The Minister - Superstunt in Utah: Clemens Kaudela jumps the biggest gap drop
Clemens Kaudela
· 19.11.2023
Crazy? I thought that for a moment, because my head was still buzzing from the crash, but I was sitting at the computer booking flights to Utah. Flights back to the scene of my crash, which had knocked me out so badly that I was lying on the ground like a dead horse and not making a sound. Helmet splintered, bike broken, morale down. But first things first!
A dream comes true
I've been dreaming of doing stunts in Utah for 15 years. Where so much freeride history was written. Films like New World Disorder and Kranked shot. These films blew me away, left me speechless, gave me goose bumps and made me want to become a freerider. Now the time was ripe for Utah! Because I had decided in favour of the Red Bull Rampage and wanted to emphasise my application, otherwise I would never be the first Austrian to take part in the Rampage. My previous applications had always been rejected. I wanted to show that I was a Rampage rider with a video clip.
So we put together a crew, flew there, hired a pick-up truck and wrote an email to Rampage organiser Todd Barber to ask where we could dig without getting in anyone's way. In the end, we ended up at the old Rampage site, where the Red Bull formation also takes place.
Finally: I'm building my Minister Jump.
We dug, filmed, dug and filmed. I wanted to do the Minister Jump at the very end. It was finished, huge and ready to go. And then this: I overshot a 360 drop on a cliff, smashed my head into the ground and knocked myself out. Cancelled, hospital, flight home. Damn. My minister was standing unguarded in the desert. What if someone did the jump in my absence and posted it on Insta while I was at home recovering from the concussion? I told my concerns to Jaxson Riddle and Tyler McCaul.
The two of them laughed and said: "Nobody jumps, because that thing is really fat.
And yes, the Minister Jump turned out to be fat. To find out exactly how big the stunt was, I had a Bosch laser measuring device with me. Result: Height from jump to landing: 15.6 metres. Distance: 24.8 metres. And the actual flight distance 29.7 metres.
When I came back, the minister was still standing there exactly as we had left him. He was waiting for me. Is the Minister the fattest jump in Utah? Not easy to find out. I did some research, but didn't find anything bigger.
And off we go!
During the enforced break at home, the stunt kept haunting my mind. And it tormented me. If something goes wrong here, it really hurts. I wouldn't get away with a concussion. On the other hand, every time I came up with a really cool stunt, it worked. So why not this time too? Nevertheless, I booked the flights last minute so that I could still back out. Because my gut feeling has to be right! I take a meticulous approach to building: precise planning, everything is measured and thought through. I've gained a lot of experience over the years and know what works and what doesn't. I leave nothing to chance. I leave nothing to chance. At some point during the construction work, the project developed a momentum of its own.
The minister jump should be the "grand finale" of my clip, without it something would be missing.
Flight range 29.7 metres
My decision: If the weather is right, there's no wind, I feel good - then I'll go for it. Tension factor no. 1: the size. That's XL. X Tension factor no. 2: I can't jump too short under any circumstances! If you cast here and it catapults you away, it's going to be bad. Better to fly too far then! Just in case, we shaped the landing to be as big as if I were rushing in with a Cessna. At this year's Darkfest in South Africa, we had built a 110 footer (33.5 metres), which worked incredibly well. This jump gave me the confidence I needed for the minister. And then it was time to fly! Take a deep breath, give my Propain Rage the spurs, full throttle on the kicker - take off!
What a flight! The wheels touched down perfectly, all the energy turned into speed. The relief afterwards was unreal. I screamed, my boys screamed. We screamed together. For five minutes we danced through the desert screaming like madmen and an insane weight fell off me. It's done! All the effort, all the work, all the uncertainty was worth it and all the money - because I paid half the costs out of my own pocket. Suddenly I had no more strength. Suddenly I no longer felt like pushing the bike up the mountain. End, happy, everything went well, no injury - awesome! Now my clip is online. I hope you like it and that the Rampage dudes will invite me in October - that would be the icing on the minister cake. By the time you read this, the decision will have been made.
Well, it worked, the maths worked out: Clemens Kaudela was at the start of Rampage 2023. Read more about it here: >> Red Bull Rampage 2023: Top 10 best Rampage moments - hold your breath! <<
