Triumph postpones land speed record attempt

In the light of Guy Martin’s crash at the Ulster Grand Prix last week which saw him fracture vertebrae, sternum and a number of ribs, the Triumph land speed record team has postponed its planned attempt until 2016 so that the Lincolnshire racer can be fully fit for the record run.

Triumph released the flowing statement: “We’re obviously concerned with the news that Guy has sustained injuries as a result of his crash in last week’s Dundrod 150 race. While in true form, Guy has signed himself out of hospital this week, we all feel that given his injuries it won’t be possible to complete the required testing prior to attempting to take the record this year.

“Guy is a unique talent and having such a pilot for our Rocket motorcycle is absolutely central to our attempt. We wish him a full and speedy recovery and will confirm a new date for our 2016 bid as soon as we can.”

The Triumph Rocket Streamliner features a carbon Kevlar monocoque construction with two turbocharged Triumph Rocket III engines producing a combined 1000bhp at 9000rpm. The motorcycle is 25.5ft long, 2ft wide and 3ft tall. It's powered by methanol fuel.

The attempt was originally going to be made at Bonneville this month before the event was cancelled for the second year in a row.

Triumph has a long legacy of smashing the land speed record and held the title of World's Fastest Motorcycle from 1955 to 1970 with the exception of a brief 33-day period. The record-breaking Triumph streamliners of that period were Devil's Arrow, Texas Cee-gar, Dudek Streamliner and Gyronaut X1, the former achieving a top speed of 245.667mph (395.28km/h). Today's bar, held by Rocky Robinson since 2010 riding the Top Oil-Ack Attack streamliner, sits at 376.363 mph (605.697km/h).