With the racing surface considerably better than last year and more favourable weather conditions, existing records fell and new records were set at the 2026 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials – part of the FIM Land Speed World Records (LSWR) discipline – that ran from 23-27 August at the world-famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA.
A total of eight new benchmark figures, subject to ratification, will be added to the record books which represents an increase of five on the 2025 edition, although both riders looking to record the event’s highest speeds – Chris Rivas in the BUB Seven Streamliner and Eva Håkansson in her electric Green Envy Streamliner – came up short in their attempts.
LSWR is a discipline that demands a solid surface and good weather conditions and BMST Owner/Director Delvene Reber was all smiles at the end of the event.
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“The salt has been a lot better than last year, that’s for sure,” she said. “We were running on a great track so we had a good couple of miles of salt so we’ve been really happy with the conditions, although there were some weather concerns with wind at the start of the week.”
An obvious paradox with LSWR is that while competitors are focussed on going as fast as possible, patience is a pre-requisite – the faster they want to go, the longer they need to prepare – and while Rivas did not make a run approaching the absolute Land Speed World Record of 376.363mph (605.697km/h), a pass at 180.64mph (290.71km/h) still represented positive progress.
The same was true for Håkansson who had her sights set on six-time world road racing champion Max Biaggi’s 2021 electric motorcycle record of 283.182mph (455.737km/h), but encountered an unexpected high-speed problem.
“My windshield was buckling under the aero-loading at a little over 250mph,” said the New Zealand resident, “but I could still kinda see around the side. That’s typical and stuff like that does go wrong.”
Riders are measured over both a timed mile and a timed kilometre and after their initial down run they have two hours to complete a return run with the times combined and an average calculated to determine the official speed. Forced to shut-off early when her vision was obscured, Håkansson’s best time averaged out at 246mph (395.899km/h), but she was quick to accentuate the positives.
“It’s been nine years since we were last here and it’s the best salt and the best track we have ever seen in the sixteen years we’ve been doing Land Speed at Bonneville. If we had a few days we could add reinforcement [to the windshield], but all important things work and the drive chain was faultless. There’s easily three-hundred mph in this vehicle, but one step at a time. It’s kinda like training for the Olympics.”
Having set a new record last year, Canadian Liane Langlois returned with her three-cylinder 2012 JKR Powersports 2295cc Triumph Rocket 111 Roadster with weighted sidecar. This time around her outfit was partially-faired which moved her into a different category and she was delighted to set another record at 146.349mph (235.526km/h) over the timed kilometre.
“On Tuesday, I ran a 146.9mph on my down run,” she said. “We got out for the return run and when I was shifting through my gears, something wasn’t feeling good, but I managed to get through the timed mile at 145.7mph. The very first time I ran it in 2024, my very first pass was only 95mph! We’ve come a long way in these three years so I’m very excited for what we have done – and I get to bring another world record home to Canada!”
Other records were set by Land Speed legend Jay Allen who, riding a twin-cylinder 2017 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, recorded a speed over the timed kilometre of 181.844mph (292.650km/h), while Lisa Cipolla aboard her four-cylinder 2012 Zlock Racing LCC 600cc Kawasaki ZX-6R increased the records she set last year over the timed kilometre to 151.567mph (243.924km/h) in partially-faired trim and 141.788mph (228.186km/h) unfaired.
The first new FIM record was set on the opening day by Tyrell Marlow who pushed his twin-cylinder 2002 Suzuki TL1000R to 164.457mph (264.668km/h) over the timed kilometre and Angus Wing celebrated two records with speeds on his multi-cylindered 2009 Kawasaki ZX-14 sidecar outfit of 116.112mph (186.865km/h) in partially-faired trim and 109.919mph (228.186km/h) unfaired over the timed kilometre.
With all record categories gender-neutral and determined by the method by which the motorcycle is propelled, body kit, power source, capacity and number of cylinders, America’s Ronald Knight – competing on a rare 1972 100cc LS2 Yamaha twin – set a new record over the timed kilometre on the second day of 57.751mph (92.941km/h), upped it on the third day and then extended it again on the last day to 61.445mph (98.886km/h).
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Original post on modernclassicbikes.co.uk and published by Frank Duggan. Frank is the Founder and Editor of Modern Classic Motorcycle News, an independent motorcycle publication covering modern classic motorcycles, roadsters, scramblers, cruisers, electric motorcycles and the wider motorcycle industry.
