VIDEO: The famous LaRocco's Leap in RedBud
Last weekend RedBud was the venue for the MXoN and the attentive viewer undoubtedly saw a number of jumps from the riders on a mega triple jump. The jump was even crucial at times during an overtaking maneuver.
In the fall of 1991, Mike LaRocco started looking for someone to build him a practice track on his Indiana estate. The man he came up with was Tim Ritchie, son of legendary Redbud founder Gene Ritchie. Together they put together a practice course for Mike that included a massive 45-foot jump that was later named “Kong.”
After watching Larocco perform this mega jump several times without any problems, Tim was drawn to the idea of adding a similar jump to his father's circuit in Redbud. In 1992, Tim brought his own version of Kong to Redbud and enlisted Mike to help him figure out the best angle and distance. At the AMA National that summer, Mike introduced it not only by doing the huge jump, but also by doing it on a Kawasaki KX125. In 1992, this was no small feat and the spectacular jump was soon given a new name, LaRocco's Leap. Today, the Leap remains the most famous jump in American motocross despite its shape and length varying from year to year.
In the first video you see Mike performing the jump on a KX125. In the second video from 2021 you see the participants - at least the ones who dare - jumping LaRocco's Leap. In this video you can see how important it is to get out of the bend at the right speed, otherwise you won't make it.
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