Landracing Forum

Loring Timing Association (Maine) => Loring (AFB) land speed venue => Topic started by: 55chevr on July 13, 2013, 06:17:04 AM

Title: Maine Event
Post by: 55chevr on July 13, 2013, 06:17:04 AM
Good day Friday.  We had great weather and virtually no wind.  Warner Riley is here and great to talk to. Jim Fisher has both Harleys here and made a strong pass the big engine Sportster at 171 mph. Karl Gunter made it in with the Texas crew also know as Team Fat Ass. Bill Warner made 2 strong passes sorting out his bike.  I believe they were 27? mph and 289 mph in the mile.  Both were in the heat of the day. Jason Theriot got into the 2 club with a strong pass of 207 mph in his Nissan pickup. Heather Woolbert usually takes all the photos at the event. This time she is doing double duties. Photography and racing her car. Her website is http://www.loringairforcebase.com/.  My nephews (Joe and Cliff) made it in and I think yesterday was the first time they completed a days racing without breaking either bike. Greg Neal was going strong on his 650 Kawasaki but had some valve train problems on his 4 run yesterday.  Today, weather looks good early.  Heading to the base for an early start.  If conditions are right Bill Warner wants to run before it heats up.

Joe
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: RidgeRunner on July 13, 2013, 07:06:01 AM
Joe

     Thanks for the report for us stuck at homes.

                  Ed
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: gkabbt on July 13, 2013, 07:12:57 AM
^^^^^  What RidgeRunner said!

Gregg
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: Warp12 on July 13, 2013, 01:52:51 PM
Thanks for the update, Joe!!
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: Jessechop on July 13, 2013, 09:34:40 PM
And how about Cliffs 160 today?  :cheers:
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: 55chevr on July 13, 2013, 09:51:32 PM
Today's update.  Wind speed zero to 3 most of the day.  Mostly from the left to right and occasionally a straight tail wind. Temperatures in the low 80's all day.  Ran 2 courses in the morning. Short course (1 mile) for licensing and testing and the long course. Jim Fisher ran strong with the big S&S powered Sportster.   Warner Riley is crewing for him.   Had a good pass going and slowed before the mile.   Went out and picked him up, looked like he dropped a valve. Turned out to be lifter adjuster jam nut loosened and the pushrod adjustment went to hell. He came back with a 173 mph pass so its back strong.  Jodi Perewitz went 202 mph and then backed it up with another 202 mph pass on her big Harley APS supercharged bike.  Belinda Melaragno got the long sought after 201 mph pass on her production Hayabusa.  She backed that up with next pass at 201 mph.  She has been chasing 200 for 3 years. Ryan Ostergard from Team Fat Ass made a couple of 228 passes on his naturally aspirated Hayabusa.  They did a rider change and Jennifer Robinson is running it tomorrow looking for 230.  Bill Warner had trouble with his shifter and decided to wait for cooler conditions tomorrow morning. A Blue Firebird  went 241 mph. Fastest pass by a doorslammer  at Loring. I will have more on this one tomorrow. Busy day with a lot of runs.  Tomorrows weather forecast is calling for same weather as today.
Joe
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: joea on July 14, 2013, 12:19:13 PM
prayers for everyone at Loring....and the LSR community...
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: Jessechop on July 14, 2013, 12:35:36 PM
I was 3 behind Bill at the line. He pulled very, very hard to the right and off course. I have no idea the speed but it wasnt slow. It is my understanding that he is able to nod his head to communicate. Plans was to lifeflight him out, and as far as I know they did.

I packed up about 10 minutes after and came home. My mind is all over the place, I know the dangers but I am having a hard time with this. Prayers to all involved, very sombering day
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: TURBO KING on July 14, 2013, 12:42:15 PM
I just heard Bill passed away.

My family and I are so sad, he was and will always be one of my best friends.

Everyone who knew him loved him.

We will always miss you, Bill.

Walt
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: Jessechop on July 14, 2013, 12:43:37 PM
 :cry: man........
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: N.F.S. on July 14, 2013, 01:13:24 PM
I guess that is the risk you take to go so fast.Such a shame still.  :cry:
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: sabat on July 14, 2013, 01:51:58 PM
Rest in peace Bill. 
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: kcadby on July 14, 2013, 03:43:27 PM
Terrible to hear this  :-(
...RIP Bill...
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: PorkPie on July 14, 2013, 04:07:06 PM
What a sad News.

Godspeed Bill,

my great friend....will miss you
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: velocity on July 14, 2013, 05:47:03 PM
Bangor Daily News
by Mario Maoretto, staff writer
Posted July 14, 2013, at 3:12 p.m.  Last modified July 14, 2013, at 4:08 p.m.

CARIBOU, Maine — A Florida man who set the world record for fastest speed on a conventional motorcycle died Sunday from injuries suffered when he lost control of his motorcycle and reportedly slid 1,000 feet during a speed trial at the former Loring Air Force Base.
William “Bill” Warner, 44, a speed racer and tropical fish grower from Wimauma, Fla., was attempting to hit 300 mph within one mile just before 10 a.m. Sunday during The Maine Event, an annual speed trial race sanctioned by the Loring Timing Association.
Warner made it about 4,000 feet before suddenly losing control of his modified turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa. He was taken immediately to Cary Medical Center in Caribou, according to race officials. After the crash, race officials cancelled the remainder of Sunday’s races
Bill Flagg, a spokesman for the hospital, confirmed Sunday afternoon that Warner had died from his injuries at 11:15 a.m. The announcement was delayed until Warner’s family could be notified, Flagg said.
Limestone Volunteer Fire Department and Crown Ambulance were on-scene in case of accidents during the time trials. According to a spokesman for the fire department, an investigation into what caused the accident will be conducted by the Limestone Police Department.
Race officials interviewed immediately after the accident said Warner was “awake and talking” when he was brought to the Caribou hospital. Those officials — event director Mark Sotomayor and race director Tim Kelly — were unreachable for additional comment later in the day.
Though there are few known details, one witness who watched the race from the starting line said he could tell that things had gone wrong when he saw that Warner had veered off the track, to the right.
The Loring Timing Association instructs racers to veer off the track to the left if there is a vehicle problem and to veer to the right if they are injured or if their vehicle is on fire.
“He got maybe 4,000 feet or so, and where I was standing at the starting line, you could see a big dust cloud and then it got silent,” said Cole Theriault, a spectator from Connor Township. “The bike, from what I heard, was demolished, just in pieces. After a minute, all you could hear was the sirens.”
Warner set a world record at the time trial in 2011, when he became the first conventional motorcyclist in history to top 300 mph, according to the Loring Timing Association. On a 1.5-mile course, he maxed out at 311.945 mph. On Saturday, he broke the 1-mile record at Loring when he hit 296 mph.
In 2011, Warner spoke about the his record-breaking run.
“The big part of it, after the speed happens, is trying to stop the bike,” he said. “Here at Loring Air Force Base, there is a mile shutdown to slow the vehicles down and I used every bit of it. The bike was bouncing, hopping, skipping and sliding. Needless to say, I got it stopped safely. It was a little scary.”
According to the Loring Timing Association’s website, the track at Loring is the longest land speed record track in the world, with a total length of 2 ⅝ miles, including a long stretch for cool down.

++++++++++

I am mortified once again that my colleagues in the mainstream are guilty of shabby journalism. The media reports have, in only a few hours, said Bill crashed first at 260, but now its up to 285MPH -- no verification, no attribution just a viral number that continually bloats. Sigh. I'll wait for the official report from Sotomayor, Kelly and the Limestone Police Department.

Perhaps you'll notice there are not hundreds of news briefs reporting that Donna Timney is recovering nicely at her home in Delaware after going down at 218MPH during the recent ECTA event in Ohio. As husband Joe reminded me, "We dress for the crash, not for the ride."  She'll be back. Bet me. If for no other reason than to admonish Keith Turk for shutting down the event because of her little tumble.

--LandSpeed Louise
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: Gary Perkinson on July 14, 2013, 07:54:17 PM
Jesus...just got home to NYC after two great days at Loring, including watching several of Bill's earlier runs...so sorry to hear about this...prayers and condolences to Bill's family and friends, and to the entire LSR community... :-(
Title: Re: Maine Event
Post by: tedgram on July 14, 2013, 09:32:50 PM
  Bill was the last person I had talked to before I left yesterday. Very sad. My condolences to his family.