It takes a special kind of crazy to willingly—and repeatedly—crash a motorcycle through burning boards. Flaming debris can settle in a rider's lap. Impact at even moderate speeds can cause concussion. And with all that smoke, it can be as good as driving blind.
That is—if you survive the temps, which can reach up to 2,000 degrees.
Four-time X Games medalist Vicki Golden seems to possess that brand of crazy—a combination of vision, ambition and guts that makes her a 21st-century heir to the legacy of Evel Knievel, the legendary two-wheeling daredevil who jumped, and crashed, his way into pop-culture history in the 1960s and ’70s. On Sunday July 7, at HISTORY's "Evel Live 2" live television event in San Bernardino, California, this rising-star stunt athlete will aim to make history of her own, by being the first woman to set a new world record for riding through flaming boards.
The stunt will be the featured event in a revamped format for "Evel Live 2," after renowned freestyle motocross athlete Axell Hodges crashed during a practice run to beat the longest motorcycle jump in history—a distance of 378 feet and 9 inches—and severely injured both ankles. "I’m shocked I’m not in worse shape and feel extremely grateful to have been able to get up from this crash," Hodges says. The revamped show will include exclusive crash footage.
“Daredevils throughout history have risked their lives, putting it all on the line during their death-defying stunts,” said Eli Lehrer, executive vice president and general manager for HISTORY. “It takes a certain type of hero to fall and get back up again.”
Golden's stunt drives forward the Knievel legacy. Early in his career, when Evel crashed through fireboards, motorcycle stunt entertainment was in its infancy. In January 1966, at the debut show of "Knievel and his Daredevils" in Indio, California, a free-wheeling Evel wowed fans by performing wheelies, crashing through plywood firewalls and jumping over two (yes, just two) pick-up trucks.
These days, the stunts have become exponentially harder. And riders like Golden train with the rigor of elite athletes. To pull off this feat, she is working with action-sports group Nitro Circus and its team of veteran stunt athletes, engineers, technologists, trainers and more. Here are the particulars of what it’s going to take to break this world record: