( 290km / h) is a real assault on the rider, which is why we tune the bike in a class that allows the fairing; the plan was always to do as few passes in M-G as possible. The first year I ran the M-G class I did multiple passes and suffered terrible black eyes as a direct result of the wind force on my helmet effectively choking me with my own chin strap. This year we had the bike beautifully dialled in and, despite the heat, I managed a good first pass with a speed of 187.592mph in the 1 / 3 mile- just good enough to qualify, off we go to impound! As you may know, to set a record you first have to go faster than the current record, that’ s called your qualifying run. Then your vehicle is impounded over night and you have to do a second run( called your backup or return run) the next day over the same timed mile that you qualified in. If the average of those two runs is higher than the old record, then you’ ve done it. We topped up the fuel in the bike and gave everything a good look over but basically the bike was ready to go again, data logs etc looked great, no changes needed. Our peak speed was in the 2-1 / 4 at 188mph; that speed doesn’ t count for a record as it’ s only a quarter mile, but it indicated the bike could go faster if I found a clean line through the salt. Next morning we got to watch sunrise from the impound, then convoyed to the start line with the other qualifiers. I felt very privileged to have plenty of Kiwis there supporting the HFR and Spirit Of NZ teams, who all came along to get behind and encourage me on the second run. This second run was in much cooler conditions. This was good for the engine as it was pulling strongly, but the denser air also meant the wind force on me was even stronger. I knew I had to hold on until the 1 / 3 mile as that was the one I’ d qualified in. It was brutal. Just holding on and keeping the bike straight was hard work, as I tried to find the most traction on a slippery course. It was a huge relief just to get past the three mile marker and be able to close the throttle. My crew, Kevin and
KIWI RIDER 13