Cycle News

P126 CN III CROSS-RUTTED BY JEAN TURNER H ave you ever felt something blow past you at 100 mph? Have you ever seen some- one go 200 mph? Imagine being taped wide open at 200 mph and then something blowing past you at another 100 mph. That was Ralph Hudson. Reaching speeds north of 300 (on land) is an extraordinary feat on any number of wheels, and flat out mind-bending on two wheels. But this was a goal for Ralph. To not only break the 300-mph threshold, but to set the FIM World Record there, and be the fastest-ever conventional motorcycle (non- streamliner). It's a lofty ambition for any racer, let alone one in their late 60s, but Ralph was on track to accomplish the seemingly impossi- ble, and came so close he touched it a few times. I was lucky enough to be in Bolivia in July of 2018 where Ralph came the closest to reaching his goal. At Cook's Top Oil Land Speed Shootout on the Salar de Uyuni, he reached speeds north of 300 mph, he set another world record, and on the final day of the meet he record- ed a one-way pass at an average of 304 mph on the mile, and an exit speed of 308, the fastest ever officially recorded. Impressive as it was, he fell short of an official FIM World Record, which requires two consecutive runs in opposite direc- tions. It nearly all came together for Ralph that day—he had the speed, the machine, the crew and the track to do it, but when his turbo- charged GSX-R1000 finally let go that afternoon, his race effort was done, leaving him with the official FIM World Record at 297 mph. That night at the Cristal Samaña salt hotel, we feasted and celebrated the close of another successful Bolivia event, and multiple records earned. Congratulatory messages were flooding in from the land-speed racing community back home who'd received word about Ralph's new record and his 304-mph one-way pass. But Ralph wasn't celebrating. In fact, he seemed to resent the con- gratulations. "It was just… it's great to have gone 300 and have it officially rec- ognized, but, I didn't do two runs with an average over 300 and get a record," Ralph said. "To know that I have a bike that was capable of doing that but not putting the two runs together is very disap- pointing. Even though, I guess no one has gone faster on a natural surface, but you know… you set your goals and it's disappointing if you don't reach them." I was a little surprised by his sullen mood, but was also in awe. In that moment, Ralph's character was clearer than ever. He had every right to hang his hat on the 304- mph pass—the world's first over 300 mph—but he chose not to because it wasn't good enough. It wasn't the official record, and it wasn't what he set out to do. It seemed all but inevitable at this point that Ralph REMEMBERING RALPH HUDSON The land-speed community lost a legendary racer and a great friend in Ralph Hudson. PHOTO: JEAN TURNER

• Cover