clearly better than the previous world record of 252 feet set in 1999. He told the crowd that he had promised Reno a 300-foot jump. So after a delay for some bike adjustments, he went tried again, this time soaring 316 feet in the air as the nearby motorists on U. S. 395 slowed to a crawl, rubber-necking for a glimpse of the spectacular jump.
“I thought it was a great jump,” said Roy Floyd, 55, of Reno. “He was flying high, hitting the brake and the accelerator and the bike was rockin’ in the air. It was great. “It is worth fighting the crowd, no doubt about it,” Floyd added.
And the crowd, by Reno standards it was massive. Event organizers said there was a minimum of 5,000 people there. But there was really no good way to gauge the masses. Those in the crowd, when asked to give an estimation, pegged it at 8,000 or 10,000. One guy said 100,000, clearly an overexuberant fellow. Reno Gazette-Journal
“I promised my fans not only was I going to break the ramp-to-ramp world record, I promised my fans that I’d be the first guy to jump ramp-to-ramp 300 feet,” Capes said.
Capes appeared relaxed as he strolled through the event area in shorts and flip flops about 30 minutes before the scheduled jump. He paused to do a television interview and record a radio spot, before heading to his trailer to change into his riding suit.
A large crowd filled the Grand Sierra’s west parking lot and Capes seemed to feed off the energy.
He raced past the ramp three times before attempting his first jump, giving the fans a thumbs up on his third pass. He waited to hear the official measurement before grabbing a microphone and announcing to the crowd that he intended to make another jump.
He didn’t even wait for a measurement before celebrating his second jump.
“I knew exactly when I came over that landing that I had it and I broke the record,” he said. “I put my hands up in the air and I was just super pumped.” Reno Gazette-Journal
“With this jump I hope to capture respect from both modern day and old school riders,” Capes said. “I love to push the envelope and take things to the next level.”
Also joining Capes are teammates and locals Mike Mason, Dustin Miller and LivFast owner Tim O’Brien for several freestyle motocross jumps to take place. Mason and Miller are both X Games medalists and O’Brien is a former Olympic competitor. ESPN Action Sports
