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The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), respective governing bodies for racing in automobiles and motorcycles, both bodies recognise as the absolute LSR whatever is the highest speed record achieved across any of their various categories. While Spirit of America set an FIM-validated LSR in 1963, all subsequent LSRs are by vehicles in FIA Category C in either class JE or class RT.
Craig Breedlove was an American professional race car driver and a five-time world land speed record holder. He was the first person in history to reach 500 mph (800 km/h), and 600 mph (970 km/h), using several turbojet-powered vehicles, all named Spirit of America.
Spirit of America is the trademarked name used by Craig Breedlove for his land speed record-setting vehicles.
The Alvord Desert is a desert located in Harney County, in southeastern Oregon in the Western United States. It is roughly southeast of Steens Mountain. The Alvord Desert is a 12-by-7-mile dry lake bed and averages 7 inches (180 mm) of rain a year. Two mountain ranges separate it from the Pacific Ocean—the Coast Range, and the Cascade Mountains. Along with Steens Mountain, these topographical features create a rain shadow. The Alvord Desert lies at an elevation of approximately 4,000 feet (1,200 m).
Bonneville Speedway is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records. The Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Wingfoot Express was Walt Arfons and Tom Green's jet-powered land speed record car, driven by Green to a record on October 2, 1964, after Walt suffered a heart attack just prior. The Express was powered by a Westinghouse J46 engine and hit the 413 mph record mark.
Herbert James "Burt" Munro was a motorcycle racer from New Zealand, famous for setting an under-1,000 cc world record, at Bonneville, on the 26th of August 1967. This record still stands; Munro was 68 and was riding a 47-year-old machine when he set his last record.
Kitty Linn O'Neil was an American stuntwoman and auto-racer, often called "the fastest woman in the world" for her various speed records. Her women's absolute land speed record stood until 2019.
Roland "Rollie" Free was a motorcycle racer best known for breaking the American motorcycle land speed record in 1948 on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. The picture of Free, prone and wearing a bathing suit, has been described as the most famous picture in motorcycling.
The British land speed record is the fastest land speed achieved by a vehicle in the United Kingdom, as opposed to one on water or in the air. It is standardised as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs in opposite directions.
The North American Eagle Project was a jet powered car that was intended to challenge the 763 mph (1,228 km/h) land speed record set by the ThrustSSC in 1997. The venture was a collaboration between Canadian and US engineers, pilots, and mechanics. In 2013, they had hoped to reach 800 mph (1,287 km/h), or Mach 1.058.
The motorcycle land-speed record is the fastest speed achieved by a motorcycle on land. It is standardized as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs in opposite directions. AMA National Land Speed Records requires 2 passes the same calendar day in opposite directions over a timed mile/kilo while FIM Land Speed World Records require two passes in opposite directions to be over a timed mile/kilo completed within 2 hours. These are special or modified motorcycles, distinct from the fastest production motorcycles. The first official Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) record was set in 1920, when Gene Walker rode an Indian on Daytona Beach at 104.12 mph (167.56 km/h). Since late 2010, the Ack Attack team has held the motorcycle land speed record at 376.36 mph (605.69 km/h).
Jessica Combs was an American professional racer, television personality, and metal fabricator. She set a women's land speed class record in 2013 and broke her own record in 2016. She was known as "the fastest woman on four wheels".
Tom Green worked with Walt Arfons to design and drive the Wingfoot Express, a jet-powered land speed record car. Green drove the car to a world record speed 413.20 mph (664.98 km/h) on October 2, 1964. Green's world record is often forgotten, as the mark was eclipsed three times in less than two weeks, including the first to break the 500 mph (800 km/h) threshold.
The TOP 1 Ack Attack is a specially constructed land-speed record streamliner motorcycle that, as of March 2013, has held the record for world's fastest motorcycle since recording a two-way average speed of 605.697 km/h (376.363 mph) on September 25, 2010 in the Cook Motorsports Top Speed Shootout at Bonneville Speedway, Utah. The Ack Attack's fastest one-way speed was officially recorded at 634.217 km/h (394.084 mph). This was the third time in four years the Ack Attack had broken the motorcycle land-speed record.
BUB Seven Streamliner is an American-built streamliner motorcycle that held the motorcycle land-speed record from 2006 to 2008 and again from 2009 to 2010. BUB Seven and two other streamliners traded the title of "world's fastest motorcycle" during official speed runs at Bonneville Speedway in the summer of 2006. The other two competitors were Ack Attack and the EZ-Hook streamliner. In 2017, Valerie Thompson rode BUB Seven for more record attempts at Bonneville.
Don Vesco was an American businessman and motorcycle racer who held multiple motorcycle land-speed and wheel-driven land speed records. In his lifetime, he set 18 motorcycle and 6 automobile speed records.
An aero-engined car is an automobile powered by an engine designed for aircraft use. Most such cars have been built for racing, and many have attempted to set world land speed records. While the practice of fitting cars with aircraft engines predates World War I by a few years, it was most popular in the interwar period between the world wars when military-surplus aircraft engines were readily available and used to power numerous high-performance racing cars. Initially powered by piston aircraft engines, a number of post-World War II aero-engined cars have been powered by aviation turbine and jet engines instead. Piston-engined, turbine-engined, and jet-engined cars have all set world land speed records. There have also been some non-racing automotive applications for aircraft engines, including production vehicles such as the Tucker 48 and prototypes such as the Chrysler Turbine Car, Fiat Turbina, and General Motors Firebirds. In the late 20th century and into the 21st century, there has also been a revival of interest in piston-powered aero-engined racing cars.
Land speed racing is a form of motorsport.
Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials (BMST) (AMA Land Speed Grand Championship) is a motorcycle land speed racing event, held annually at Bonneville Speedway, US. The event is sanctioned by American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). AMA-certified US National land speed records, and FIM-certified Land speed world records are created in this event. The event features motorcycles ranging from 50-cc to 3000-cc, as well as electric classes.
References
- ↑ "1976: Deaf stuntwoman Kitty O'Neil sets women's land-speed record". History . August 21, 2018. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ↑ 512mph female land speed record attempt Visordown.com, March 14, 2012
- ↑ Valerie Thompson picked to drive supersonic land speed record car Fox News, March 18, 2012[ permanent dead link ]
- ↑ "American jet-car racer and Mythbusters host Jessi Combs posthumously awarded world land-speed record for a woman". ABC News and Current Affairs. Associated Press. June 25, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ↑ Rafferty, Tod (August 25, 2017), "Valerie Thompson and Denis Manning Return to Bonneville: Highlights filmed for Dana Brown's "Rockets and Titans"", RideApart