Motorcycle daredevil Robbie Knievel lands second jump in two weeks - and announces a Snake River jump

Robbie Knievel successfully landed a second world record jump in two weeks on Saturday, June 7, at Texas Motor Speedway. A video is at the link here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFeCz2kU7Kg

Knievel made an announcement at the event, which is in the video. He is 46 years old, and told the crowd in Texas he is planning two more jumps this year before he retires.

Knievel plans to jump at Wembley stadium on a Harley and then at the Snake River Canyon in a rocket bike.

Fans of Evel Knievel might remember he suffered a bad crash at Wembley and was unable to get from canyon wall to canyon wall at Snake River due to a parachute malfunction. Both jumps could have easily killed Evel, but he somehow survived.

The Wembley jump is paricularly tough because Evel had build a ramp up the side of the stadium seats to get enough speed in the small venue. His spectacular wipeout is shown at the link here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZZB9lnJFPc

Trying these two potentially deadly jumps before retiring demonstrates how important the Knievel legacy is to Robbie. Hopefully ABC or another network will deem these jumps airworthy. They could pull in significant ratings.

May 24 post:

Robbie "Kaptain" Knievel, son of daredevil Evel Knievel, attempted a world record jump May 24 at Kings Island near Cincinatti, Ohio, site of his father's last jump.

The landing was hard, but he did not crash. Watch a video at http://www.wlwt.com/video/16388974/index.html

According to the amusement park Web site, "On October 25, 1975, Evel Knievel jumped over 14 Greyhound buses on his motorcycle at Kings Island, setting a viewing record for ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” with a 22.3 rating and 52 percent share – a mark that still stands.

"Almost 33 years later, Knievel’s son, Robbie Knievel, will try to surpass his father’s famous feat, attempting to clear 24 Coke Zero trucks Saturday, May 24 at 7 p.m. at Kings Island.

"Robert Edward "Kaptain" Knievel, (born May 7, 1962 in Butte, Montana) is the third of four children of the late famous stuntman Evel Knievel and his first wife Linda.

"Robbie Knievel began jumping his bicycle at age 4 and rode motorcycles at age 7... he has completed over 250 jumps, setting 20 world records. These include the Caesars Palace Fountain jump, the building to building jump and The Grand Canyon jump. The canyon jump was partially based on his father's radical and ill-fated attempt at jumping the Snake River Canyon in 1974 on a rocket "motorcycle" which was really much more rocket than motorcycle. In Robbie's jump he actually used a motorcycle and he actually jumped the canyon."

Robbie talks about the longest jump of his life at WLWT.com - Local News - http://www.wlwt.com/video/index.html?rss=cin&psp=video

Knievel, 46, will jump again.

He will attempt to jump 20 Hummer trucks at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Saturday, June 7.

But, this weekend's jump at the site where his father completed his career three decades ago should forever cement the younger Knievel's place is daredevil history. It proves that he is an equally as accomplished -- and probably more gutsy. Jumping between two high rise buildings earlier in his career was an act of heroism for entertainment sake.

King Island's Web site, www.pki.com, features videos and information about the upcoming Knievel jump and history on the earlier jump.

Too bad this event was not on television. The final jump of Evel's career at the same location achieved significant ratings.

If it appeared on TV, would you've watched it?