Click here to read an excerpt from Flat Out!My Blog400 MPH:The Return of The Big ThreeFor the first time since 2006 the threeall-time world’s fastest motorcycles and their riders will face off against oneanother at Mike Cook’s Bonneville Shootout. Rocky Robinson, three time and current motorcycle world land speedrecord holder, Chris Carr, AMA DirtTrack Champion and two time land speed record holder, and Sam Wheeler, fastest rider on two wheels in 2006, will meet head tohead at the fastest wheel driven speed event on earth. If salt andweather conditions are favorable, this could be the year a two-wheeled machineofficially breaks the 400 mph barrier. Rocky and the Top 1 Ack Attack cameclose in 2010, setting the current FIM Record at 376.363 mph. (based on two wayaverage) His final run posted an incredible 394 mph exit speed through thelights! Tom Burkland (4 wheel land speed record holder) notified the team tocheck our data acquisition as our rate of acceleration through the mileindicated we should have eclipsed the 400 mark before decel. Our official speedthrough the mile: 379.3 mph entry, 387.1 through the kilo, 386.9 mile speed,with a 394 mph exit. Sure enough,Mike Akatiff checked our data acquisition through the MoTec. Rocky rolls out ofthe throttle gingerly after reaching peak speed so as not to cause an abruptweight transfer to the front wheel which could cause severe handling issues. Thebike was still gaining, actually increasing speed by 15 mph through the mile!It continued to gain speed as the throttle was slowly rolled back. Peak speedfrom data acquisition showed 401.7 mph! Is that number official? No it is not.Rocky knows and the entire Top 1 Ack Attack team knows they were the first tohit this milestone, even if it is a private victory. 2013 looks to be a good year for thatnumber to finally make it into the books. Will it be Sam Wheeler with his new
partnership with Fred Fox and the Parts Unlimited sponsored turbocharged Suzuki
Hayabusa streamliner? Vance and Hines built the motors which were supplied by
Mike Akatiff from the Top 1 Ack Attack team.
Or will Big
Red, the Bub Seven entry ridden by Chris Carr get it done like he and his team
have done twice in the past. Rocky did the early development work behind the
controls of this machine before parting ways with Bub in 2005. Back then the
bike wasn’t turbocharged. This change brought new speed and with the addition
of a hard charging rider like Carr, the team is always a threat to the title.
The Top 1 Ack Attack team is poised and
ready to defend their record. They believe their machine already had it in it
to officially reach the milestone of 400 mph, but technical problems prevented
that from happening. In 2011 Rocky and the machine crashed hard during testing,
causing major damage to the Top 1 Ack Attack, earning Rocky a free ambulance
ride to Salt
Lake City for observation. He escaped with minor injuries, but still has
that same desire to run faster than before, an