Will Guy Martin be the fastest motorcyclist ever?

As Speed Week returns to Bonneville Salt Flats after a gap of two years, Triumph with Guy Martin will attempt to break the 400mph barrier

The Bonneville Salt Flats must be swarming with fans of top speed records right now for two reasons. One, after ill-timed rain forcing the Speed Week to be cancelled in 2014 and 2015, it is now back on the calendar; and two, this year Triumph will attempt to break the 400mph barrier.

To achieve the feat, the British bike maker has built a 1000hp streamliner, christened Triumph Infor Rocket Streamliner. As the name rightly suggests, it has been fitted with two turbocharged Rocket III engines. Piloting the streamliner will be Isle of Man TT star and television personality, Guy Martin. The duo has already had a successful practice session at the Bonneville Salt Flats late last month, when they recorded a top speed of 274.2mph. This has already made Guy Martin the fastest Triumph rider ever surpassing the previous record of 245.667mph.

Guy Martin said, "I got the hang of steering the thing pretty quickly, then it was a case of building up speed. Wind is a big thing out here, so it's not a case of just jumping in and twisting the throttle.”

Thanks to their streamliners like Devil’s Arrow, Texas Cee-gar, Dudek Streamliner and Gyronaut X1, Triumph has held the title of the ‘World’s Fastest Motorcycle’ from 1955 to 1970, with the exception of a brief 33-day period.

The 25.5 feet long machine will fall under the streamlined motorcycle world record category, where Martin will attempt to beat the current two-wheeled land speed record of 376.63mph to regain the title of the World’s Fastest Motorcycle.

We at AutoX wish Triumph and Guy Martin the best of luck. Godspeed!um