WATCH: Kemptonian builds fire tunnels for famous ‘ou toppie’ daredevil duo
Barnard believes the two should stop now that they hold their world record
A Kemptonian played a major role in an amateur daredevil duo’s success in breaking the Guinness World Record for riding a quad bike through a 36m-long fire tunnel.
Martin Barnard (45) from Bonaero Park contributed to André de Kock (61) and Enrico Schoeman’s (65) success at Midvaal Raceway in Meyerton in September 2019 by being responsible for constructing and erecting the deadly fire tunnels they so love to race through.
At his business, Truck & Cargo Salvage Solutions in Germiston, is where the building and prepping of the fire tunnels happen.
“Once the prepping is done here, it’s just a matter of building it on the site of a stunt.
“Before kicking off with the official stunts, there are test runs to ensure the tunnels are wide and ‘hot’ enough. For instance, one year we rained out and all the money was down the drain.”
The construction of these sites aren’t cheap. According to Barnard, an average site would equate to about R20 000 to build. They would use 200 litres of diesel and 100 litres of petrol to set the tunnel alight.
“A crew helps me with the construction. I drill and bolt together every component myself. When you have two blokes risking their lives in the fire tunnel, you don’t want any mishaps on your conscience.”
When asked about the origin of his interest in erecting these potential death traps for stunts, Barnard said it was his love for motorsports and bikes.
In his role as safety officer, he admits to not having any formal qualification, as it all adds up to logic.
“With the fire jumps they do, there are always paramedics and fire engines on site. We don’t attempt any jumps without them. With the quad bike run, they came out of the tunnel falling, since it was far too hot.
“The tunnel started smothering, so much so that their helmets started melting. It’s always a spectacular site with a grim reminder that there is so much that can go wrong.”
De Kock and Schoeman also holds the Guinness World Record title for riding a motorcycle through a tunnel of fire (also built by Barnard) at 120m, which was set at the Rhino Motorcycle Rally in Parys in November 2014.
De Kock, a former learner of Hoërskool Kempton Park, said: “Obtaining the quad bike record was a long process. We do not have a low budget; we have a no-budget.
“Every part of the effort, from quad bike to the steel tunnel, diesel, petrol and cardboard we use, plus our protective clothing, come from friends and sponsors.”
He said the person topping this list was Barnard, who has been instrumental in keeping them safe for the past decade.
Regarding the “ou toppies’”, as Barnard fondly refers to them, achievements, he said they now have their world records and that it’s time to stop.
Schoeman and De Kock plan to extend the quadbike record next year, while also attempting the existing record for crashing a motorcycle through a series of burning obstacles.
Long quest for world record finally bears fruit
A two-year quest to officially break a dangerous Guinness World Record came to fruition early this year.
On September 14, veteran South African amateur stuntmen Enrico Schoeman from Boksburg and André de Kock from Alberton rode a quadbike through a 36,59-metre long fire tunnel at the Midvaal Raceway in Meyerton.
This constituted a new Guinness World Record, and the pairing sent the relevant documentation to the Guinness World Record administrators in London, England for ratification.
The ratification arrived a couple of weeks ago in the form of a certificate that cannot be bought.
Last year, the pairing’s first test run before the record run came to a dramatic end when they hit the side of the fire tunnel and fell, luckily just after the exit of the tunnel.
“If we had fallen ten metres earlier, we would not be here today,” added De Kock.
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