on Vesco, the multi-time auto and motorcycle land speed record-holder, used to say that weather was one of the biggest reasons that records lasted so long at Bonneville. Before he died in 2002, Vesco had made the trip to the famed Salt Flats every year since the early 1960s facing inclement weather conditions and the resulting rough salt many times. What he learned was that when the salt is bad, sometimes all you can do is start getting ready for next year. At the 2007 International Motorcycle Speed Trials by BUB, Mother Nature gave the participants a good example of what Vesco was talking about.
     At the 2006 Speed Trials, the Rocky Robinson-Sam Wheeler-Chris Carr battle for the world record provided some of the greatest drama ever seen at Bonneville. Wheeler logged the fastest one-way run of the meet and Robinson set and held the world record for one day. When it was over, though, Chris Carr, pilot of Denis Manning’s BUB Enterprises streamliner, had run the fastest two-way average at 350.884 mph and went home with an FIM world record speed.
     For 2007, the conditions on the salt flats were certainly not as ideal for high-speed action as the previous year. Wind, with rain on and off throughout the week, kept the salt from drying out completely which resulted in a slightly slushy surface. Streamliners work well only on a totally dry and hard-packed surface, so it became apparent on the first day of the meet that the ultimate motorcycle land speed record was not likely to be broken this year.
     Anxious to get down to business, Rocky Robinson made two runs that day in the Mike Akatiff-built Ack Attack Suzuki Hayabusa. The first run went okay, with Rocky putting down a respectable run of 299.772 mph. The return run, however, would not go well at all. Nearing the end of his run Robinson lost control on the rough surface and crashed at somewhere near 300 miles per hour. Luckily he was unhurt, but the damage to the machine was beyond what could be repaired quickly and their week was over.
     Seeing the problems with the salt, and the fact that the main challenger to their world record was heading home, Manning and Carr were content to keep the BUB 7 liner parked in the pits and never made a run.
     Ironically, Robinson’s first 299 mph run would end up as the fastest run of the meet, earning him honors of “Top Time of the Meet” and the $5,000 cash prize. That was some consolation, but certainly less of an accomplishment than he and Mike Akatiff had come for. If Don Vesco were still with us he would have just said, “See you next year!”
     The International Motorcycle Speed Trials by BUB isn’t only about streamliners, though. Event creator and promoter Denis Manning offered numerous classes at the meet for motorcycles of virtually every size and configuration, so despite the lack of excitement like the year before from the streamliners, the conventional motorcycles would soldier on and many great and memorable results were to follow. In all, over 50 National speed records were set at the five-day event.