Fans and competitors know him as the “Wildman” – and with good reason. This past Thursday, driver Adrian Cenni made racing history by pulling off the first known 360-degree barrel roll performed in a truck before a live audience in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. It happened Thursday at the SCORE International Baja 1000 and we here at E3 Spark Plugs are duly impressed.
Cenni told reporters that he’s been planning for the stunt for several years, noting lots and lots of trial and error before perfecting his approach.
“The whole idea was, you got to get the truck weightless just for that fraction of a second and then you can start the rotation,” he told members of the media. “So it’s actually one jump into a second jump. And that’s the key; it’s not just one jump, it’s two jumps. It’s two jumps that are going to get you around quicker.”
To date, Cenni boasts 11 wins in Pro 4 and dozens of podium finishes, and he’s banking on a points championship in the very near future. That’s not surprising considering his debut race – a Formula One driver’s search competition in Southern France that he entered with precisely zero racecar driving experience. He was perhaps as shocked as anyone when he finished sixth out of 500 drivers in the three-month elimination competition. Realizing he clearly had a knack for racing, and that the sheer speed left him on a natural high, he decided he’d live the track life and quickly went pro.
Check out the footage of Cenni’s history-making barrel roll and post your comments on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.