Danielle Schultz recently attempted her first ever motorcycle stunt in public.
Schultz performed her stunt known as the Flaming Wall at the 26th annual Vintage Flat Track Races at O’Keefe Ranch near Vernon on Saturday, July 5.
The stunt involves her breaking through a wall of engulfed plywood with her motorcycle. It was performed in honour of Danielle’s late father, Dan Schultz, who passed away from cancer four years ago.
Danielle, 14, rode her vintage 125cc Kawasaki through the flaming wall to kick start the racing action.
Onlookers were so proud of her success that she was asked to autograph remaining boards which she broke through during her stunt.
“I started doing stunts because my dad performed quite a few motorcycle stunts before he passed away,” said Schultz. “I was able to see him perform a lot of stunts growing up and it was really cool, he’s a big hero of mine.”
The Flaming Wall was one of her dad’s trademark stunts so that provided the inspiration for Danielle to replicate it. She has been training for this stunt for two years now. Her training required a gradual progression of steps before perfecting the stunt.
“We started training a few years ago with a paper wall and a wooden frame just to get a feel for lining it up straight and so on. Then we would practice with a line of fire on the ground and eventually add pieces of wood so I could get a feel for the little cuts,” explains Schultz.
She credits all of her mentors, Alex Mackie and other friends of her fathers, for helping her train and prepare for the stunt.
Schultz, who also competes in flat track racing, capped off an incredible weekend by going on to win the 125 cc class race as well. The O’Keefe Ranch racing is usually the one competitive event she annually competes in.
“I ride and practice quite often but this is the only event I have competed in the past few years, eventually as I get older I’d like to compete more,” said Schultz.
Schultz who is home schooled, also enjoys activities such as snowboarding, soccer and art.