Dougie Lampkin Wheelies Across Isle of Man TT Course

How long do you think one can hold a wheelie? A few metres? What about a few kilometres – 60.3km, to be precise? Sounds like a lot, right? And this is what motorsport legend and Red Bull athlete Dougie Lampkin did. He wheelied across the 60.3km-long Isle of Man TT course, completing the lap in 1 hour 35 minutes. The feat was telecast live on Red Bull TV. Though a commendable feat, it was not exactly smooth sailing for Doug who struggled to settle into a groove for the first few kilometres.

The wind was among the biggest concerns for Dougie, who fought gusts of up to 64kmph on the mountain section of the course. This is what he said after crossing the finish line: "Up to ten times I came close to dropping and I thought I'd lost it twice. When you've lost your balance and your right leg comes off, you're in massive trouble. I couldn't rely on the rear brake at that speed."

Seeing that this was not an easy feat, Dougie made use of a special bike that he and his team, headed by Francesco Romani and Blackie Holden, worked on for months. The bike is based on a Vertigo Combat Ice Hell bike and displaces 300cc. Dougie said this about the bike: "I feel absolute massive relief. The build up to it, seven months of planning, everything that's gone on like the nightmare with the weather yesterday and still strong winds today on top of the mountain, I was just hanging on really. It wasn't over until a couple of metres from the end but that last couple of metres was just amazing."

When asked about his preparation for this challenge, Dougie said, "It's quite hard on the feet, ankles, knees, shoulders and neck. It's not really pinpointed in certain areas; it seems to be a little bit of everything, because I'm in quite a tense position the whole time. I'm steering with my legs, and using my right foot for the brake and right hand for the brake. Then when I turn I'm hanging the bike on my shoulders a little bit. So everything is getting a bit of a workout. It's physical everywhere and also mentally difficult, because of the time scale and the fact that there's so much going on around me, from people shouting to people overtaking and beeping horns."

Now that he is immortalised in the record books, we wonder what Dougie would be up to next. Looks like we will get to know in due time.