Records fell and were set at the 2026 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials—part of the FIM Land Speed World Records—which ran August 23-27 at the world-famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
This is a press release from the FIM…
This is a press release from the FIM…
With the racing surface considerably better than last year and more favorable weather conditions, existing records fell and new records were set at the 2026 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials—part of the FIM Land Speed World Records (LSWR) discipline—that ran from August 23-27 at the world-famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA.
- Favorable conditions see BMST competitors pick up the pace
- FIM Land Speed World Records set in eight categories
- Angus Wing and Lisa Cipolla double up on Bonneville Salt Flats
A total of eight new benchmark figures, subject to ratification, will be added to the record books, which represents an increase of five on the 2025 edition, although both riders looking to record the event’s highest speeds—Chris Rivas in the BUB Seven Streamliner and Eva Håkansson in her electric Green Envy Streamliner—came up short in their attempts.
LSWR is a discipline that demands a solid surface and good weather conditions, and BMST Owner/Director Delvene Reber was all smiles at the end of the event.
“The salt has been a lot better than last year, that’s for sure,” she said. “We were running on a great track, so we had a good couple of miles of salt, so we’ve been really happy with the conditions, although there were some weather concerns with wind at the start of the week.”
An obvious paradox with LSWR is that while competitors are focused on going as fast as possible, patience is a prerequisite—the faster they want to go, the longer they need to prepare—and while Rivas did not make a run approaching the absolute Land Speed World Record of 376.363 mph (605.697 km/h), a pass at 180.64 mph (290.71 km/h) still represented positive progress.
The same was true for Håkansson, who had her sights set on six-time world road racing champion Max Biaggi’s 2021 electric motorcycle record of 283.182 mph (455.737 km/h), but encountered an unexpected high-speed problem.
“My windshield was buckling under the aero-loading at a little over 250 mph,” said the New Zealand resident, “but I could still kinda see around the side. That’s typical, and stuff like that does go wrong.”
Riders are measured over both a timed mile and a timed kilometer, and after their initial down run, they have two hours to complete a return run with the times combined and an average calculated to determine the official speed. Forced to shut off early when her vision was obscured, Håkansson’s best time averaged out at 246 mph (395.899 km/h), but she was quick to accentuate the positives.
“It’s been nine years since we were last here, and it’s the best salt and the best track we have ever seen in the sixteen years we’ve been doing Land Speed at Bonneville. If we had a few days, we could add reinforcement [to the windshield], but all important things worked, and the drive chain was faultless. There’s easily 300 mph in this vehicle, but one step at a time. It’s kinda like training for the Olympics.”
Having set a new record last year, Canadian Liane Langlois returned with her three-cylinder 2012 JKR Powersports 2295cc Triumph Rocket 111 Roadster with a weighted sidecar. This time around her outfit was partially-faired which moved her into a different category, and she was delighted to set another record at 146.349 mph (235.526 km/h) over the timed kilometer.
“On Tuesday, I ran a 146.9 mph on my down run,” she said. “We got out for the return run, and when I was shifting through my gears, something wasn’t feeling good, but I managed to get through the timed mile at 145.7 mph. The very first time I ran it in 2024, my very first pass was only 95 mph! We’ve come a long way in these three years, so I’m very excited for what we have done—and I get to bring another world record home to Canada!”
Other records were set by Land Speed legend Jay Allen, who, riding a twin-cylinder 2017 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, recorded a speed over the timed kilometre of 181.844 mph (292.650 km/h), while Lisa Cipolla, aboard her four-cylinder 2012 Zlock Racing LCC 600cc Kawasaki ZX-6R, increased the records she set last year over the timed kilometre to 151.567 mph (243.924 km/h) in partially-faired trim and 141.788 mph (228.186 km/h) unfaired.
The first new FIM record was set on the opening day by Tyrell Marlow, who pushed his twin-cylinder 2002 Suzuki TL1000R to 164.457 mph (264.668 km/h) over the timed kilometer, and Angus Wing celebrated two records with speeds on his multi-cylindered 2009 Kawasaki ZX-14 sidecar outfit of 116.112 mph (186.865 km/h) in partially-faired trim and 109.919 mph (228.186 km/h) unfaired over the timed kilometer.
With all record categories gender-neutral and determined by the method by which the motorcycle is propelled, body kit, power source, capacity and number of cylinders, America’s Ronald Knight—competing on a rare 1972 100cc LS2 Yamaha twin—set a new record over the timed kilometre on the second day of 57.751 mph (92.941 km/h), upped it on the third day, and then extended it again on the last day to 61.445 mph (98.886 km/h).
2026 BMST Results HERE
For more information about FIM Land Speed World Records, visit www.fim-landspeed-worldrecords.com
