You would expect the Lotus F1 team to be prepared for just about anything that could happen to their cars, so when these guys say they’re scared, you know the deal is pretty serious. This is precisely what happened earlier this month, when a Renault truck and trailer jumped the Lotus F1 running demonstration car.
The feat took place on November 6 at Bentwaters Park, Suffolk, with the a Renault Magnum, one of the most handsome European trucks that’s now defunct, being driven up a ramp and taking a long jump of 83 feet and 7 inches (25.5 meters).
In the process, the Lotus F1 racer drove under the airborne truck and apart form the spectacular side of the stunt, this also set a new Guinness World Record Truck Jump.
As for the stunt drivers who manhandled the two beasts, the Lotus F1 car (coming from the 2013 season) was driven by Martin Ivanov, while the truck had Mike Ryan behind its massive wheel - in case his name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Mike is the one behind the truck - motorcycle chase you’ve seen in Terminator 2. And yes, he was also the brain behind this stunt.
Cameras can never record the true drama of such a moment, but trust us, when that truck got 10 feet (4 meters) of air time, with the F1 car going underneath and subsequently spinning, it was all like filming at a remote location in the Inferno.
Interestingly enough, Volvo trucks seems to be riding high in 2014 - the Magnum was used as Renault is Lotus' F1 engine supplier and Renault Trucks is owned by Volvo Trucks, the same company behind Vandamme's Epic Split commercial.
In the process, the Lotus F1 racer drove under the airborne truck and apart form the spectacular side of the stunt, this also set a new Guinness World Record Truck Jump.
How they did it
The Lotus F1 team joined forces with EMC, a cloud computing and data management company, for the project, which is part of a greater campaign called “Redefine Motorsport”. F1 has been looking for a richer audience anyway, so their effort is more than welcome. Too bad the Lotus F1 team has had a disappointing season this year.As for the stunt drivers who manhandled the two beasts, the Lotus F1 car (coming from the 2013 season) was driven by Martin Ivanov, while the truck had Mike Ryan behind its massive wheel - in case his name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Mike is the one behind the truck - motorcycle chase you’ve seen in Terminator 2. And yes, he was also the brain behind this stunt.
Cameras can never record the true drama of such a moment, but trust us, when that truck got 10 feet (4 meters) of air time, with the F1 car going underneath and subsequently spinning, it was all like filming at a remote location in the Inferno.
Interestingly enough, Volvo trucks seems to be riding high in 2014 - the Magnum was used as Renault is Lotus' F1 engine supplier and Renault Trucks is owned by Volvo Trucks, the same company behind Vandamme's Epic Split commercial.