|
|
|
| Sal Spatafora on the N/A 1507cc Hayabusa |
With organized land speed racing spreading like wildfire here in South Florida, a new LSR association has set aim to
push the envelope. TOP GUN RUN (www.topgunrun.com) is primarily a supercar event, but has just recently opened it's doors
a little wider to include motorcycles as well.
This prestigious event takes place at The Miami Mile (Dade-Collier Airport), a relatively new 2 mile airstrip originally
meant to be the world's largest supersonic jet airport. With the end of the Concorde program, the lofty airstrip plans evaporated
into the hot sticky swamp air surrounding it. The abandoned airstrip was picked up by the US military and is currently used
as a training facility, but this last sunday it transformed into a proving ground for some of the fastest rides on the planet.
I arrived at the track at around 7:15am where I was kindly greeted with a friendly smile and handed an event schedule
which included a detailed map of the complex with letters marking where everything can be located on the grounds.
Right off the bat, I witnessed the meticulous nature of the staff as they worked diligently and methodically while setting
up the timing equipment to ensure absolute accuracy. Pass after pass, the few early birds and myself watched a yellow Lamborghini
Gallardo and silver Porche 911 cut through the air down the track until the lights were perfect. I spoke with the event organizer,
Mr. Ivan Ho, and he expressed to me the pride his organization takes in timing accuracy. Needless to say.... I didn't need
to hear it, I could see it first hand. Interestingly, they took the weather into consideration and set up the track according
to the wind direction, ensuring mother nature holds us in her gracious favor.
The event schedule was as follows:
8:00am - Tech Inspection
8:45am - Airstrip goes HOT
9:00am - Breakfast
12:30pm - Lunch
5:30pm - 1 mile mark will be moved out to 1.25 miles (yes, you read that correctly!!!)
6:30pm - Event trophy and speed certificate presentation
The weather forecast was printed on the event schedule, calling for a high of 74*F with winds coming from the west at
10-20mph, making for a perfect tailwind. At around 9 am, the wind sock popped a little blue pill and pointed at the timing
lights with conviction for most of the day.
Fellow Ace Performance team member, Dale Bledsoe showed up with "The Alpha Dog" ZX-12R along with our pit crew,
Dana, Orlando, and Al. With the conditions getting better by the minute, we feverishly worked on prepping Dale's 12R, attending
to some very last minute details. Sal was still back at the garage working on the 1507cc stroker Busa, running on only a few
hours sleep after having been up till 3:00am the night before turning wrenches.
A victim of his own success, Sal and Ace Performance have been swamped with bikes and engines from all over the country
as well as locally. There simply hasn't been time for the team racebikes and the neglect has left both Dale and Sal completely
unprepared. In fact, there was question as to whether or not to even bother showing up. Like always, the competitiveness of
the team wouldn't allow these good conditions to pass them by... so we kept plugging away in the pits while Sal buttoned up
the Busa at the shop and loaded up the trailer.
We get the 12R ready to roll, only one tiny problem now..... the team fuel is with Sal. So we waited in the pits half
cocked with itchy trigger fingers and an empty gas tank until around 2pm when he finally arrived. Now with fuel in the 12R,
Dale suits up and runs up to the starting line to make a quick shakedown/dial-in pass. He was met with a crowd of spectators
which began whipping out their camera phones snapping pictures like paparazzi while the event film crew circled the bike taking
footage from all angles. The starter approached the bike to give him the go-ahead, and off went Dale into the distance. About
halfway down the track, the wind picked up and began blowing him over to the right extremely hard. The crowd got tense as
it looked like Dale may be heading off the track, but he quickly recognized that the run needed to be aborted and he let off
around the 3/4 mile mark.
Back in the pits, Sal and Co. run into an unforeseen snag on the Busa, causing yet another long delay. Nothing seemed to be
going our way and to make matters worse, the strong winds started to come and go rather than hold steady. It's 4:45pm now,
the Busa is almost ready and the 12R seems to be hitting an early rev limiter. So we regear the 12R for 223mph and hope it's
enough to stay off the rev limiter in 6th.
Eventually, both bikes make it up to the line with "band-aids" and fingers crossed. The wind calmed down a bit and
was blowing 8-10mph from the rear. Sal jumps on the Busa, does a quick burnout for the crowd as they start doing their best
impression of japanese tourists. First pass off the trailer....should have been a shakedown run, but there's no time for a
second chance, it's all or nothing...... it's showtime.
He leans up on the tank, slowly brings up the rpm's and pulls the trigger. Twenty seconds later, the radio comes alive and
the announcer screams out "223.330mph!!!". The crowd goes nuts with whistles, clapping, and shouts of praise coming
from all sides. With that pass, Sal had just set the fastest recorded speed on a 1507cc Hayabusa, bumping up the previous
record of 222mph set by Rick Stetson on Dave O's legendary 1507 Busa at Maxton some years back.
Next up, the Alpha Dog 12R. Same deal... one run, that's it.... better make it count. He sets up, drops the hammer, then
disappears into the distance. The radio comes on again, the crowd quiets down to listen... "212.846mph!!". Turns
out, Sal hit the early rev limiter just before the mile. Although it beat the previous record of 211mph set by himself last
Jan. going into headwind, he couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment. With the proper rev limiter, gearing, and
the wind conditions.... 217+mph N/A was definitely a realistic possibility.
The track then switched to 1.25mi and we decided to cut our losses and retire the bikes until we can get them better sorted
out. There's always next time and although the day was a wash for Ace Performance, we still managed to come out and bump up
personal bests on both bikes.
Our next event will be April 10th back here at The Miami Mile, only this time we'll have the bikes 100% along with the
long anticipated return of The Shinobi Experiment ZX-12R.
On a side note, we'd like to take time to recognize the newest addition to the Ace Performance pit crew team, "Al".
A veteran of WWII, Al served with the Army as a machine gunner in the south pacific. Given a life expectancy of 2.5 minutes,
Al managed to stretch it out to 3 years. He'd been dive bombed, shelled by artillery, fired at by machine guns, and even shot
down three Japanese "Zero" fighter planes with anti-aircraft machine guns. He later went on to beat cancer.....
twice. Now at 91 years old, he's one of only six men left from his company in the war. Due to his current health, this may
be his last time at the races. We are honored to have such a hero as a member of our team. We will always be inspired by his
story and thankful for his service to our great country.
Ace Performance would like to give thanks to our pit crew, Dana, Orlando, and Al for doing a great job sorting out the bikes.
A Special Thank You to the event directors/organizers Mr. Ivan Ho and Mr. Mario Manzini along with the rest of the Top Gun
Run staff for putting on an amazing event. The enthusiasm, excitement, atmosphere, and professionalism was unmatched by anything
we've ever seen in Land Speed Racing. We can not wait till the next event!!!
For anyone interested in participating or spectating, please visit www.TopGunRun.com for more info.
Thanks for reading
Stay Tuned.....
- Mike
|
