AssetID: 54995522
Headline: RAW VIDEO: German motocross rider completes death-defying jump between moving trucks
Caption: German freestyle motocross rider Luc Ackermann has pulled off a feat that appears to defy the laws of physics. On his bike he leapt 40 metres from one moving lorry to another while clearing a nine-metre-high motorway barrier with just half a second to spare. Accelerating his motorcycle to 54 km/h from the bed of a truck travelling at 20 km/h in North Rhine-Westphalia, northwest Germany, Ackermann was propelled at a combined speed of 74 km/h as he launched into the air, performed a Tsunami Backflip and landed on a second lorry moving directly ahead. “Precision and timing were especially important for this project, because if I didn’t take off at the right speed and at the right moment, I’d either crash into the sign or miss the landing,” he explained. The jump, which hinged on a split-second window, was guided by his brother, fellow FMX rider Hannes Ackermann, who signalled the exact moment for take-off, while lorry drivers Franz Reinthaler and Walter “Bill” Kranawendter maintained their 31-metre-long vehicles perfectly aligned, 23 metres apart, at a constant 20 km/h to provide a safe landing zone. Ackermann placed “full trust” in his team, supported by scientific expertise from Thomas Stöggl, Head of Global Performance Innovation at the Athlete Performance Center in Thalgau, Austria, who calculated speed, trajectory, take-off angle, flight curve and wind conditions to make the attempt as safe as possible. The landing, after days of critical preparation, brought an intense release for the 26-year-old. “The feeling after the jump was overwhelming because I realised it was just enough. The preparations took several days, and there was a lot of tension. To have that tension lifted was simply overwhelming. I really celebrated and basically went half crazy,” he said. The project has been described as a complex equation carried out in real time, where velocity, aerodynamics and instinct fused into one decisive moment, cementing Ackermann’s reputation as one of the most fearless and exacting riders in freestyle motocross.
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PersonInImage: Luc Ackermann completes his incredible motorcycle stunt.