Channel 4

Guy Martin Proper– The Great Escape

Many of you have reached out to us following the airing of Channel 4 TV’s recent show ‘The Great Escape’ featuring legendary motorcycle road racer Guy Martin.

In the show, Guy aims to recreate the iconic jump first performed by Steve McQueen (actually his stuntman Bud Eakins) for the 1963 film. For those few that have not seen the film, the jump requires clearing multiple barbed wire fences at around 6-8 feet high.

Steve Mcqueen's Stunt double Bud Eakins makes the iconic jump

Although Guy is one of the top motorcycle riders in the world, he prefers his tyres to have constant contact with the tarmac and had no previous bike jumping experience going into the show. He would have to learn from scratch.

To help him do this successfully and safely he brought in scientist Professor Hugh Hunt, a specialist in Applied Mechanics to help him understand what it takes to jump effectively.

Professor Hugh Hunt explains The Mechanics of jumping

After explaining the perfect angle for take-off and the ideal trajectory for flight, it was time for Guy to jump a ramp for the first time. Lots of eagle-eyed viewers recognised that the bike ramp they had chosen for Guy to train on was a Jumpack! Thank you to everyone that contacted us as we might have missed it if you hadn’t. 

We completely understand why Jumpack was selected for learning to jump a bike, but it’s still a huge compliment to play a part in the effort. Jumpack was designed to be the perfect training and practice ramp. It has an unrivaled pedigree with over 40 years of jumping experience behind it and over $250k invested in R&D.

Guy had been issued with a hardtail mountain bike to take the first bike jump of his life. Considering that Guy's usual cup of tea is road racing circuits like the infamous Isle of Man TT, he is more courageous than your average first timer and went straight for Jumpacks max height option of 440mm without a second thought.

Jumpack gives Guy Martin his first ramp experience

Although Guy has no previous jumping experience, he managed a successful launch on his very first attempt, landing slightly nose first. You could tell that his natural bike skills would allow him a steep learning curve.

Within a few days Guy had already transferred those skills to a Pit Bike and then ultimately the monster Triumph motorcycle he intended to use for the shows main event.

He did it! Guy clears both fences on his first attempt!

It’s amazing to think that Guy went from zero jumping capability, to recreating one of the greatest TV motorcycle jumps of all time in days. The only difference being that Guy managed to clear all of the barb-wire fences and ride away, while Steve McQueen couldn’t quite make it and got caught by the Germans. We are so stoked to be an ingredient in such an awesome project. And total respect to Guy Martin for taking it on, it was big jump on a big bike.

If you would like to see the entire show click HERE

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/guy-martins-great-escape

If you would like to see Mechanics of Jumping segment click HERE