Like father, like son, daredevil 'Kaptain' Robbie Knievel to attempt motorcycle jump at Kings Island

Knievel will meet and greet fans at Cedar Point on May 17, in anticipation of jump at Kings Island.

Thursday, 15 May 2008

Cedar Point Press Release

Motorcycle daredevil ‘Kaptain’ Robbie Knievel, the son of Evel Knievel, will attempt to surpass his father’s famous jump with a death-defying spectacular jump over 24 trucks May 24 at 7 p.m. at Kings Island theme park, near Cincinnati.  The world-record attempt at Kings  Island is expected to be the last big jump of Knievel’s 37-year daredevil-riding career.

In anticipation of this amazing jump, Knievel will ride Cedar Point’s towering 420-foot-tall, 120 mph Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster this Saturday, May 17.  Knievel will then meet and greet his fans in front of Top Thrill Dragster from noon to 2 p.m.

Thirty-three years ago, on October 25, 1975, Evel Knievel made history when he successfully jumped over 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island.  The jump was the last big jump of the legendary stuntman’s career and one of his most notable. In fact, the jump at Kings Island set a new audience viewing record for ABC’s “Wide World of Sports,” with a 22.3 rating and 52 percent share – a record that still stands.

Knievel has completed more than 250 jumps in his career.  The ‘Kaptain’ is best known for his live television performances including the Building-to-Building Jump in Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon Jump and has thrilled millions of fans around the world.  During the summer of 2005, he had his own television show on A&E called “Knievel’s Wild Ride.”  In 2006, he opened a new business called Knievel’s Custom Cycles, based in Lake Hopatcong, N.J.  He was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Sturgis, S.D., in 2007.