Land speed racers gunning for records on Loring runway

LIMESTONE, Maine – Seventy-two racers with a need for speed broke records and reunited with old pals at the former Loring Air Force Base this week.

Every summer and fall, the Loring Timing Association holds four days of races where folks compete on their own souped-up motorcycles or in cars and trucks for a chance to score major bragging rights.

Loring’s two-and-a-half mile runway has become the ideal venue for various forms of racing, including land sailing held every spring and fall. The Loring Timing Association, which organizes and oversees the events, has held races there since 2009. It’s the only land speed track located east of the Mississippi River, said Race Director Joe Daly. Other yearly land speed races are held in Utah, Texas and Arkansas.

Unlike most competitions, land speed racers are not timed against each other. Instead, they are seeking to beat their own speed records and chase the elusive 311 miles per hour world record set in 2011 by the late motorcyclist Bill Warner of Wimauma, Florida.

As of Friday afternoon, there had been no vehicle accidents or driver injuries, Daly said.

Land speed racing is typically considered a safe sport but Loring Timing Association added new inspection requirements after an accident claimed Warner’s life in 2013 while he attempted to surpass 300 miles per hour.

“This has been the best event we’ve ever had,” Daly said Friday. “There have been no vehicle breakdowns in the three days.”

A customized “Bill Warner Boulevard” street sign now stands at the starting line in honor of Warner and the close bonds that form between racers. Fifteen new members were inducted into the 150, 175 and 200-mile-per-hour “clubs” to commemorate their new speed records.

Michael Carter, 54, of Prince Edward Island, Canada, became one of the new members of “the 200 club” during his time racing a 2005 Suzuki motorcycle at Loring. His top speed was 204 miles per hour.

While hanging out near their campers Friday, Carter and fellow racer Domenic Ferlisi, 74, of Montreal, Canada, said they both got interested in land speed racing in their younger days after reading publications like “Hot Rod Magazine.” They raced with friends for fun but never seriously until later in life.

“My first race was in 2019 at Bonneville [Salt Flats in Utah] and I heard about Loring through a friend,” Carter said.

Ferlisi has raced at Loring since 2013, and this year he rode his 1990 Ducati motorcycle. Though he has never topped his record of 139 miles per hour, Ferlisi enjoys the thrill more than the competition.

“It’s the highest high you can get,” Ferlisi said. “This [type of racing] is the best way to learn. You don’t have a sponsor, so everything you get right, you work hard for.”

Racers this year have come as far as California, Virginia, North Carolina and Michigan but the majority come from northeastern United States and Canada, Daly said.

As of Friday, the record speed at this summer’s Loring event was 255 miles per hour set by Gilles Chiasson of Quebec, Canada on his motorcycle.

Some of the most unique entries included a green 1955 Chevrolet driven by Ed Blakeslee of New Jersey and a red electric, 1,002-horsepower Tesla raced by New Hampshire native Stan Adams.

Land speed racing has become a special type of event because of the camaraderie that forms between the racers, Daly noted.

“There are racers within the same class as you who will loan you a part [for your vehicle] so you can beat your own record,” Daly said. “It almost becomes like a family.”