Eisenberg Madmax Speed Record Motorbike 186mph


Record-breaking racer Zef Eisenberg survived a 195mph scare to establish a stunning new benchmark for the Flying Mile at Pendine Sands in South Wales. Riding a specially made 400bhp supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa that was built and prepared by Eisenberg’s MADMAX Racing Team, he set a two-way average of on Saturday 6 April. In 1927, Sir Malcolm Campbell reached at Pendine in his iconic aero-engined Blue Bird. That record was unbroken until 2015, when actor Idris Elba achieved along the historic beach in a 650hp Bentley Continental Super Sport twin-turbo W12 – yet the intrepid Eisenberg needed only a single run in both directions on the ‘Green Monster’ to surpass them both, with a rear tyre that was found to be falling apart after the first run! “The bike had been spinning the rear wheel for two miles at 240mph,” explained Eisenberg. “We were using a GP racing tyre, too – the best you can get, but I assume it’s not used to that much power or wheelspin. That’s why these records are so hard to achieve. You’re pushing human and engineering boundaries.” The MADMAX team fitted a new tyre during the permitted one-hour turn-around time, enabling Eisenberg to complete his return run and establish the new record. For the third run, a harder compound of tyre was used, but the extreme demands of running at maximum rpm for nearly three miles – and constant wheelspin at such high revs – took its toll on the motorcycle’s highly stressed engine. “I was doing 195mph approaching the end of the mile,” said Eisenberg of the moment the engine blew, “and my helmet visor and leathers were sprayed with black engine oil, obscuring my vision. I lost sight of the finish flags, but I couldn’t just slam on the brakes due to the sand. Fortunately, I managed to keep it straight and bring it to a stop.


Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Pendine Sands, Pendine Carmarthenshire Wales,UK
Photo credit: © Daniel Valla FRPS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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