Photos and video: Red Bull Content Pool
Markus Stöckl, manager of MS Racing, has set a new record by piloting a production downhill bike to 167.6kmh in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Stöckl has been setting records since 1999 but this is the fastest he’s ever gone using a bike you can buy on the shelves. He took his Mondraker Summum from 0-167.6 kmh in just eleven seconds as he screamed down a volcano in a specially designed suit.
With the gravel slope of 45 degrees deemed the perfect angle for his record, the 43-year-old’s pulse hit the 170 beats per minute mark, the wind whistling past his ears on a 1,200-metre descent in a place 11,000 from his home.
This isn’t the fastest anyone has ever been downhill – Stockl himself hit 210 kmh (130mph) while riding on snow on an Intense M6 – but it is the highest on dirt. Eric Barone has also gone quicker but on a specially designed bike (223.2kmh/138.8mph).