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Guy Martin Racing at Bonneville with Triumph

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After competing in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb last year, Guy Martin continues his pursuit of racing beyond just road race courses, with an announcement today that he will compete with Triumph for a land speed record at Bonneville.

The news sees the Lincolnshire-man aboard the Triumph Rocket III Streamliner, which is powered by two turbocharged 2.3-liter Triumph Rocket III engines that make a combined 1,000 horsepower.

Triumph and Martin hope to top the current FIM motorcycle land speed record, which is 376.363 mph, pop the 400 mph barrier, and thus bring the land speed record back to the Triumph brand, and the UK, after a 45 year absence.

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News

Motus Sets Two Land Speed Records at Bonneville

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This has not been a good year for speed freaks looking to set land speed records at Bonneville, as the Utah course has been subject to a series of storms, which have either left the salt flats flooded, or the salt conditions unsuitable for record-smashing.

That didn’t seem to stop Motus Motorcycles at the AMA-sanctioned 2014 Bonneville Speed Trials event, as the upstart motorcycle company walked away with two records, in the 1650cc P-PP  (165.81 mph) and (168.69 mph) 1650cc P-PG classes –set respectively by Motus founders Lee Conn and Brian Case.

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Racing

Bonneville: Microclimate of the Salts Video

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It’s been a tough season on the Bonneville Salt Flats, as the weather has played havoc on the narrow window that land-speed record pursuers have to operate. One of the groups looking to make history is Triumph, which is looking to break the 400 mph mark on a motorcycle.

Campaigning the Triumph Castrol Rocket, with Jason DiSalvo at the helm, Triumph hoped to be speeding down the salt these past few weeks, but instead the team has been rained out of competition thus far.

There are still opportunities remaining this year for the Triumph Castrol Rocket squad, the next being the rescheduled Mike Cook’s Bonneville Shootout, which will take place on October 5th thru 10th, where the streamliners two Triumph Rocket III engines will roar again search for the outright two-wheeled record.

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Racing

Bonneville Speed Week Cancelled on Account of Rain

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It’s that time of year again, when the devote followers of velocity congregate at the alter of speed, and make their pilgrimage to the Bonneville Salt Flats. For the Southern California Timing Association though, this month’s Bonneville Speed Week was a wash, literally.

Getting heavy rain in the Salt Lake City area, the Bonneville Salt Flat course is under water this week, unfortunately causing the SCTA to cancel Speed Week, and what would have been the 100th anniversary of the first land speed record at the iconic venue.

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News

Honda Breaks World Record for Fastest Lawn Mower

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For those of you who are fans of the Stig, you may remember his infamous “Mean Mower” episode from Top Gear’s Speed Week 2013, as he blasted around the track on a lawn mower that sounded more like an Aston Martin than a two-stroke.

As comical as it was, that mower was producing 109hp, and had a 0-60 time of four seconds, all while retaining the ability to cut the grass and corners.

That Mean Mower is back and this time, and at the IDIADA proving ground in Tarragona, Spain, it broke a Guinness World Record.

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Racing

Video: Setting a Land Speed Record on a Stock CBR600RR

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For SpeedWeek 2013, Shunji Yokokawa  set out on a journey to set a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats, but what he had not anticipated were the challenges that lay ahead.

Yokokawa had always dreamed of riding on the salt flats, but it was not until 2013 as Assistant Chief Engineer for Honda Japan, that he was afforded the opportunity to fulfill his dream, which he describes as “gliding” across the flats.

Assisted by a 2-man crew, Yokokawa traveled to Utah with a bone-stock 2013 Honda CBR600RR in hopes of adding yet another record to one of the many that Honda holds. The CBR was set up specifically with one goal in mind: to break a land speed record with a production class motorcycle, but as Yokokawa and his team wuold find out, there is a reason why so many fail.

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Bikes

“Castrol Rocket” Makes a Bid on the 400 MPH Mark

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With only minor modification, most new liter-bikes have no trouble reaching 200 mph, provided that you have a track long enough in front of you (don’t be an idiot and try to go that fast on the street). However, it is north of 200 mph where things start to get difficult. As we saw with the untimely passing of Bill Warner, reaching the 300 mph mark on a motorcycle is a serious matter, and it doesn’t take much for things to go horribly wrong.

It goes without saying then that Triumph and Jason DiSalvo’s attempt at 400 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats is a serious endeavor. Piloting the carbon/kevlar clad the Hot Rod Conspiracy/Carpenter Racing Castrol Rocket, DiSalvo will have two turbocharged Triumph Rocket III engines, good for a combined 1,000+ hp and 500 lbs•ft of torque when burning methanol, hurling him down the land speed record course on two wheels.

The self-proclaimed most advanced streamliner on the salt, the Castrol Rocket was built not only to break the outright AMA & FIM motorcycle land speed records of 376.156 mph (set in 2010 by Rocky Robinson on the Ack Attack streamliner), but the team also wants to go all the way past the 400 mph barrier. It’s a huge undertaking, and also a breathlessly beautiful machine. Check it out after the jump.

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Bill Warner, The Fastest Man on a Motorcycle, Dies While Attempting 300 MPH in One Mile

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The motorcycle industry is mourning the loss of Bill Warner today, as the 44-year-old land speed record holder died while attempting to break the 300 mph barrier over the course of a single mile. Racing in the “The Maine Event” at the Loring Air Force Base, Warner’s partially streamlined and turbo-charged Suzuki Hayabusa veered to the right after clearing the one-mile marker, and went off the runway course roughly 2,000 feet later, before ultimately crashing.

According to reports, Warner was conscious and communicative after the crash, but he succumbed to his injuries about an hour and fifteen minutes later at a hospital near Caribou, Maine. It is not clear how fast he was going when he left the course’s runway, but he had been clocked at 285 mph while on the course.

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Racing

Video: Speed Week at Bonneville 2012

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Not that California has any real seasons to speak of, but spring has definitely arrived this week in San Francisco, with sun-filled days and warm nights again on the region’s menu. That means our brief winter hibernation from motorcycling  is about to end, as the revving motors of World Superbike at Phillip Island, AMA Pro Road Racing at Daytona, and MotoGP at Doha wake us from our slumber.

For Asphalt & Rubber, our events calendar for 2013 is marked full of great two-wheel escapades that we plan to attend, but at the top of the list, Speed Week at Bonneville ranks highest. Helping us get in the mood for man’s toil against the salt is this great video put together with scenes from last year’s running. Happy Friday people. Get out and ride.

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Racing

Italy Gets an FIM-Sanctioned Land Speed Record Facility

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While the Bonneville Salt Flats remains the gold standard venue for land speed record attempts, the journey across the pond for European competitors is a daunting task. First there is the cost involved in shipping a bike, crew, and supplies from Europe to America, but there is also the hassle at the border for shipping and customs that can throw more than a wrench in even the most carefully made plans.

At 4,219 feet above sea level, the elevation at Bonneville sucks the much needed horsepower out of the engines of internal combustion machines, and the salt flat terrain is a less-than-ideal surface for traction, and can vary wildly from weekend to weekend. All of this adds up to be a daunting level of adversity for would-be record-breakers, but for Europeans, there might be a better option soon.

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