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Motorcycle Land Speed Record Holder Bill Warner Suffers Fatal Crash bill warner.jpg

This was an accident that will be very hard for many of us to forget. This is because of the fact that the soul that departed from our lives on that fateful day was among the bravest of the racers who always loved to face the challenges and travel at unbelievably high speed.

Millions of people, especially the racers, both young and old take inspiration from him in trying to break the every speed limit that was earlier thought to be possible. So far he was there in flesh and bones to inspire those millions, but even his death will not be able to erase the memories of his exploits and the great work he has done.

Bill Warner, 44 years of age was not a young brat who took challenges without giving them a thought. He was a man in his mid forties who loved defining the world and the world of speed in his own imitable style. Even though he knew the dangers involved in what he was doing, he actually never really gave up. In a freak accident, Bill Warner, 44, died after he lost control of his beast that was speeding at 300 mph on a runway at a former air base in northern Maine.

Though he was provided with the best medical care at the scene, paramedics rushed the racer, who was conscious after the accident, to the hospital in Caribou where he died after an hour and 15 minutes. The annually held Maine Event is a timed speed event that takes place at the 14,200-foot-long runway that was closed in 1994. On the ill-fated day a crowd of 400 onlookers witnessed the tragic accident in which Warner started losing control on his bike after clearing the one mile mark.

His death is being mourned by racers across the world and people are expressing their shock and disbelief at his loss. Speaking about the accident, Tim Kelly, race director the Loring Timing Association, said: “The motorcycle was clocked at 285 mph before Warner lost control. But it was unclear how fast the motorcycle was travelling when it veered off the paved runway and crashed. No one will touch Bill’s achievements or be the type of racer he was. He was a personal friend and the land-racing community is less for his loss.” “Riding his modified turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa, Warner previously hit 311 mph on the same course in 2011, using 1.5 miles of pavement. That’s considered to be the world land speed record for a conventional motorcycle. This time he was trying to hit 300 mph using just a mile of pavement, and he’d made several passes before the one in which he crashed,” Kelly added further.

 NOVONEWS

 

 

We at the LTA are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our friend Bill Warner on Sunday, July 14th 2013   at the Maine Event.  Bill's easy smile, gentle nature, and friendly competitiveness will always serve as the bench march by which we measure all other competitors.  Our thoughts and prayers go out the his family, friends, and the LSR community for the loss of an icon and while there is little we can do to assuage their anguish, I will share the words of Walt Whitman.

All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses.

 

And to die is not as anyone supposed,

 

And luckier. 

 

 

 

  Our friend Bill Warner standing atop the

                                                                                          mountain that he alone conquered.

 

 Land speed records are a dream of many, an obsession of some, and a reality for a determined few. It is a quiet pursuit made by quiet men in garages on late nights and endless weekends. They do not chase big dollar corporate sponsors, TV rights or umbrella girls. They are just quiet men with better physics, geometry and welding skills than interview smiles. Just quiet men with a idea, a dream scrawled on a napkin of what will be fast... faster... maybe the fastest in the world. Our sport thrives on this quiet determination to build something that embodies the unique vision of each competitor.  

Loring Timing Association

 

Video of the Maine Event- Land Speed - Loring Maine 2013