My mate and the world record attempts.

Posted by: Tony Lockhart on 15 March 2009

I received a text from my mate last night. He's at the Nardo test track (where Brundle took the XJ220 to its top speed) to try and break a couple of world endurance records on motorbikes. They are going for two classes, 24 hour duration, and need to average 230kmh including rider changes and fuel stops.

Just heard one of the engines blew overnight. He is sketchy on any details, but if the team does it with the remaining 'bike I'll let you know! They're due to complete somewhere around lunchtime.



Tony
Posted on: 15 March 2009 by Tony Lockhart
This is direct from his text:

Done! 5237? in 24 hrs on Suzuki Hayabusa on just one tyre set, avg 230kmh. Kawasaki GTR 1400 maybe threw a rod after 12 hrs, and the rider had to push unassisted for 7.5k for the records to be official, took him over 2 hours!

I owe my mate, Todd Rutt, a drink!!



Tony
Posted on: 15 March 2009 by Chillkram
quote:
Originally posted by Tony Lockhart:
the rider had to push unassisted for 7.5k for the records to be official, took him over 2 hours!


Tony


He had to push for 2 hours and still averaged 230kph?!!

What would it have been over the 22 hours then, Tony?

Mark
Posted on: 15 March 2009 by Exiled Highlander
238.045455 km/hr or thereabouts!

Cheers

Jim
Posted on: 15 March 2009 by Chillkram
More like 250.5681818 km/hr, Jim!
Posted on: 15 March 2009 by Tony Lockhart
I'll get the full story off Todd soon, maybe on a more leisurely ride on Thetford forest's black route!

Tony
Posted on: 15 March 2009 by Exiled Highlander
Mark

Either one of calculators doesn't work or we are using different assumptions. 250.581818kph average would have been 20.9 hours for 5237km. Anyway are both off due to the rounding for the estimated two hours of pushing.

Cheers

Mr Pedant.
Posted on: 16 March 2009 by Chillkram
Different assumptions Jim.

I've just noticed that Tony said he travelled 5237km. I make that an average of just over 218kph over 24 hours. I worked on the premise that 24 hours at 230kph equates to a total distance travelled of 5520km. Deduct 7.5km pushed then divide by 22 hours gave me my answer.

Regards

Mark
Posted on: 16 March 2009 by Exiled Highlander
Mark

So you over engineered it then? Smile

Cheers

Jim
Posted on: 17 March 2009 by Ewan Aye
A pointless exercise. All that time money and effort on something totally pointless. What is it that drives men (women wouldn't do it) to do these things?

And yet, these efforts will become legend and we'll one day stand in front of these machines at a museum and imagine them at that time and that place, and groan on to our children about when we remember .....etc, and maybe try to touch them, just to make that connection with something that travelled that speed and distance, in that age.

I took my children to Beaulieu a couple of years ago and we stood in front of all the bikes and cars that took me back to my childhood, and although my son is a little too young to understand it yet, my 11 year old daughter loved it and has been hounding me to take her back ever since.

And I remember standing in front of Mick Grant's green Kawasaki KR750 either at the National Motorcycle Museum or at Beaulieu, I can't remember which, and just remembering being so in awe of it at the time, as a kid. I stood there for ages until my wife eventually had enough and went off somewhere else.

It's funny what makes us like this, isn't it. Isn't it great that however useless and pointless, there are still people doing these things and that we will have something to enthuse over with our children and grandchildren. I suppose it's romance. Misty eyed romance for the smell of oil in a musty garage, and the sweet sweet smell of Castrol R on a chilly but sunny early morning before the crowds.

Wonderful stuff, Tony.