Bill Warner dies soon after crash
On Saturday Bill Warner, 44, was trying to top his record of going 300 mph on his racing motorcycle. But before he could reach that speed he veered off the paved runway and crashed, leaving him in gruesome condition. He died a day later.
The motorcycle racer was from Wimauma, Fla. and had previously hit 311 mph on the very same 1.5 mile-long paved area in 2011. That speed was considered the world record land-speed for a motorcycle.
After the crash he was said to have been talking just before 10 a.m. on Sunday, but died an hour and a half later.
The Loring Timing Association hosted “the Maine Event” at Loring Air Force Base where Kelly attempted to top his record. They use the 14,200-foot-long runway to race on, since the base closed in 1994. They use 2.5 miles of runway for the events, not including the additional 2,000 feet just in case, according to Kelly.
With Warner’s attempt, however, he tried to breach 300 mph in just one mile of runway. Just after reaching the one mile mark he veered to the right before leaving the runway and crashing. After crashing, the rest of the events were cancelled for the day.
Tim Kelly, race director at the Loring Timing Association, holds Warner’s achievements very highly and admires the racer.
“No one will touch Bill’s achievements or be the type of racer he was. He was a personal friend and the land-racing community is less for his loss,” Kelly said.
Very few people can say that they’ve driven at 300 mph. Warner will be remembered for his incredible feat and courageous attitude that brought him his successes.
