Science Behind Remarkable New Wall of Death Motorcycle World Record

The Wall of Death has been the most enigmatic daredevil motorbike stunt for more than 100 years. But how on Earth can a motorcycle ride around a vertical wall?

Guy Martin of Great Britain looks on during the Cemetery Circuit Motorcycle Races in Wanganui, New Zealand, on Dec. 26, 2013. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

The Wall of Death has been the most enigmatic daredevil motorbike stunt for more than 100 years. Motorcyclists ride around the inside of a vertical wall, rather like a huge barrel, at speeds of around 30mph. Most Wall of Death “drums” are about 32 feet (10 meters) in diameter.

There is a Wall of Death near Cambridge, U.K., run by Ken Fox. He was approached by NorthOne Television to assist in a mad project to set the world speed record for a motorcycle ride around the wall. The stunt was performed live on Channel 4 television this week—and I was lucky enough to be right there, as a consultant engineer for the show.

It was thought that no one has ever ridden the Wall of Death any faster than 45mph, but during the record attempt, experienced motorcyclist Guy Martin attempted to reach 80mph, a speed which would completely smash existing records. So how did he do? And how on Earth can a motorcycle ride around a vertical wall?

This photo taken from inside a "Wall of Death" motorcycling cylinder shows spectators waiting for the star of the motorcycling show during a public fair in Sabac, some 100 kilometers west of the capital Belgrade, on Sept. 20, 2009. The Wall of Death, or "Motordrome," is a carnival sideshow featuring a drum-shaped wooden cylinder, ranging from 20 to 36-feet in diameter, in which stunt motorcyclists ride and carry out tricks. Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty Images