The world’s fastest motorcycle, the TOP 1 ACK ATTACK, is bound for Bolivia for an epic adventure to exceed its own record of 376.363 mph/605.697 km/h. The twin-engine streamliner is going to make a run for the record on the remote Salar de Uyuni salt flats high in the Andes mountains between August 3-8, 2017.
The TOP 1 ACK ATTACK’s previous record-breaking runs took place on the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats, but the team is now travelling to Bolivia to conquer this new challenge.
“Bolivia has been selected because it has a much longer run up and down of 16 miles versus about seven miles at Bonneville,” explains ACK ATTACK pilot and three-time World Land Speed record holder Rocky Robinson. “This makes it safer, too. Wheel spin on driven – not thrust/jet – streamliners is a danger, so the acceleration has to be very gradual to avoid awkward handling. Distance is your friend!”
“Honestly, we would have preferred to set the record in Bonneville,” adds TOP 1 VP of Sales & Marketing Frank Ryan. “TOP 1 lives and breathes the American lifestyle. We produce and package our products in the USA before distributing them to 60 countries around the world. However, several years of bad conditions at Bonneville, coupled with record rainfall this year, means we have to travel to the top of the world to find optimal conditions. Those conditions just happen to be at 12,000 feet above sea level in the Andes mountains.”
Breaking down Bolivia by the numbers: Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 square miles) with an elevation of 3,656 meters (11,995 feet) above sea level. The high elevation will play havoc with fuel management, and the harsh conditions will take their toll on the entire team, but Robinson says they are on a mission to not only defend the current World Land Speed record of 376 mph/605 km/h, but also to be the first motorcycle to break the 400 mph speed barrier!
“When we started to build the TOP 1 ACK ATTACK in 2003, our goal was to exceed the record of 322 mph that had stood for 16 years,” said Mike Akatiff, builder of the TOP 1 ACK ATTACK, “but in the back of my head was the thought that we could build a bike to actually go 400 mph. We began challenging the record in 2004, and, with the backing of TOP 1 Oil, we have broken the record three times: in 2006, 2008 and 2010. The 2010 record still stands today at 376.363 mph, but I believe the bike is now ready to go much faster, and with a suitable race track we feel we can make history once again.”
Founded in 1979 by William “Bill” Ryan, TOP 1 Oil Products is a premium synthetic lubricant brand. TOP 1 prides itself as being an American brand and being run by the 2nd and 3rd generations of the Ryan family.
Built by Mike Akatiff, owner of Ack Technologies, an avionics company, the ACK ATTACK is a brilliant piece of engineering. The 20-foot long streamliner is powered by a pair of turbocharged/intercooled Suzuki Hayabusa engines, producing more than 1000bhp. The quest to be the world’s fastest motorcycle hasn’t been easy – the ACK ATTACK crashed three times during record runs, in 2004, 2007 (when it rolled 16 times) and 2011 – “but with great risks come great rewards.”
www.top1ackattack.com