SA Motorsport journalist, Andre De Kock (58), and photographer Enrico Schoeman (55), rode their Kawasaki-powered Australian sidecar through a tunnel of fire, 103.9 metres long, in Limpopo, last Friday. The previous Guinness record for riding a motorcycle through a tunnel of fire was held by Indian Superbike rider Shabir Ahluwalia, at a distance of 68.5 metres. He set the record in Mumbai, India, in March 2011.

“We have been obsessed with this fire tunnel project for the last two years, always saying that we would stop when we reach a distance of 100 metres. That is now the case and I am stopping, while I still walk upright,” De Kock said. The South African team’s latest fire tunnel was constructed from square steel tubing, draped in several layers of cardboard. It was then doused in diesel and petrol, and set alight via a series of pyrotechnic explosions. Once it was properly alight, the record pair rode through the ensuing inferno. As the dramatic picture shows, both riders and their motorcycle caught fire in the process.

“I just kept the throttle open, aiming in the direction where I could last see the white line on the road. I could see absolutely nothing but flames, and I hoped like hell we were pointing in the right direction,” said De Kock. Andre De Kock was recently awarded a Life Time Achievement award by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists for his work in motorsport.

Proof of the record will be submitted to Guinness in London this week for official ratification.