IN
THE
WIND
P42
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JEAN
TURNER
WORLD RECORD RACING
COMES TO AUSTRALIA
T
he 2018 World Speed Trial
Australia marked the first-ev-
er FIM-sanctioned (non-private)
event held Down Under, giving
Australian land-speed racers the
chance to vie for official world
records. The event spelled good
news for those already holding
local DLRA (Dry Lake Racers
Association) records in Austra-
lia, but never had the chance to
compete for a world record at an
FIM-backed event.
The March 16-19 event was
made possible by promoter Rue-
di Steck of Swiss Performance,
and took place at the tail end of
the annual DLRA Speed Week,
giving racers a chance to get
in some pre-runs before taking
on the more demanding condi-
tions of FIM competition. (FIM
World Records require racers to
complete a down run and return
run, making things like wind and
durability more of a factor.)
Several racers seized on the
opportunity to set new world re-
cords in their classes, including
Australian land-speed icon Greg
Watters and his Black Art Rac-
ing teammate Kim Krebs. Steve
Kell nabbed a record aboard
his "little" 750cc machine on
day two, and helped himself to
another on day three, breaking
his own record.
But it wasn't all success at the
World Speed Trial Australia.
Valerie Thompson and Team 7
Racing made the long trek to
Lake Gairdner in South Australia
to make an attempt at the overall
two-wheel land-speed world
record (which currently stands
at 376.363 mph), but their early
morning run on the final day of
the event ended in disaster when
Thompson suffered a spectacu-
lar wreck at 343.7 mph. Fortu-
nately Thompson was uninjured
in the crash.
"Today didn't go as planned,"
Thompson said. "It doesn't feel
very good, but at 343 miles per
hour, standing here talking to you
is pretty, truly amazing."
Kim Krebs set a
new FIM World
Record at the
first-ever World
Speed Trial
Australia.
