Tony Blazier penned a very cool history piece about the how LaRocco’s came about on his IG page, we’ve also added a huge gallery of videos and pics of the most famous jump in motocross.
Tony Blazier – In the fall of 1991, Team Kawasaki’s Mike LaRocco went looking for someone to build him a practice track at his home in Indiana. The man he came up with was Tim Ritchie, son of legendary Redbud founder Gene Ritchie. Together, they pieced together a practice track for Mike that included a massive 150 jump later named “Kong”. After watching Mike huck this mega leap several times, Tim became enamored with the idea of adding a similar jump to his dad’s National track. In 1992, Tim brought his own version of Kong to Redbud and enlisted Mike to help him work out the best angle and distance. At the National that summer, Mike debuted the jump by not just clearing the massive leap, but by launching it on his Factory Kawasaki KX125. In 1992, this was no small feat and the spectacular jump quickly acquired a new name, LaRocco’s Leap. Today the Leap remains the most famous jump in motocross and even though the run, shape and length has varied from year to year, its jaw-dropping appeal has remained a constant.
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