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“I’m almost there. Just hang on.”
This is what Liane Langlois, 50, said she repeated to herself as she rapidly accelerated on her motorcycle to speeds faster than 200 kilometres per hour on a salt flat.
Langlois was pushing for a new speed record at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Aug. 26. But she said conditions on the salt flat were extra rough that day, and it was the first time since she started riding motorcycles that she felt nervous.
“We had weather problems all week,” Langlois recalled. “[The salt flat] was all chewed up. It was wet, it was slippery and it didn’t feel good.”
However, despite the challenging conditions, Langlois was able to establish a new motorcycle land speed world record of just over 136 miles per hour, or about 219 km/h, over a timed mile (about 1.6 kilometres). She also broke the record for speed over a timed kilometre in the same run as well.
The record set in the 2500cc sidecar class was certified by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), which is a global governing body for motorcycle sports.
Langlois, who is also the president and founder of the Alberta Motorcycle Safety Society, said members of the FIM confirmed to her that she is the first Canadian woman to set an official FIM-accredited motorcycle speed record.
“I got the call to run this crazy huge motorcycle with a sidecar and I’m the smallest girl on the loudest bike and making records. It’s pretty cool,” Langlois said.
The motorcycle she was riding for the feat was a 2295cc Triumph Rocket 111 Roadster with a weighted sidecar. Jeremy Ragle, the owner of the race team Langlois competes with, said its engine is larger than the engines of most small cars.
“[It’s] pushing almost 275 horsepower to the tire,” he said. “It definitely is not for the faint of heart.”
Liane Langlois just became the first Canadian woman — fourth Canadian overall — to set an official Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) world record for motorcycle land speed. She reached 219.403 km/h while competing at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
How the record speed was measured
Langlois said riders in her competition class were given three miles (just under five kilometres) on their first run to build up as much speed as they could before their speed was measured at the three- and four-mile marks of the track.
She said she used this initial distance to position her body to be as small and aerodynamic as possible on the motorcycle.
The two speeds captured at the three- and four-mile marks were then averaged out. The timed kilometre speed was also measured between these two marks.
Langlois said if the speed of the rider is fast enough on their initial pass, then they qualify for a return run, in which they ride the track in the opposite direction and their speed is measured at the four- then three-mile mark. That speed is then averaged out as well.
Langlois’ final record-breaking speed was then calculated from an average between her first and second run.
She said the FIM informed her that her unparalleled mark was just one of four new records set at this year’s competition, and that she became the fourth Canadian ever to establish an FIM-accredited motorcycle land speed world record.
Langlois said she hopes to return to the salt flats to break more records in the future and that her success will inspire other women to get involved in the sport.
