Explore 12 breathtaking projects from likes of Eder, Iffland, Pagès and Purja
The past year has seen Red Bull athletes create a series of breathtaking projects around the world as they pushed the boundaries or broke new ground in their respective disciplines to thrill sporting fans.
From Mattias Ekström’s stunning drive under the northern lights back in March through to the feel-good tale of Khothalang Leuta in September’s ‘The Fastest Girl in the Village’ and Max Verstappen’s maiden Formula One title win in December 2021 has delivered across the board.
Here are 12 of the best 2021 projects and stories as we head into 2022 and even more exciting stunts:
1) Verstappen brings it home
Max Verstappen’s excellent 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship season looked like it might come up agonisingly short at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale, however, a late safety car gave him a glimmer of hope. With one lap left and fresher tyres than title rival Lewis Hamilton, the 24-year-old Dutchman got past the Briton to bank his 10th 2021 victory and a maiden title by just eight points.
2) Costa completes Tunnel Pass
One of the big highlights of 2021 was pilot Dario Costa’s thrilling pass through Turkey’s Çatalca Tunnels in September. The Italian professional executed a tricky takeoff inside the first tunnel in his specially modified Zivko Edge 540 race plane, flashed through an open-air gap and then continued his 245kph flight through the second tunnel – flying less than 1m from the asphalt and scoring himself a place in the Guinness World Records book.
3) Iffland makes history diving from a hot air balloon
Rhiannan Iffland has dominated the women’s global high diving scene since she first broke through by winning the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series as a wildcard in 2016. The 30-year-old became the first person in history to dive from a moving hot-air balloon in the waterways of the Lockstock Dam in New South Wales after it sank down from its soaring altitude of 40 metres to the 18m dive height in May.
4) Ekström’s Arctic adventure under the Northern Lights
Back in March, Swedish motorsport legend Mattias Ekström embarked on an icy road trip through Finland’s Arctic region to drive under the northern lights which were spectacularly captured by sports photographer Jaanus Ree. The 43-year-old’s Audi S1 FIA World Rallycross car had no lights, which meant the northern lights themselves and Ree’s camera flash were the main sources of light.
5) Álvarez soars into volcano
Sebastián Álvarez, one of the world’s most accomplished wingsuit flyers, showcased the natural beauty of Chile’s Araucanía Region as he became the first person ever to fly in and out of an active volcano at the end of November. Álvarez performed around 500 jumps in preparation for the incredible stunt with ‘El Ardilla’ descending close to 10m inside the volcano before exiting at a speed of 180kph.
6) From Castle to Castle
Thirteen-time F1 Grand Prix winner David Coulthard went head-to-head with an upside-down Extra 300 SR plane in June, which was expertly piloted by 2018 Red Bull Air Race World Champion Martin Šonka. While Coulthard’s RB7 hit top speed on the short Czech Republic runway in conventional style, Šonka flew inverted at full throttle just metres above with the drivers almost eyeball to eyeball throughout.
7) Purja’s K2 winter ascent
The star of one of 2021’s most-watched documentaries, Nepalese climber Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja MBE made history on January 16, 2021, at 5pm local time when the former Gurkha and UK Special Forces operative and his team became the first mountaineers to ever summit K2 in winter. Standing 8,611m above sea level, K2 was the only 8,000m peak in the world that had never been climbed during winter.
8) Eder unveils Ultimate Run
November saw Italian freestyle skier Markus Eder – no stranger to breathtaking feats around the world – tackle the most extreme slopes as he jumped through glacial blocks the size of buses and off ice cliffsduring a thrilling run from Zermatt, Switzerland to Klausberg, Italy. The 2019 Freeride World Tour champion’s audacious project brought to life an imagined descent Eder has had since 2015.
9) Petkuns plays Human Pinball
Pavel ‘Pasha’ Petkuns’ wild imagination saw the Latvian freerunner finally turn his dreams into reality as he turned a scaled-up pinball machine into his own personal playground to showcase his truly unique athletic ability. The 29-year-old former Red Bull Art of Motion champion tumbled acrobatically around his pinball machine set, which was tilted at an angle of 45 degrees to create near-impossible angles.
10) Pagès rides off a huge cliff in France
Frenchman Tom Pagès has never been afraid to push the limits of freestyle motocross and impose his own style with his latest breathtaking feat seeing the multiple Red Bull X-Fighters champion usher in the new winter sport season thanks to a world-first trick. The 36-year-old launched a double front flip off an Avoriaz cliff, landed with a parachute and rode away to end the year on a high.
11) The Fastest Girl in the Village
Khothalang Leuta taught herself how to ride bikes to become faster than the boys in her country of Lesotho and, against the odds, took on the world’s best at the 2021 Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships in Portugal this past October. It was the first time she had been on a plane and the inspirational trailblazer impressed fans around the picturesque Parque das Nações track in Lisbon.
12) Serrasolses stars in Iceland
Aniol Serrasolses is used to putting his whitewater kayaking skills to the test in stunning locations such as Costa Rica’s Águas Bravas, however, he took it to another level in the wild heart of Iceland for the new Red Bull TV documentary ‘JÖTUNN’. The 30-year-old Spaniard spent three weeks hiking the unforgiving terrain with a kayak on his back to tackle a series of breathtaking waterfalls.
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