Travis Pastrana

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Travis Pastrana in his backyard workshop/skatepark near Annapolis, Maryland, in November 2004. Note cast on left arm.
Travis Pastrana in his backyard workshop/skatepark near Annapolis, Maryland, in November 2004. Note cast on left arm.

Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983, in Annapolis, Maryland) is a motorsports competitor who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several events, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing.

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[edit] Freestyle MotoX champion

Pastrana invented many of the young sport's tricks and became the sport's world champion at age 14.[1] He landed a double backflip in his film Nitro Circus 3. On August 4, 2006, at X Games 12 in Los Angeles, he became the first rider to land a double backflip in competition, winning his first Moto X Best Trick Gold Medal.[2] It is believed that only one judge did not rate the run 100/100, making the final score a 98.60[3] Pastrana said after the competition that he has no plans to attempt the trick again. Pastrana's X Games participation ended when he injured his knee while walking to see his friends in the stands, so he could not perform a glory run for his Moto X Freestyle Gold Medal.[citation needed]

[edit] Motocross/Supercross

Pastrana has earned two Dirtbike racing championships: the 2000 AMA 125cc National championship, and the 2001 125cc East Coast Supercross Championship. His hard-charging, go-for-broke attitude makes him a podium threat in any race he enters. Pastrana's stand-up style, ability to spot jump combinations and great speed through the whoops make him easy to spot on the track.

Pastrana has always raced and competed on Suzuki motorcycles, and remains fiercely loyal to the brand. His motorcycles and rally cars carry the number 199.

[edit] Team Puerto Rico

Pastrana's father, Robert Pastrana is a native Puerto Rican, this made him directly elegible to represent Puerto Rico in international competition.[1] On February 27, 2008, the Asociación de Motociclismo de Puerto Rico (Motorcycling Association of Puerto Rico) provided him with a license to represent the island, which was accepted by the Unión LatinoAmericana de Motociclismo, the relevant sanctioning body in Latin America.[1][2] His debut with the team took place on March 15, 2008, when he participated in the Latin American Supercross Championships organized in Costa Rica. Here he qualified to the finals by defeating Erick Vallejo of México. In the finals he finished third, behind local Costa Rican racer Roberto Castro and Vallejo.[2]

[edit] Rallying

In 2003, Pastrana opened a rally racing career in the Race of Champions, and began driving for the Subaru-backed Vermont SportsCar rally team in 2004. Starting in 2006, Pastrana was signed by Subaru to lead their new Subaru Rally Team USA, being paired once again with veteran co-driver Christian Edstrom. On August 5, 2006 Pastrana won the gold medal in the first Rally Car competition at the X Games, edging out rally legend Collin McRae by 0.53 seconds after McRae rolled his car through the last jump.

Pastrana and Edstrom clinched the 2006 Rally America National Series Overall and Open Class Championship on October 21, 2006 during day one of the Lake Superior Performance Rally. The team finished out the 2006 series with another first-place victory at the Wild West Rally in Olympia, Washington on December 31, 2006.

On December 16, 2006 Pastrana competed at the 2006 Race of Champions at the Stade de France in Paris. He represented the United States in the Nations Cup by himself, after injuries forced teammate Jimmie Johnson and his replacement Scott Speed to withdraw.

February 19, 2007 brought news that Pastrana's longtime co-driver Christian Edstrom had announced a sabbatical to concentrate on his career and family. Although former McRae co-driver Derek Ringer is set to compete with Pastrana for the 100 Acre Wood Rally in Salem, Missouri, Rally America has not announced a permanent replacement for its marquee driver.

[edit] 2006 Rally America Championship Results

Event Location Position
Sno*Drift Atlanta, MI 2nd In-class, 2nd Overall
100 Acre Wood Salem, MO DNF
Oregon Trail Portland, OR 2nd In-class, 2nd Overall
Susquehannock Trail Wellsboro, PA 2nd In-class, 2nd Overall
Maine Forest Rumford, ME 2nd In-class, 2nd Overall
Ojibwe Forests Bemidji, MN 1st In-class, 1st Overall
Colorado Cog Steamboat Springs, CO 1st In-class, 1st Overall
Lake Superior Performance Rally Houghton, MI 3rd In-class, 3rd Overall
Wild West Rally Olympia, WA 1st In-class, 1st Overall

[edit] 2007 Rally America Championship Results

Event Location Position
Sno*Drift Atlanta, MI 1st In-class, 1st Overall
100 Acre Wood Salem, MO 2nd In-class, 2nd Overall
Oregon Trail Rally Portland, OR DNF
Olympus Rally Olympia, WA DNF
Susquehannock Trail Wellsboro, PA 3rd In-class, 3rd Overall
New England Forest Rally Bethel, ME 1st In-class, 1st Overall
Ojibwe Forests Rally Bemidji, MN 1st In-Class, 1st Overall
Rally Colorado Steamboat Springs, CO 3rd In-Class, 3rd Overall
Lake Superior Performance Rally Houghton, MI 1st In-Class, 1st Overall

[edit] 2008 Rally America Championship Results

Event Location Position
Sno*Drift Atlanta, MI DNF
100 Acre Wood Salem, MO 2nd in class, 2nd Overall
Olympus Rally Pomeroy, WA 2nd in class, 2nd Overall
Oregon Trail Rally Portland, OR 1st in class, 1st Overall
Susquehannock Trail Wellsboro, PA DNF[3]
New England Forest Rally Bethel, ME
Ojibwe Forests Rally Bemidji, MN
Rally Colorado Steamboat Springs, CO
Lake Superior Performance Rally Houghton, MI

[edit] Plans for 2007-09

On December 13, 2006, Subaru Rally Team USA announced plans to enter Pastrana in certain World Rally Championship events in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In 2007, he is set to race three WRC events in the Group N class, driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STI–based rally car. In 2008, SRT-USA plans to enter him in the Production World Rally Championship, a series that runs concurrent with the WRC.[4]

During March 9–11 2007, Pastrana competed in his first world rally at the 21º Corona Rally México. He finished 15th overall and fifth in the PWRC (Group N) class. His finish was the best by an American in a WRC event since John Buffum finished 3rd in the Acropolis Rally in 1988.

[edit] Injuries

w/e have often taken Pastrana off the circuit for weeks or months. His medical record includes multiple concussions, a broken back, several dislocated shoulders and severe knee problems due to cartilage degeneration.

In 1998 at a Triple Crown event in Lake Havasu, when he was 14-years-old, he jumped a 120-foot ramp and came up short. In the process of the crash he rag dolled and separated his spine from his pelvis, which put him in the medical books and left him in a coma for two weeks. It also left him in a wheel chair for three months. “I was in and out of consciousness for about three days and had six blood transfusions,” says Pastrana. He also adds that according to doctors only three people in the U.S. have ever lived after this kind of injury. “I don’t remember most of the injuries there have been so many.” His laundry list includes: the dislocated spine, in his left knee he’s torn his ACL, PCL, LCL, MCL, his bucket handle meniscus, broken his tibia and fibula, he’s had surgery on his left wrist twice, left thumb once, two surgeries on his back, one on his right elbow, nine on his left knee, six on the right knee, one shoulder surgery which left him with the only piece of metal he has in his body.[5]

[edit] Other activities

Pastrana is featured in many motocross stunt videos, most notably in Gregg Godfrey's four "Travis and the Nitro Circus" DVDs. The series can be seen on Fuel TV or purchased via iTunes. A fifth Nitro Circus film is scheduled to be released this fall and will include another Grand Canyon jump by Travis Pastrana and Jolene Van Vugt. [6]He is a champion and one of the godfathers of motorcross.

On Sept. 26, 2007, Pastrana jumped out of an airplane over Arecibo, Puerto Rico, without a parachute. In a carefully choreographed stunt, he met up in midair with another jumper, then lashed himself into a harness in time to make a safe tandem landing. [7]

Travis also owned a golden retriever named Indiana until he started moving around the country competing, and therefore had to give it up, where it was registered and loved by Hunter Stewart.

Pastrana also lent his voice to the game Colin McRae: DiRT as himself and the in-menu voice as well.

Travis has also completed a double backflip in the X games which was his last performance before he retired and went to rally racing.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b José Luis Rodríguez C. (2008-02-28). Competirá por Puerto Rico Travis Pastrana estará en el supercross del Saprissa (Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  2. ^ a b Chuck Akin (2008-03-18). Pastrana at the Latin American Supercross Championships. Racer X Illustrated. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  3. ^ Rally America (2008-06-07). Rally America Susquehannock Trail Results List. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  1. "Red Bull USA Profile", Red Bull USA. 
  2. "Travis Pastrana Bio", r199.com. 
  3. "FINAL: Pastrana Lands First Moto X Double Backflip", EXPN.com, 2006-08-04. Retrieved on 2006-12-24. 
  4. "Moto X Best Trick Results", EXPN.com, 2006-08-04. Retrieved on 2006-12-15. 
  5. "Red Bull X-Fighters 2007", Red Bull. Retrieved on 2007-02-12. 
  6. "Pastrana/Edstrom take 2nd on 100 Acre Wood.", Christian Edstrom.com, 2007-02-26. Retrieved on 2007-03-05. 
  7. "Pastrana Headed to the WRC", Subaru Rally Team USA, 2006-12-13. Retrieved on 2006-12-13. 
  8. "Finnish stars thwart USA hero in the 2006 ROC-Nations Cup", Race of Champions.com, 2006-12-16. Retrieved on 2006-12-16. 
  9. "Why Travis Pastrana is The Man", Lat34.com, 2006-08-28. Retrieved on 2006-12-09. 
  10. "PWRC: McRae's ex-partner links up with Pastrana", Crash.net, 2008-02-20. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.