New Zealander's new land-speed record bid
05 Aug 2008
New Zealand speed king Alan Thoresen is preparing for a fresh attempt on the world land-speed record at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats.
Following in the tracks of his fellow countryman, the legendary Burt Munro, Thoresen last year became the first New Zealander to try for the land-speed record since Munro raced into the record books in the sixties.
A 53-year-old former pilot and flight engineer from Hamilton, Thoresen has taken his ‘Black Thunder’ lightning fast motorcycle to Bonneville where he’ll be one of 11 New Zealanders competing in the 2008 Speed Week (18 - 24 August).
Near miss
Last year Thoresen missed breaking the record by just 10mph after hitting debris on the track. He says he was the only New Zealander to make the attempt and encountered a great deal of respect for Burt Munro who died in 1978.
"I was the first there since Munro and got a lot of encouragement from people. A lot of them came and spoke to us including his great nephew," said Thoresen.
As a long time motorbike enthusiast and drag racer, Thoresen has longed to go to the Salt Flats since the late 1970s. And he says ‘The world’s Fastest Indian’ movie which featured Munro breaking two land-speed records in 1962 and 1967, "sealed the deal" for him.
Thoresen’s motorbike is rather more sophisticated than the Indian Munro modified in his Invercargill garage. Black Thunder has GPS and a computer to fine-tune its performance.
Beach and ice
During last year’s attempt Thoresen reached 186 miles per hour (299km/h) and was just 10mph below a world record set for his class. But misfortune struck just before the five-mile mark when he hit a piece of debris and was propelled into two timing markers further down the track.
Thoresen was uninjured but learned lessons about the slippery, marshy surface, which he described as "a combination between a beach and ice".
The heat was also extreme, with temperatures of up to 50C to cope with.
Of the 11 Kiwis competing this year, four are motorcyclists with the rest racing in cars.
Improved traction
Thoresen is riding the same bike as last year, but has weighted it down with 35kg of lead shot which he hopes will improve traction. Black Thunder is a 1352cc Kawasaki ZX-14.
He had his last practice run at Hamilton Airport reaching 299 km/h on the runway in wet conditions. He says he is confident of achieving his target - and a world record - of 315km/h in the PP (production) class at Bonneville.
Thoresen has already reached 340km/h in training and holds several national records for motorbike drag racing.
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