Pro Diaries: Leo Forster Rallycross Champion

Aaron    Pro Arena     Leo Forster, Rage Buggy, Rally Driving, Rallycross

Here at Extreme Element we pride ourselves in brining you the greatest experiences from top notch suppliers, so for this feature we thought we’d take the time to find out why our suppliers are among the best in the business… This month we’ve interviewed Leo Forster, founder of the Forster Racing School – ex National Rally Cross Champion now offering Rally Cross experiences in the South East!

Hi Leo, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. So, how did you first get into motor racing?

I first got into racing aged of 5 when I was fortunate enough to be taken Karting by my Dad in a local field, I remember racing my older brother… and actually beating him at something!
I was racing by the age of 11, and had won my first ever race and championship in my first year. I moved into Juniors which was a bit more difficult, racing 16 year olds, but I managed to win the British F6 Karting Championship at 13. Motor racing was put on the back burner for a few years after that, until after my A Levels – but I soon took it back up and went on to place second in the National BRDC Formula Ford Championship.
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Girl Takes GCSE in Indoor Skydiving!

Aaron    Extreme News & Views    

15 year old Sian Spence is still coming down to earth having flown through her GCSE exam in Indoor Skydiving last week…

As part of her PE GCSE, Sian needed special permission from her teachers and the Welsh examination board – WJE, to be able to take the landmark flight.

Students are required to take 4 practical parts of their examination, including 1 ‘off site’. With a family as heavily involved in Skydiving as the Spences – it was no surprise that Sian opted for a freefall course when given the opportunity.

Attending Penglais School in Aberystwyth, the keen Skydiver has followed in the footsteps of her father Sandy, who not only met Sian’s mother in the Skydiving industry; he was a UK skydiving gold medallist and coach to the famous Red Devils display team. He proudly beamed: ’she achieved 93%’ !
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Extreme Valentine’s Gift Ideas

Aaron    Experience Guides     extreme sports, Present Ideas, Valentine's Gifts

The day of St. Valentine is usually reserved for romantic gifts and quiet nights in with your partner, but this year why not go against the grain and treat your loved one to a Valentine’s day present that is guaranteed to get their heart racing… with an adrenaline fuelled experience! These are some of our favourite extreme present ideas to give on Cupid’s most romantic day that are great when enjoyed together and create an even more memorable experience.

Lovers Leap Tandem 160ft Bungee Jump
Price £120

Make the ultimate leap of faith with your loved one this Valentine’s day with the gift of a 160ft tandem bungee jump. You will be strapped together as you leap from the crane platform sharing this petrifying but totally exhilarating experience. Once safely back on terra firma, you will be able to enjoy half a bottle of bubbly to toast your jump, and to help calm the nerves!

Experience Includes: Share an exhilarating 160ft plunge, toast your jump with a bottle of bubbly, experience the ultimate adrenaline rush with your loved one
Available at: Tamworth, Hove, Bristol, Bedford, Renfrew, Salford, Maidenhead

Harness Sphereing For Two
Price £65

What’s it like to go zorbing? Well why not find out with your Valentine and experience one of the latest thrills to come over from New Zealand. With harness sphereing you will both be strapped into the 12ft inflatable ball and roll down a steep grassy hill, reaching speeds of 30mph with nobody but your partner for company on the other side of the sphere!

Experience Includes: Share the Spereing experience with your partner, reach crazy speeds of 30mph
Available at: Newquay, Bury Port, Chepstow, Cheltenham, Reading, Forest Row, Ware, Birmingham, Nottingham, Holywell, Macclesfield, Leeds, Stocksfield, Blairegowire

Orca Experience
Price £82

This white water Orca experience takes rafting to the next level, as this small inflatable raft fits two people and will really test your relationship as you tackle the raging rapids together. The challenge will be working together, and not falling out (of the boat and with each other) as the towering waves and swirling swells smash into your wave tackling raft.

Experience Includes: Use team work to take on the rapids, test your relationship while the adrenaline is pumping
Available at: Bala (Merioneth)

Top Gun Experience For Two
Price £805

Without question one of the ultimate extreme gifts this Valentine’s day as you will both be up in the skies learning to perform some breathtaking stunts! To get even closer to the real Top Gun experience, your loved one, or ‘Ice Man’, will be tasked with tail chasing you in the simulated Dog Fight as you do your best to shake them from your tail before they get a chance to shoot!

Experience Includes: Aerobatics session Top Gun style, compare your total G’s pulled, watch from your own cockpit as you both fly crazy stunts.
Available at: Cirencester (Wiltshire)

Extreme Adventure Tubing
Price £59

Enjoy a dodgem ride on the white waters of the river Tummel with your loved one as you bob, bounce and bundle your way through the swirling rapids together. As you go with the flow of the fast moving water, you can attempt to catch ‘eddies’ and surf standing waves which is sure to keep the adrenaline pumping the whole way down the river.

Experience Includes: Take one the River Tummel’s rapids, enjoy the white water dodgem ride with a loved one
Available at: Pitlochry (Perthshire)

So there we are, a selection of our favourite extreme Valentine’s gift ideas. Experiencing these exciting activities with a loved one will only make the adrenaline fuelled adventure more enjoyable as it is yet another memory you share. So if you’re looking for a new, unique and exciting Valentine’s present for that special someone, there’s an experience to suit everyone tastes and budget.

Billy Morgan – Triple Rodeo

Aaron    Extreme News & Views    

British snowboarder Billy Morgan has managed to raise the bar in international snowboarding recently by landing the very first triple backside rodeo on a snowboard! Hailing from Southampton, Billy is an unlikely candidate for gaining such world acclaim for being the first to land a huge new trick and help progress the sport of Snowboarding even further. American riders such as Shaun White have helped make the sport what it is today with the likes of the double McTwist, but Billy has now helped raise the profile of British snow sports and has put us on the map as real competitors at future events with this massive achievement!

The trick itself involves three complete off axis rotations – distinguishing it from a triple back flip, which has been landed many times before and was the crowning jewel in many a riders trick list to throw down at competitions in past seasons. However, this new trick, nicknamed Konichiwa (the Japanese for ‘hello’) by Billy is the new top trump in snowboarding tricks and other riders will no doubt be racing to add it to their trick catalogue.

When asked if he knew it was the first landed attempt, Billy said, “Sort of. Ben and I thought someone might have done one into powder, but then when we looked online we couldn’t find it. Just skiers. It was only after all the websites started claiming it that I was like, “Wow. Am I really the first one to do it?”

Billy admitted that he had previously given it some thought, claiming: “but then I think about a lot of tricks. It was only really that day. Ben [Kilner] was like, ‘I bet you can do a triple’ … so I said to Hamish [McKnight, GB Team coach] ‘Is this realistic?, and he said, ‘Yeah, just go for it. It’s not one of the tricks you can huck and see what happens though, you have to intend to land it first try. So do it.’ – And then… I kinda went and did it.”

The future looks bright for Billy as he has just signed up some big name sponsors to help him practice harder and can only help when it comes to the big competitions and with the Snowboard slopestyle being added as an Olympic event, Billy said “It seems a bit crazy to think that far ahead but yeah. The thing is just to train and compete as much as I can and see what comes of it”.

Whatever happens, we wish Billy the best of luck at future competitions and hope he, along with the rest of the British snowboard team, show the world that even without our own ski resorts we can compete with the rest of the world and show them a thing or two!

Story Source: Whitelines.com
Image Source: ESPN.com

Red Bull “New Year. New Limits.”

Aaron    Extreme News & Views    

Red Bull have become well known for putting on crazy stunts over the past few years with their “New Year. New Limits” events. Previous years have seen multiple jump records being broken, Trophy Trucks being back flipped, Rally cars launching into barges and Motocross riders jumping up onto the the replica of the Arc De Triomphe in Las Vegas!

This year was no exception and to see the new year in with a bang, Red Bull FMX rider Robbie Maddison and Snowcross racer Levi LaVallee tried to break the Motocross and Snowmobile distance jump record simultaneously in San Diego, California! Thousands of hopeful spectators crowded into every available viewing spot in the marina in the hope of catching a glimpse of the action. The gap between the two piers in the San Diego Marina is over 300ft and the speed needed to clear the water and make it to the landing ramp meant both riders had huge run ups and roll in towers! Months of planning, preparation and practice went into making the jump possible – from aerodynamic testing in the wind tunnel to modifications to the bike and sled to make them fast and light enough to cover the massive distance!

29 year old Levi LaVallee soared an incredible 412ft 6 inches on his specially designed snowmobile, touching down on the massive landing ramp smashing the previous record of 361ft and setting a new world record that will surely be hard to beat!

“I just landed an over 400-foot jump. I’m not sure how the sled’s doing, but I’m OK, so it was good. It’s an amazing feeling. You have no idea how pumped I am.” Said LaVallee shortly after the the jump which was planned to happen the previous year, but a serious crash in training resulted in the entire event being cancelled and caused Levi to miss the the Winter X Games!

The event also turned out to be pretty spectacular for Robbie Maddison as he yet again beat his own record jumping an enormous 378ft 9 inches! However, Robbie set a new world record of 391ft during a practice jump the previous day, but wasn’t able to match this distance on the night. Shortly after the jump he said “I was confident we were going to go a long way tonight and we’re going to come back and go even further.” Maddison also said he plans to make some changes to his bike to go even further next time!

With the bar now raised even higher, well, longer, we wonder what could be in store for us next year?

Img source = www.redbull.com