Wall of Death is not only a challenge in the motor world nor a simple fairground attraction, but a passion for the risk that has pushed countless pilots to the limit since its invention about a century ago.
It is from the 20s when the public begins to be hypnotized by this curious challenge of motorists who turn inside what looks like a gigantic wooden barrel. The serious sound caused by the motorcycles on the boards, the cries of the sick spectators, the tension caused by the rise of the riders towards the edge of the enclosure ... Everything is part of an exciting and original spectacle that has its origin in the races of velodrome bikes.
It was in 1910, in California (USA), where the first track for motor racing was enabled. The public approached en masse to enjoy the races from the top of the wooden curves. At the beginning of the century, these competitions in the motordrome were all the rage among enthusiasts and enthusiastic investors. Even the big brands, like Harley-Davidson and Indian, saw a gold reef to advertise. Until the bubble burst.
There were a series of serious accidents - and even some death -, which caused a domino effect, first in the fans, and then in the promoters, who gave up building new scenarios and investing in the growth of the activity.
However, it gave rise to a new format, Wall of Death that began as part of the traveling fairs that were linked to the racing universe. The stage narrowed, disregarding the straight characteristics of the velodromes until it became a circumference with the appearance of a beer barrel, with a diameter that measured between 6 and 10 meters. Also, the competition was replaced by the spectacle of the amazing.
Called by curiosity, the public enjoyed the stunts of the reckless riders to the fullest, without actually being aware of the danger that they themselves were running if some of the acrobats lost control of their motorcycle and both were dismissed towards them. For something they are called "suicide pilots." Because they literally put their lives at stake.
Basically, the activity consisted of turning the motorcycle around the wooden wall vertically, defying the force of gravity thanks to friction and centrifugal force. Sometimes, riding the motorcycle without using your hands, other times without your feet, and even blindfolded or placed on your back. The important thing was to delight the staff and get people to smell the danger. As if that were not enough, it occurred to someone to include in the show tamed tigers and lions, who chased the pilots or even circled sidecar riding as co-pilots.
The old-school motorcycles, with the center of gravity lower than the current ones, were ideal for this series of stunts, in which the pilot put the public on foot by climbing up to the edge of the wood and running all the surface of the wall.
The success was such that it is estimated that in the period between the two world wars the US had about 100 Wall of Death shows scattered throughout the country, while in Britain there were half a hundred.
There were many women who rose to the fame of the Wall of Death: Margaret Gast, Lillian La France or Cookie Crum, specialists of the most popular and acclaimed by the public. Some of these intrepid women came to have their own enclosure, such as the English Ivonne Stagg, in the 60s. Another of the most prominent women specialists was Samantha Morgan, known as Storm, one of the pilots of the 70s, who unfortunately lost the life in 2008 because of the complications of her injuries.
The Wall of Death is a period attraction that has managed to reach our days, although the trend suggests that it will not last too long in time. Currently, there are no precincts in the world around twenty, of which only half retain the original structure.
One of its promoters in Europe is the pilot Bob Carew, who built the Wall of Death in Holland and took it to Russia on a long tour of the continent. But in 1939, with World War II, his team was forced to flee and leave the premises to their fate.
After the war, the Russians took it as theirs, renamed it Russian Devils, touring the world and crossing the puddle to Cuba, to culminate in the activity in South Africa, where it was rediscovered about 25 years ago and imported back to the Netherlands.
In the United States, Rhett Giordano, with his 1927 Indian Scout, is one of the most popular current pilots around his Death Wall in New Jersey, one of the oldest and best preserved venues in the world (1938).
Another of the most prominent current figures is veteran Ken Fox, with more than 45 years of experience touring Europe with his ‘troupe’. Not in vain was the expert Fox who guided the multi-faceted English driver Guy Martin, in his eagerness to beat the Guinness record of speed in a Wall of Death in 2016. To do this he had to exceed 96 km / h and achieved the feat of rolling to 125.77 k / m with a Rob North T160 Trident, remaining, as he would later recognize, a step away from fainting.
It is also a fun activity celebrated in India, where it is known as Death Well, and is already part of its bizarre popular culture. A unique show that you should try to see at least once in your life ...
