By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — On Sept. 11, members of the Loring Timing Association addressed the Loring Development Authority board of trustees at their regular meeting regarding the safety and future of the land speed racing events that the association holds annually at Loring in light of the accident that resulted in the death of racer Bob Warner at the Loring track in July.
LTA race director Tim Kelly and motorcycle technical director Joe Daly spoke about the history of land speed racing, which came about after World War II, using mostly dry lakes and salt flats as racing tracks. Different than road racing or drag racing, land speed racing is strictly timed trials to achieve a top speed. The purpose of the sport is solely to set records; there is no financial gain.
The Loring Timing Association was formed in 2009 and has been holding two events on the former Air Force base runway — one in the summer and one in fall — since then. Daly has been the motorcycle inspector at each of those events. He explained that the amount of inspections each vehicle undergoes during a race is based on the planned rate of speed.
According to Daly and Kelly, the accident that took Warner’s life appears to be the result of an issue with the rear tire, though what the exact problem was has yet to be determined.
“Basically what happened was, there was some sort of drive line failure. We’re not certain exactly what happened. But the rear rim failed and the rear tire failed. We’re not certain what the sequence of events that led to that was. After reviewing information with experts, there’s really no clear cut answer as to what happened,” Daly said.
After Warner’s accident, the LTA took a close look at its inspection procedures as compared with other associations. They found they were in compliance, but going forward, they will be looking at different procedures which will require vehicles traveling above 220 miles an hour to have an inspection each time the competitor runs. Above 240 miles an hour will require two tire inspections. Daly and Kelly explained that very few competitors run at those speeds.
“Basically what it comes down to is, Bill was so far beyond everyone else,” said Kelly. “Bill took the record, which was 301, by 50 miles an hour in one year. He was so far ahead of everyone else in the game, in our lifetime, you won’t see anyone else touch his record.”
Daly explained that although the cause of Warner’s accident was apparently due to his rear tire, the inspection beforehand showed that the tire was brand new and in compliance.
For the LDA, the accident called into question the future of the racing event at Loring. The event brings racers and spectators from the U.S. and Canada to the area, boosting the local economy. The race is of little expense to the LDA, and it nets revenue of a little under $5,000, according to LDA President and CEO Carl Flora.
Flora explained that the longevity of the event has always been in question.
“We don’t have a crystal ball,” Flora said. “The condition of the runway may not hold out, we could attract an airport to make use of the runway. There are a number of factors that could contribute to no longer holding the races at Loring.”
For now, the seasonal events will continue as scheduled.
Kelly advised that the Loring airstrip was definitely one of the best quality racing surfaces the association has seen. LTA has changed their advertising of the Limestone events to focus more on New England and southern Maine and will also take their campaign to social media, hoping to attract even more racers and spectators to next year’s events.
