Munro’s need for speed
Motorcycle racer Lee Munro is about to hop on a flight to the United States to compete at speed week at the Bonneville Salt Flats once again.
After competing at the competition last year, and setting his own speed record, Munro, who is the great nephew of the famed Burt Munro, is returning with hopes of putting what he learnt last year to the test.
He is due to head overseas today. Speed week runs from August 11 to 17, but Munro is missing the first few days this year to allow more time to race after others have packed up and left.
The Christchurch-based racer will compete from August 14 to 17.
He planned on racing his Indian Motorcycle later in the week in hopes of getting more runs but that would be at the cost of a rougher surface after other racers had been through it, he said.
Munro said he hoped to crack 200mph. The attempt would not be a record, but was a milestone he was pushing for, he said.
‘‘I’m trying to hit that personal target, that milestone. It’s something I want and what Indian wants. We’ll give it our best.’’
Last year he piloted his custom Indian Scout V-twin to 186.681mph (300.4kmh) to set a record at the El Mirage dry lake-bed speed trials in Southern California, then had an official run of 191.286mph (307.844kmh).
‘‘Last year was a tribute to Burt. What I do is always in the name of Burt.
‘‘You don’t have to be a motorcyclist to be touched by his story.
‘‘I feel privileged to be a relative.’’ Munro’s grandfather’s cousin was Burt Munro, and was always known to the former Invercargill man as ‘‘greatuncle Burt’’.
‘‘I think Burt would be pretty proud to have a young Munro in the scene.’’
Last year was a learning experience for Munro, who said he was taking what he had learnt and putting it into practice this year.
Alterations to his bike were being finalised, including getting the bike running smoothly and making the machine smaller on the sides, leaving less space for Munro to sit.
His bike was just under 1300cc, but was competing in the MPS-G 1350cc class.
MPS-G class means modified partial streaming with a gas/petrol engine
Munro had been in contact with people at the Salt Flats already and was told conditions were looking good.
Weather impacted the surface of the ground dramatically, Munro said.
However, the weather was not the only challenge he was facing – he was also ‘‘riddled with the flu’’.
Despite the challenges, he was looking forward to getting over there and racing.
‘‘The atmosphere is pretty awesome. It’s like nowhere I’ve ever been. You can see for miles and miles.
‘‘Standing on the sidelines you can hear the cars. It’s unreal really – it sends goosebumps down you arms and back.
‘‘I can’t really put it into words how it makes me feel. It’s kind of like a religious person going to church.’’
Munro wouldn’t comment on how much the venture cost, but said he was helped by a range of sponsors.
‘‘Last year was a tribute to Burt. What I do is always in the name of Burt.’’ Motorcycle racer Lee Munro