Locals smash fiery bike record

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Two South Africans have broken the world record for riding a bike through a fire tunnel.

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South Africans Andre de Kock and Enrico Schoeman have set a new Guinness World Record for riding a motorbike through a fire Tunnel.

The attempt took place in the main street of the town of Vaalwater in the Limpopo Province last Friday evening, 23 September, where photographer Schoeman and motoring journalist De Kock, rode their Kawasaki-engined Australian sidecar through a fire tunnel of 73.3 metres.

The previous world record, held by Indian Superbike racer Shabir Ahluwalla, stood at 68.4 metres. The record was a highlight of this year's annual Waterberg Game Festival in Vaalwater. For the first time in history, the town closed its main road for a sporting event.

The stunt crew built their tunnel, comprising of a steel framework and Lothlorien cardboard, in the main street from 5pm until 7pm last Friday. At 7.20pm they doused the structure in diesel, followed by petrol five minutes later.

The tunnel was set alight with pyrotechnics at exactly 7.30pm, after which Schoeman and de Kock rode the high-powered machine through the resultant inferno.

Both riders incurred slight burn wounds, with the heat inside the tunnel melting the plastic bits of their crash helmets. Stickers and paint on the machine also melted.

Riders Enrico Schoeman (L) and Andre de Kock (R) sustained slight burns.

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“That was one hot ride,” said De Kock afterwards. “On the other hand, breaking a world record should not be easy,” he added.

Proof of the record will be sent to the Guinness World record offices in London for ratification.