The World’s Fastest Hamiltonian

By Rasmussen Warwick

Alan Thoresen is preparing to chase his dream — at more than 330km/h.

The Hamilton man is following in the tracks of legendary motorcyclist Burt Munro by tackling a speed record at Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah.

Thoresen, 52, had been planning a trip to the salt flats and the film about Munro — The World’s Fastest Indian — helped “seal the deal”.

“I’m a person who always had a fascination with speed and having turned 50 two years ago I thought it was now or never. And I wanted to go before it got to the situation where I couldn’t.”

Thoresen manages Auckland firm Serada Ltd, which specialises in recreational and marine vehicles. He commutes during the week.

He has reached 338km/h (211mph) in tests on his 1400cc Kawasaki ZX-14 — listed as the most powerful production bike in the world — and hopes to top that in the US with the added propulsion of nitrous oxide. The record for the 1650cc modified gas class is 320km/h.

While the bike has a “stock standard” 1352cc engine, he and Hamilton mechanic Neil Powell have made some minor modifications.

He will travel to Utah, for the first time, with his American wife Violet “as Camp Mother and support crew”, and Powell.

He will start racing in the US on August 11 and will have his last training run at Hamilton International Airport tomorrow morning.

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(c) 2007 Waikato Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.