British rider ‘breaks world record for fastest headstand on a motorbike’

A British daredevil has performed a handstand on a motorbike while travelling at 76 miles per hour.

Attempting to set a world record for the fastest ever headstand on a motorcycle, Marco George, 30, from Fleet, in Hampshire, clocked a speed of 76.1764mph at the Straightliners World’s Fastest Wheelie Competition at the Elvington airfield in North Yorkshire on Saturday.

It is expected to by ratified by Guinness World Records, with the previous record thought to be 30mph – a mark Mr George had been hoping to double.

He told the PA news agency: “I don’t know what happened, I just clicked into the next gear of what I normally do and managed to pull a 76. I feel amazing and relieved.”

The day was not without issue for Mr George, who was forced to buy a new helmet on the morning of the record attempt because the one he had been using did not meet the required safety standards.

It meant he went through a couple of failed runs as he got used to the new equipment before clocking a speed of 68mph on his first official run.

He added: “Then I was coming in and I was gonna call it a day, then Trevor (Duckworth, Straightliners founder) said try and go for 70 because that’s the national speed limit.

“So we went back out, felt good, had a couple of practice runs, then pulled a 76, which is about the limit I think of what my core strength can hold.”

Mr George, who is a robotics engineer but also takes part in stunt riding competitions semi-professionally, has been building up to the record attempt for a couple of years after initially trying the stunt to use in competition.

After being told by Guinness the mark to beat was 30mph, he spent the last few weeks building up his core strength as well as learning to do the trick in full leathers – something stunt riders do not usually do because it restricts movement.

“It’s been a real methodical, calculated process this, which is the opposite to how we normally do stuff for stunt riding,” he said.

“Normally you grit your teeth and try it but with the speeds we were trying to get it had to be very methodical and build it up nice and slow to keep the bike safe and myself safe.”

The event continued in North Yorkshire on Sunday with other record attempts being made by other riders, but Mr George said he wouldn’t consider extending his record even faster.

He said: “I promised my mum that if I hit 70 I’d call it a day, so I have to honour my promise to my mum because she’s not too happy with watching this.”