A 17-year-old girl without a motorbike licence has landed her first job – as the world’s youngest female Wall of Death rider.
Jaimi Tyrrell joined a troupe of stunt riders after completing her GCSEs and now tours the UK and Europe.
The daredevil teen hits speeds of up to 45mph on the vertical 20ft high wall as she rides horizontally around the 32ft wide cylinder.
Jaimi cannot wear a helmet as this would affect the drag and she must keep a constant speed to beat the gravity that would otherwise pull her down.
The teen, who performs under the name ‘Jaimi Starr’, rides on a lightweight vintage 1975 Honda cb200 or a 1929s Indian Scout.
Jaimi, who grew up in Haverhill, Cambs., says she enjoys the ”exciting” lifestyle of a stunt bike rider and has no regrets about her career choice.
She said: ”I only started riding last year and within a month I was on the wall myself and performing with the troupe.
”I had been thinking about going to college but then I decided to join the troupe instead because I just wanted to keep on riding.
”I’ve been able to travel to Europe and all over the UK which has been a really great experience and I really enjoyed performing at Glastonbury.
”I just want to keep on doing this for a while and improving the tricks I can do. It’s an exciting life and I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
Jaimi got involved in motorbike riding because her parents are family friends with Ken Fox, who runs the Ken Fox Troupe stunt riding show.
”I first got on the bike when I was 11,” she said. ”Ken used to take me on the handlebars on the Wall of Death and I loved it.”
She began learning to ride a bike in May last year and by June she was riding on the Wall of Death.
After completing her GCSEs last summer, Jaimi decided not to continue her education at college but to join the Ken Fox Troupe instead and tour the UK and Europe.
Since she left her home to go on tour in February she has performed her act in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Holland.
She now performs up to 15 ten-minute shows each day at steam rallies, bike shows and music festivals – including Glastonbury this summer.
Jaimi is the youngest of five riders in the Ken Fox Troupe, which is one of just a handful of Wall of Death shows in the world.
The troupe was started by Ken’s grandparents in 1931 and his sons Luke Fox, 22, and Alex Fox, 17, are now riders in the show.
Jaimi is currently mastering the art of riding with no hands, standing up in the saddle and even climbing onto the handlebars – while riding horizontally.
Her mum, housewife Corinne Birch, 44, and painter and decorator father Martin Tyrrell, 53, revealed they are ”not worried” by their daughter’s work.
Corinne said: ”She’s with very nice people, We’re not worried about her at all – we’re very proud of her.
”We love watching her ride the wall, there’s no fear at all. It just seems normal for her to be up there now. It’s all very safe.”
The Ken Fox Troupe will be touring the UK with their show until October.
