7 world records that have – or will be – attempted in 2016
It seems like the world’s gone mad for motorcycle-related records lately. Here's a handful of examples of the whacky things people do on bikes1. Guy Martin’s land speed record
The former Isle of Man star Guy Martin has been all about pushing man and machine to their limits since turning his back on the race he could never conquer, the Isle of Man TT. Since then, it’s been the Globe of Death speed record, the world speed record on a pedal-powered hydrofoil, another one which saw him build and race the world’s fastest billy cart. With the self-propelled thing seemingly out of his system, the Lincolnshire lad has made a return to powered propulsion and is on the cusp of reaching in excess of 400mph in a Triumph-powered streamliner on the salt flats at Bonneville. There’s been bad weather, a slow-speed crash, a tumble under tow and various other things that have formed a run of bad luck that just might see the squad pull the pin. But a lot of people – and a lot of money – really want to see this record set and it’s not over yet, so watch this space.
2. The world’s fastest wheelie
With a surname ending in Popta, Dutchman Egbert van Popta was destined to do wheelies. And so last month during the 2016 running of the annual Straightliners Motorcycle Wheelie World Championships (yes, it’s a thing), Egbert Van Popta held a wheelie for 1km at a speed of 343.388km/h to write himself into the history books as the world’s fastest wheelie-er. There were 15 people vying for the title at the British event with even the ‘slowest’ competitor managing to hold a wheelie doing 199.56km/h for the entire timed stretch.
3. Isle of Man TT course wheelie record
He’s described it as one the toughest challenges of his long and celebrated career. This weekend, 12-time world trials champion Dougie Lampkin will attempt to set a record of his own when he’ll battle oncoming traffic and windy conditions to wheelie around the entire length of the Isle of Man TT course. With a goal to wheelie the 37.75-mile (61km) course in under two hours, he’s identified the long downhill section at the beginning of the course (Bray Hill), the highly exposed and windy Verandah section, the humpback Ballaugh Bridge and the tricky corners at Governer’s Bridge as his main areas of concern.
4. Fastest monowheel ride
So it’s not a two-wheeled record (is an enclosed streamliner really a motorcycle?), but another record-chasing Lincolnshire man wrote himself into the record books earlier this year when he reached a top speed of 98.5km/h on his monocycle. Kevin Scott and his UK Monowheel Team eclipsed the previous 15-year-old record by just 6.8km/h to lay claim to the title which will be included in the 2017 Guinness World Records. The record was set at the Elvington Airfield in the UK.
5. Distance covered standing on the seat
Earlier this month, Captain Manpreet Singh of the Indian Army stood on the seat of his moving motorcycle for a distance of 75.2km, more than doubling the previous record of 32.3km set at the end of 2015. It took the member of the Indian Army Daredevils team a total of two hours, 24 minutes and 12 seconds to travel the distance and, according to Indian army officials, it was not only performed in accordance with the Guinness World Records’ strict regulations, but also those of the Limca Book of Records, the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records. The Captain revealed after the stunt that he had set himself a goal of 35km, but decided to continue after reaching it – for another 40km! Video here.
6. Distance covered sitting on the handlebar
Captain Singh wasn’t the only member of the Indian Army’s Daredevils Team to set a new world record at the start of September. Havildar Sandeep Singh covered 46.9km sitting on the handlebar of his motorcycle, a stunt that took the rider one hour, 27 minutes and 31 seconds to complete. A long time, seemingly to cover the distance, but images of Havildar during the attempt reveal his right hand wasn’t on the throttle and so a slow, pre-selected speed must have been set to make it a display of both balance and distance. It was a newly introduced record-setting event for 2016.
7. Largest gathering of female riders
In April this year, more than 1000 Australian motorcycle-riding women descended on the Central West New South Wales city of Dubbo to set two new world records at the same time. The 2016 2WheelBabes Babe Raid saw 10002 women from all over Australia ride through the city and set the world record for the largest gathering of female riders as well as the largest all-female motorcycle parade. According to event organiser Debb Dagger, the street in Dubbo was lined with people for 30km to witness the history-making event.
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