Denis must be really happy.  His liner certainly has potential and looks like the new tires worked well…..Chris is certainly the consummate professional.

Congratulations to the BUB team!!

Denis says he can do the turn around in 40 minutes……so lets see how it goes.  This is a very seasoned crew.  They know their stuff and they have the drill down.  We will see.

Rumors were that it would take months to fix the damage.  I spoke to Denis on the phone a couple of weeks ago and he said he would be ready for the 2009 shoutout…..I was surprised.  Denis sure wants this record back!!!

Mike Akatiff has decided not to run until he has to defend his record.  Sam Wheeler is waiting until next year.

So this week, Denis and the Bub crew headed to Bonneville to see what 7 can do with the new Goodyear tires.

The week started off slowly with a couple of slower runs by the Bub crew, and some minor problems with the engine.  And then at 2:30 PM Utah time, Chris laid down a run that was 362.742  entry into the traps, 367.809 average for the  mile trap, and an exit speed of 372.534  MPH!

That is fast and more than 10 MPH over the record, but they have to do a return run within two hours of breaking the timing lights.  Now the drama begins, and we will give you and update as soon as we know.

I know Mike is on the salt watching all of this.  Sam is back in Arcadia “watching” on the internet……..this is going to be good.

First to run was the 7 liner of Denis Manning.  At just a little after 8:30 AM, Chris Carr left the line for what appeared to be a good start.  At about mile 2 he aborted the run because one for the struts that hold the bike up at rest and low speed did not retract.  They went back to the pits for repairs and repacking of the chute.  Denis had the liner back in the line for another run in no time.  In less than an hour the Bub 7 liner starts another run.  This time the speed is 355.047.  At the 10 mile point only the pilot chute deployed……no main chute.  Chris had to downshift to slow the liner down.  He can’t use the brakes until he is below 60 or less.  He put out the skids and used them to slow down and comes to rest in the muddy end of the track at 11 miles and then some.  Chris knew that he lost all power, but he did not know that he was on fire!  The fire crew arrived and put out the flames.  Word is that an oil line came loose and caused the fire.  The Bub liner appears to be done for the day.  The damage seems to be too extensive.

Sam Wheeler is next in line behind the BUB liner.  At 10:15 he is moving down the course.  Sam goes through the traps at 323.627.  He may just do a return run because he can set an 1350cc class record if he does anything near this speed.  Sam’s bike is acutally a couple of classes down from the other 2 streamliners because its engine is  just under 1100 cc rather than 3000 like the 7 and the Ack Attack.  The class record for 1350 is only 178 mph.

In servicing the bike for the turn around, Sam’s crew finds that the impeller in a rear wheel driven water pump has ruined the pump.  Sam does not have a spare so he is done for the meet.

I spoke with Sam on the phone a few minutes ago and he says it won’t take much to fix things up.  The front wheel worked well and he is enthused that maybe that problem is behind him.  He also said he got great on-board video which is satisfying to me since we have been working on this end of things with him.  Sam is optimistic and looking to run again…….all he needs is sponsor money. He is open to any ideas [hint]!

I also spoke with Mike Akatiff on the phone as he was leaving the salt.  He was happy that he does not have to defend his record soon…….the story continues.   Denis is already scheming repairs, Mike is ready, but will keep fiddling.  Sam knows how to fix his pump problem……see you on the salt!!

Mike Akatiff, the current record holder with Rocky Robinson driving/riding is on the salt, but is not entered in the event and not planning to run.  Mike told me today that they didn’t even bring any race gas with them.  The Ack Attack is on display, and Rocky and Mike are having a good time without the pressure of having to run for the record.  Mike is looking forward to the private meet organized by Mike Cook which will be held later in the month.

Denis Manning and the 7 liner was out there early this AM.  Chris car did a one way run of 351 mph.  This is pretty good for the first run in a couple of years for 7.  It is also darn good with these salt conditions.  Manning overcame some electronics gremlins today and put in a good run.  The Bub crew was on the salt ready to go most of the afternoon, but wind was a factor and when they came up on 4 PM without a second run they were forced to give up until tomorrow.  The FIM allows a 2 hour turn around time for the second return run, so 7 had to run before 4 PM if they were going to try for the record.

Sam Wheeler ran in the middle of the day and did 289.  I have not spoken to Sam, but my guess is that the salt was just not good enough to go any faster.  I know they did leave the salt early to clean the salt out of the wheel wells, which tells me that the salt is still plenty damp out there.

There is only a half day left.  So if anything is going to happen, the fast guys have to be out there early so they can get in a decent return run.

We will be watching www.landracing.com Bub forum early tomorrow AM.

Denis’ 7 streamliner developed problems in the electronic MoTec engine management system.  Rumors are that a crank sensor was acting up and they had to cannibalize parts from the spare engine.  Yes this year the Bub team has a complete spare engine in the pits.  This shows you how serious they are about getting the record back.

Sam Wheeler did final setup on his new data acquisition system and was ready to run by mid-day.  He was not happy with the salt conditions so he sat out the day.

Wednesday could be the start of some runs for Bub and Sam Wheeler.

Max Lamky did run his twin Vincent powered supercharged liner. He had a massive failure of the chain that links the two engines together. The damage was extensive to the cases…….it sure looks like Max and his great crew is out for the week. Too bad, they are a terrific group of guys who are amazingly dedicated.

So what is happening in the arena of the world’s fastest streamliners? Here is a rundown of what has happened so far and what the top 3 liners are up to.

Starting with Mike Akatiff, he says that he is at Bonneville this week just to display his bike and will do his serious running later in September in the Mike Cook “Private Meet”. This is the same event he set the world record last year. I am not sure if Mike has even entered the Bub event……but I bet he has. I just can’t imagine that Mike would not run if he had to defend the record……so if the salt is good and Denis or Sam set a fast time…….well Mike may just drop that thing off the trailer and have a good go at it. The whole team is there…..Rocky is there, and the Ack Attack is ready to go. Mike may not wait for the end of September!

Denis was at the end of the international course at mid afternoon waiting for the wind to die down. The team had some trouble getting “7” up and running, but they were ready to go as soon as the winds died down. That did not happen today. In the end the wind went from 6-7 MPH to over 20 at the end of the day. By 4:00PM the International course was shut down for the day because of the wind.

I am sure Denis wants to take the record back from Mike at his Bub event. Denis has invested a lot on money in new tires that were restricting him to no more than 350 MPH. In 2006 when he set the record his rear tire was blistering. He has tested the new tires on a testing machine at 450 MPH. Denis has a lot of confidence in his new rubber and he wants to push that record way over 360 MPH.

Denis is ready. He has a great rider in Chris Carr, and a very capable machine with great new rubber on it. Denis will run as soon as the salt is good and the wind is down. Look for him to be very ready tomorrow [Tuesday AM]. He may even do an early run when the wind is down and the salt in good shape.

Sam Wheeler is always someone to be reckoned with. His EZ Hook streamliner has shown time and again that it has everything to deliver a record. Sam had some mechanical problems last year with a sheared jackshaft. All that has been corrected and the liner completely gone through in Sam’s methodical and precise way. This year he has added a new data acquisition system that will give him more accurate data with a faster sampling rate from more sources than in the past. He spent some time sorting it all out today on the salt.

Sam is running his solid aluminum front wheel again this year. He just does not have a source of a good tire that will fit his ‘liner. He has done a bit of work on his front suspension with the help of suspension expert Bruce Burness. Sam is hopeful that the changes will make a big difference.

Sam and crew left the salt late tonight and are planning an early AM run. If the salt is good and the wind is down it will be interesting to see if Sam and Denis go head to head.

If Sam does get a good run, we are also keeping our fingers crossed that our on-board camera system works well. IGNITON3 has been working with nNovia and Data Video on a new solid state video recorder that is teamed up with a great wide angle camera head. Sam has used the system the last couple of years. Mike is also using one of these systems and last year got some great on-board footage when they set the record. Good cockpit video and data acquisition are very important to these runs. So much happens in such a short time that the driver has only a slice of the reality. I know as a fact that when Sam’s front tire let go at 355 MPH in 2006 he learned an awful lot from analyzing the video of the run. By slowing the video and watching it repeatedly he could break down what really happened.

Let’s hope for good salt tomorrow. It could be history making day!

It won’t be possible for us to follow all the entrants at the BUB event. There are just too many great machines to stay on top of it all. Our interest is in the streamliners who are trying to push the ultimate world record up beyond the 360.913 MPH set by the Ack Attack in 2008.

IGNITION3 has been following the motorcycle land speed record attempts since 2005. We produced the WORLD’S FASTEST MOTORCYCLE TV show and DVD in cooperation and partnership with Chet Burks Productions. We also produced the WORLD’S FASTEST MOTORCYCLE book as well. Both of these are still available for sale on this site.

In all humility this book and DVD are regarded by many to be high water marks in video production and story telling in the LSR world. [shameless, but defensible plug].

We have gotten to know many of the main characters in this LSR drama pretty well. We have gotten to know them pretty well and consider them good friends.

As a matter of fact, John Stein, Tim Parker and I are working on a new book about the Ack Attack setting the record. More on that later.

We won’t be so foolish as to make any predictions on the outcome this year, but we will give you some insight as to what to expect.

Mike has the record right now. Denis Manning wants it back badly after holding the record for 2 years. Sam also wants it very badly as well. Under the right conditions all 3 of these liners are capable of speeds greater than the current record. It should be a very interesting week.