MOTORCYCLE MAN ROBBIE MADDISON'S UPCOMING MINI CHALLENGEHe rarely sets himself anything less than a MAJOR challenge, but in this instance the world’s most recognised modern day motorcycle stunt rider Robbie Maddison will take the MINI Challenge in just a few weeks time.
The globally acclaimed thrill seeker will move off his motorcycle (he never spends much time actually ON the seat anyway) and into a John Cooper Works R56 MINI to contest the fifth round of the 2009 MINI Challenge, delivered by Pizza Capers.
Maddison will drive the Pizza Capers UBER Star MINI around the famed Philip Island GP Circuit so there’s at least a motorcycle connection in this four-wheel exercise for the brave heart handlebar hero.
“Robbie is a worldwide hero to thousands of people,” says MINI Challenge Category Management Principal Ted Toleman, “his courage and skill is legendary. We’re very pleased he’s accepted our offer to race at Philip Island with us and we’re eager to watch him adapt to four wheel competition.”
Maddison comes into the fray as the fifth “UBER Star” driver for 2009 – those who have driven at the invitation of the MINI Challenge include AFL TV Personality Sam Newman, Winter Olympic Gold Medallist Steven Bradbury, Australian WRC (World Rally Championship) star Chris Atkinson and multiple Olympic Gold Medallist rower James Tomkins.
“I am pumped and really looking forward to MINI Challenge,” Maddison said. “My four wheel debut was actually in the celebrity race at the Melbourne Grand Prix which I won. I’ve been looking for opportunities to get behind the wheel again so when I got the call from the guys at Fluid PR I jumped at the chance.”
Maddison began his two-wheel career in Motocross and Supercross but was quickly lured to the bright lights and considerable rewards of the radical FMX (Freestyle Motocross) world where he excelled.
He was the first Australian to qualify for the finals in an American FMX series (he finished the tour in a credible 6th place) known as the Panasonic Open Dew Tour but in 2007 he rocketed to prominence on New Year’s Eve in 2007 as he jumped his dirt bike the length of a Las Vegas football field, setting a new world record.
Aligning himself with Red Bull, Maddison has undertaken a number of other highly publicised stunts, including an incredible 105-foot vertical jump onto and off the replica Arc de Triomphe in Las Vegas. His most recent headline-grabbing move was a daring jump over London’s Tower Bridge as it opened!
He has continued to excel on the competition front, placing solidly within various Red Bull X Fighters meets and wrapping up the 2009 competitive season in a close second place.
“FMX is recognised as one of the most dangerous forms of world sport, but racing a car at high speed is also something that I have a great deal of respect for. This will be a real challenge for me, especially on a track like Phillip Island. I won’t be taking it lightly,” he explained.
Robbie will shoehorn the MINI Challenge weekend (September 11-13) into his already hectic schedule of extreme stunts and sponsor commitments.
MINI Challenge organisers, teams and sponsors alike are excited at the prospect of having a man who lives his life on the edge, take a ride of a different kind in the wild Pizza Capers UBER Star R56 MINI.…
