Rider Rules Out Backflip On Death-defying Stunt
Illawarra Mercury
Thursday February 28, 2008
A DEATH-DEFYING experience won't stop Crusty Demons rider Scott Murray from attempting another double backflip in Launceston on Saturday night.
Murray fell 5m from a metal landing ramp, flat on his back, in Canberra less than two weeks ago when an attempt to pull off the craziest move in freestyle motocross went horribly wrong.The 31-year-old American rider has recovered sufficiently from the fall and will perform in Tasmania before joining the rest of the Crusty riders for their March 8 show in Wollongong.Murray, who lives on a rural Michigan property that includes a compound he describes as "dirt bike heaven", said the arrival of his gear had him ready to risk life and limb once again.He said he had an inkling something would go wrong in Canberra as many as four days before performing before 11,500 people."I started getting worried about four days before the show when my ramp, bike parts, riding gear, exhaust and suspension were all held up in Chicago," he said."I landed in Sydney, said hello to all the guys and their first question was: What do you need?"Everything that we needed for my bike we had to get in three days."But the exhaust system couldn't be matched perfectly and the power curve in my bike was completely off."Also my ramp is my ramp, there are no plans and no design apart from what is in my head."Murray crashed twice in Canberra attempting the double backflip, and said he would have kept trying to land the move if he hadn't injured himself so badly the second time around."Crashing the first time wasn't a real problem, I have crashed it more than I have landed it at home," he said."When I went for round two people were real surprised, but I would have gone three, four, five, six times until I landed it."The bike didn't respond because of the different exhaust and it landed on the top of the landing and just ejected me and I went from the top of a 15-foot landing to the flat of my back."In the end I was very fortunate, it could have been far worse."Like many of the Crusty Demon riders, Murray's daredevil ways started as a child.As the youngest member of an extended family, Murray was often used as the guinea pig to test new jumps on his pushbike."I was the youngest in the family and we were always getting the plywood out and jacking it up on cinder blocks," he said."I had to prove to the other guys that I could do it."As a result of ticket demand, promoters have released another 2000 premium reserved seats for the Wollongong show.Kiama's distance jumping world record holder Robbie Maddison will make a special appearance at his home event.
© 2008 Illawarra Mercury