[LEFT]Bill Warner was killed this weekend while trying to set a landspeed record in Maine. Warner was clocked at 285 mph before he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed at Loring Air Force Base.[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Warner, who hit 311 mph on his Suzuki Hayabusa in 2011, was trying to reach 300 mph on just 1 mile of pavement. Warner got up to 285 mph at “The Maine Event” at Loring Air Force Base before he veered off the pavement and crashed.[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Tim Kelly, race director of the Loring Timing Association, said that Warner was conscious and talking after the crash. He passed away about an hour later at a nearby hospital.[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Kelly said: “No one will touch Bill’s achievements or be the type of racer he was. He was a personal friend, and the land-racing community is less for his loss.”[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Warner’s 311 MPH run in 2011 is considered the world land speed record for a conventional motorcycle. That record was set on a 1.5 mile course.[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Kelly said that there were nearly 400 spectators at The Maine Event this morning to watch Warner attempt his world record.[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Warner started to lose control near the 1 mile mark. He was able to keep the bike upright for another 2000 feet but eventually ran off the runway and crashed.[/LEFT]
Spectator Cole Theriault told CBS: “You could see a big dust cloud and then it got silent… The bike, from what I heard, was demolished, just in pieces. After a minute, all you could hear was the sirens.”
Kelly said that the remainder of events had been cancelled.
RIP. This guy was one of the fastest out there. Came up 4 mph short on his previous run, getting to 296 mph.