Pastrana leaving two wheels behind for four

The six-time X Games motocross champion is now concentrating on rally car racing.

By BOB PUTNAM
Published August 2, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Pastrana: Nothing more to accomplish in motocross. [Getty Images] Travis Pastrana, who won the inaugural rally car event at last year's X Games, is back to defend his title.

Travis Pastrana took one last breath before cranking the throttle on his motorcycle and rocketing down the ramp.

Then he soared like an angel, backflipping along the way.

Not once, but twice.

Pastrana, a motocross superstar known for pushing the limits in his sport, upped the ante by pulling off the first double backflip to win the Moto X title at last year's X Games.

"I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it, but was confident enough to get close," Pastrana said after nailing the trick last year. "When I landed, I was riding away and said 'Wow, I can't believe that actually worked.' "

So what's in store for Pastrana when the X Games start today? Another double backflip? Maybe a triple?

The answer: none of the above.

Pastrana has traded in two wheels for four. The six-time X Games motocross champion is now concentrating on rally car racing, an event he won in the sport's debut at last year's games.

"I feel that I've accomplished every goal I've had in freestyle motocross," Pastrana told the Washington Post. "For me to go out and push myself that hard every day for something that I don't feel I don't have anything left to win - there's a lot left for me to do, but I want to try something that's a new challenge."

In 1999, Pastrana turned pro in motocross. That year he won his first X Games title, executing a no-handed seat grab while flying 29 1/2 feet in the air during his first run.

He wasn't finished. After wrapping up the title, Pastrana decided to one-up the other riders by riding his motorcycle up a dirt ramp off the course and into San Francisco Bay. As a result of the stunt, ESPN denied Pastrana his $10,000 first prize.

Pastrana has continued to come up with death-defying tricks. He perfects most of them behind his two-story brick house in Annapolis, Md., where he has put together an impressive collection of foam pits, trampolines and dirt trails.

But the foam pit isn't there when he tries the real thing.

Pastrana, a motocross rider who often plays Russian roulette on his bike, has had his share of injuries.

So after years of testing the law of averages and surviving a career as a human missile, Pastrana, 23, decided he wanted to retire as a walking, talking member of society.

That's why he left freestyle motocross in his rearview mirror.

"To be able to stay on top you have to be willing to continually risk ... you have to be willing to make the sacrifice to be the best," Pastrana told the Post. "I'm at the point where I have something else, and I'm willing to make the sacrifice to be the best (at rally car racing) by not doing motocross."

The bike he used to perform the double backflip sits in his garage. Pastrana now spends his time dodging trees and other cars on dirt obstacle courses in his souped-up Subaru Impreza rally car.

This year he is in second place after four races in the Rally America National Championship Series.

He's also back to defend his title in rally car at the X Games and will ride in Moto X racing.

Just don't expect any more crazy tricks.

Bob Putnam can be reached at putnam@sptimes.com or at (727) 445-4169.

Fast Facts:

X Games 13

When/where: Aug. 2-5 in Los Angeles; Carson, Calif.; Puerto Escondido, Mexico.

TV: 14 hours live on ESPN and ABC.

Tonight: 9-11, ESPN.

Sports: BMX, motocross, rally racing, skateboarding, surfing.

[Last modified August 2, 2007, 08:33:56]