World Record Resists First Assault By motorcycle stunt rider David Russell of Australia

The worlds fastest motorcycle speed record BLINDFOLDED, set at 265.33km/hr by Blind Billy 'the Whiz' Baxter of England, withstood a concerted effort by motorcycle stunt rider David Russell on the salt lakes of South Australia last week.

Battling rough and dusty terrain in the South Australian interior to even reach the salt lake was the first hurdle. One hundred and fifty km of dirt road, covered with fine dust and dotted with cattle grids led to the first sight of the pristine white salt flats. Three days of stifling heat, unsatisfactory track conditions and unforeseen hold-ups resulted in only three sighted runs on the main track.

Frustration among the officials and other competitors led to the most important test run being cancelled, and ended hopes of coming home with a record. After two runs exceeding 150mph (240km/hr) it became obvious that salt is not the right surface to be riding on unsighted. The blindfolded rider must be confident that any steering input will have a predictable result - on two occasions even when sighted, steering corrections were unable to be made due to the vagaries of the salt surface.

After many successful unsighted test runs at the World Superbike event at Phillip Is, and the test track at Lake Gairdner , there is no doubt that given the correct venue the record is within reach. The hunt is now on for a suitable airstrip - look out Blind Billy!

The record attempt is supported by the following sponsors: Honda motorcycles (safety bike) Challenger motors (Baehr intercoms) O'Donnell Optical (sunglasses) IDSDI Productions (photography & technical support)