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| Contributed photo Jason Theriault of Caribou, left, receives his “200 MPH Club” hat from race event technical inspector Steve Van Blarcom of Wallingford, Conn. Theriault went 207 mph in the mile and a half with his 1,300-horsepower Nissan D21 pickup during the Loring Timing Association Speed Trials held over the weekend. |
By Tom Hale
Special to the Aroostook Republican and News
LIMESTONE — A weekend of speed and motorsports activity ended Sunday morning in tragedy with the death of Bill Warner of Wimauma, Fla. (See page one for the story.)
Warner was attempting to set a mark of 300 mph in the mile when he lost control of his motorcycle. Earlier in the weekend he achieved 296 mph on his highly-modified Suzuki motorcycle.
The weekend included the Loring Speed Trials, Car Show at the Loring event, and Vintage Stock Car racing at Spud Speedway. More than 40 cars were in the Blood Brothers and Sisters.org “The Race at the Base Car Show,” which raised over $5,000 for the Hemophilia Alliance of Maine.
At the Speed Trials, Caribou’s Jason Theriault became a member of the 200 Miles Per Hour Club after four years of trying. The club is exclusive for racers who exceed 200 mph and set a record in their class.
After his 207 mph run, an excited Theriault exclaimed, “I was pretty happy! I have been trying for about four years to do that. Pretty amazing.”
“I made sure I remembered to go nice and easy on it. I took off easy and short shifted first, second, third. When I shifted to fourth I gave it full throttle and that’s where I left it until the end,” Theriault said.
“My next goal is to turn 200 mph in the mile and maybe 215 in the mile and a half. I used about 60 pounds of ice and burned about seven gallons of racing fuel for the two runs,” he added.
The Yamaha YZ 250 motorcycle of Jesse Michaud of Caribou seized up on his last attempt on Saturday afternoon and was unable to reach his goal of 134 miles per hour.
The second fastest speed for the event was 241 mph set by George Gallimore of Memphis, Tenn. Gallimore set this speed with his 504 Chevrolet engine with Pro-Stock Pontiac heads, making about 1,200 horsepower.
The fastest motorcycle was Warner’s highly-modified Suzuki motorcyle, which went 296 mph, with Jennifer Robertson of Texas the second fastest at 234 mph in the mile and a half. She is the fastest female in America with that speed. Robertson is a high school guidance counselor for at-risk students in alternative education.
One of the most interesting motorcycles belonged to John Petsche of Hicksville, N.Y. The 2010 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) graduate set the class record for a 350 cubic centimeter alternative-fueled motorcycle with a supercharger at 60.6 mph. Petsche purchased his fuel, Wesson canola oil, at the local grocery store.
Petsche developed his interest in alternative-fueled vehicles while at RPI as a member of the formula hybrid race car team that used an electric/diesel power train. Petsche plans to return to Loring in 2014 with a V-twin 850 cc diesel in a Ninja 250 frame.
