Last weekend the Motorcycle Wheelie World Championship/Top Speed took over runway 26 of the Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire, UK, for two days of high octane antics. Riders from several countries competed for the fastest wheelie over a distance of 1 kilometer, as well as a standing mile top speed contest.
Someconsider it to be a blatant display of anti-social behavior, while for others it’s ademonstration of skill, or just plain fun. Whichever way one choses to see it, thewheelie is a stunt so popular with motorcyclists that it has its own world championship.
The tenth editionof the Wheelie World Championship drew thousands of spectators at theElvington Airfield to watch 30 specialists from Finland,France, Holland, Ireland, Sweden, UK and USA go against the speed traps for ashot at the title. The winner would be the fastest rider over a full kilometer(0.62 mile) on the back wheel of his motorcycle. There’s no bonus for style, notrophy for 12 o’clock wheelies; the only thing that matters is outright speed.
The 2015World Wheelie Champion is Gary Rothwell from the UK, who was clocked at 197.879mph (318.455 km/h) on his turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa at the end of his run.In the process he managed to beat last year’s winner, Egbert Van Popta from Holland, who clocked195.805 mph (315.118 km/h), also onboard a Hayabusa turbo. Third place went toPaddy O'Sullivan form Ireland, who wheelied his turbocharged Suzuki GSX-R1000to a top speed of 189.822 mph (305.489 km/h).
Despite the fierce competition,Van Popta’s 199.4 mph (320.9 km/h) record from last year still stands.
Patrik VonFurstenhoff, the infamous "Ghostrider" from Sweden whose utterly illegal street antics had been immortalized on a series ofpopular DVDs back in the early 2000s, was also expected to race. Holding an unofficial wheelie record of214 mph (344.4 km/h), he went to Elvington with an official 215 mph target.Unfortunately due to technical problems with his famous all-black turbochargedHayabusa he didn’t manage to complete a full run before retiring.
At speedsclose to 200 mph the rider-motorcycle ensemble maintains an extremely fragileequilibrium. Rarely will you see one of these guys with his front wheel high inthe sky; aerodynamic pressure at high speeds would instantly cause a rotation aroundthe back wheel, ending bitterly with tires pointing very much in the wrongdirection. The front wheel lifts only as much as is needed to reach a balancewith the constantly accelerating motorcycle. The height should be enough to makesure the wheel won’t touch down accidentally if the motorcycle destabilizes asa result of a gear shift or a wind gust.
To maintain this very delicate balance, all top contenders ride turbocharged machines. With boost levels set around the 1.5 bar mark, the forced induction systems are there to help provide the extra torque needed to keep the front wheel in the air.
Externalforces like an unforeseen gust of wind will have a taxing effect and it’ll evolvein a split second. Such a destabilizing force is a threat not only to thewheelie contestants, but also to the Top Speed riders. Becci Ellis won the speed event and re-affirmed her status as the UK’s fastestwoman, before falling victim to a sudden wind blast that sent her turbo Hayabusaoff the track and herself straight to hospital with a broken ankle.
Ellis clocked 259.542 mph (417.692 km/h) at the speed trap in the standingmile Top Speed competition. Had she not fallen on Saturday, she planned to take a shot at herown record of over 264 mph (424.9 km/h) from the same event last year. Secondplace went to Jack Frost achieving 254.457 mph (409.509km/h) on his Hayabusa turbo. Third was Europe's fastest grandad biker, LesMarsh from the UK, on his Hayabusa Turbo (what else?) at 245.622 mph.
Apart fromturbocharged Hayabusas, the Top Speed event usually attracts the mostextravagant participants and this year wasn't any different. The two V8sof Allen Millyard and Zef Eisenberg (of the MadMax team that recently ran a turbine bike to new speed records) stood out in a competition that includedthe world’s fastest toilet, the turbine supermarket trolley, the mini postoffice racing van and, of course, a garden house. The latter managed to clock 70.8mph (113.9 km/h), officially cementing its world dominance. Until anotherone rises to the challenge, it will remain the world’s fastest garden shed.
Source: Straightliners
Last weekend the Motorcycle Wheelie World Championship/Top Speed took over runway 26 of the Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire, UK, for two days of high octane antics. Riders from several countries competed for the fastest wheelie over a distance of 1 kilometer, as well as a standing mile top speed contest.
Someconsider it to be a blatant display of anti-social behavior, while for others it’s ademonstration of skill, or just plain fun. Whichever way one choses to see it, thewheelie is a stunt so popular with motorcyclists that it has its own world championship.
The tenth editionof the Wheelie World Championship drew thousands of spectators at theElvington Airfield to watch 30 specialists from Finland,France, Holland, Ireland, Sweden, UK and USA go against the speed traps for ashot at the title. The winner would be the fastest rider over a full kilometer(0.62 mile) on the back wheel of his motorcycle. There’s no bonus for style, notrophy for 12 o’clock wheelies; the only thing that matters is outright speed.
The 2015World Wheelie Champion is Gary Rothwell from the UK, who was clocked at 197.879mph (318.455 km/h) on his turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa at the end of his run.In the process he managed to beat last year’s winner, Egbert Van Popta from Holland, who clocked195.805 mph (315.118 km/h), also onboard a Hayabusa turbo. Third place went toPaddy O'Sullivan form Ireland, who wheelied his turbocharged Suzuki GSX-R1000to a top speed of 189.822 mph (305.489 km/h).
Despite the fierce competition,Van Popta’s 199.4 mph (320.9 km/h) record from last year still stands.
Patrik VonFurstenhoff, the infamous "Ghostrider" from Sweden whose utterly illegal street antics had been immortalized on a series ofpopular DVDs back in the early 2000s, was also expected to race. Holding an unofficial wheelie record of214 mph (344.4 km/h), he went to Elvington with an official 215 mph target.Unfortunately due to technical problems with his famous all-black turbochargedHayabusa he didn’t manage to complete a full run before retiring.
At speedsclose to 200 mph the rider-motorcycle ensemble maintains an extremely fragileequilibrium. Rarely will you see one of these guys with his front wheel high inthe sky; aerodynamic pressure at high speeds would instantly cause a rotation aroundthe back wheel, ending bitterly with tires pointing very much in the wrongdirection. The front wheel lifts only as much as is needed to reach a balancewith the constantly accelerating motorcycle. The height should be enough to makesure the wheel won’t touch down accidentally if the motorcycle destabilizes asa result of a gear shift or a wind gust.
To maintain this very delicate balance, all top contenders ride turbocharged machines. With boost levels set around the 1.5 bar mark, the forced induction systems are there to help provide the extra torque needed to keep the front wheel in the air.
Externalforces like an unforeseen gust of wind will have a taxing effect and it’ll evolvein a split second. Such a destabilizing force is a threat not only to thewheelie contestants, but also to the Top Speed riders. Becci Ellis won the speed event and re-affirmed her status as the UK’s fastestwoman, before falling victim to a sudden wind blast that sent her turbo Hayabusaoff the track and herself straight to hospital with a broken ankle.
Ellis clocked 259.542 mph (417.692 km/h) at the speed trap in the standingmile Top Speed competition. Had she not fallen on Saturday, she planned to take a shot at herown record of over 264 mph (424.9 km/h) from the same event last year. Secondplace went to Jack Frost achieving 254.457 mph (409.509km/h) on his Hayabusa turbo. Third was Europe's fastest grandad biker, LesMarsh from the UK, on his Hayabusa Turbo (what else?) at 245.622 mph.
Apart fromturbocharged Hayabusas, the Top Speed event usually attracts the mostextravagant participants and this year wasn't any different. The two V8sof Allen Millyard and Zef Eisenberg (of the MadMax team that recently ran a turbine bike to new speed records) stood out in a competition that includedthe world’s fastest toilet, the turbine supermarket trolley, the mini postoffice racing van and, of course, a garden house. The latter managed to clock 70.8mph (113.9 km/h), officially cementing its world dominance. Until anotherone rises to the challenge, it will remain the world’s fastest garden shed.
Source: Straightliners
