Motorcycle racer Guy Martin to attempt new land speed record in a Triumph bike
14 Jul 2015
Motorcycle racer Guy Martin plans to try setting a new land speed record in August after being confirmed as the pilot of a machine made by Triumph.
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| Racer Guy Martin (inset) and the 25.5-foot-long Triumph Rocket III Streamliner |
The attempt would be made on the Triumph Rocket III Streamliner, powered by two 2.3-litre engines, producing 1,000 bhp.
US rider Rocky Robinson set the current record in 2010.
Martin said, "I like going fast, proper fast, so pushing 400mph sounds like just the job, BBC reported.
"Breaking the land speed record isn't normally the sort of thing you get offered in your tea break and I'm well up for it.
He added, "Bringing the record back to Britain would be mega".
Breaking the two-wheeled land speed record would require Martin to complete two runs over a distance of about eight miles.
Both runs would need to be within two hours of each other, with a one mile timing trap used to record the speed.
An average speed from the two runs would then be calculated and used for the final result.
Martin will make his attempt at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah this autumn.
The motorcycle, which Triumph claims can reach a speed of 400 mph, is 25.5-foot-long. It is built with carbon Kevlar and powered by two 1.5-liter Triumph Rocket III 3-cylinder engines that had been tuned and turbocharged by Carpenter Racing to put out a combined 1,000 hp running on methanol.
The rider will sit in front of the engine in an enclosed, recumbent position. The bike sat on two, swingarm-suspended wheels shod in Goodyear Land Speed Special tires, and sported a pair of small, retractable stabilisers to hold it upright as it started and stopped.
The record had been held for all but about a month between 1955 and 1970, by Triumph , and its most iconic model, the Bonneville, was named as a tribute to its success. The mark currently stood at 376 mph, set by Rocky Robinson riding a Suzuki-powered motorcycle in 2010.
Under development since 2013, the Triumph Rocket had already undergone tests on the flats and was scheduled to hit them again this month.
