Images: NZ Competitors at Bonneville Speed Week

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Sunrise on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The tracks are open and the teams waiting in the pits have been released - Bonneville Speed Week 2009, Tuesday 11th August 2009, Bonnveville Salt Flats Utah, USA. Photo: David Ayres.

The New Zealanders and Australian competitors are causing quite a stir at Bonneville again this year edging up on several records.

There is a press release below is from Team Black Thunder.

Also running is Nick Bilton (NZ) who is chasing the 2000cc P-PP record which is currently 145.048 Mph. So far Nick, whose bike is engineered by his sister Mitch, has run at

1st run on 10/08/09, 138.540 Mph

2nd Run on 10/08/09, 139.328 Mph

Hard work on setup has continued thoughout the day and another run is planned in the morning (Utah time).

The full collection of images for all competitors can be viewed at http://www.motorsportmedia.co.nz/gallery.php?gid=398

Key words for Australian and New Zealand competitors are set. More images will be added tomorrow.

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Dean Veale - Helensville New Zealand - 2000 Suzuki 1580cc - Lines up for the second run required to break the record - Bonneville Speed Week 2009, Tuesday 11th August 2009, Bonnveville Salt Flats Utah, USA. Photo: David Ayres

Press Release August 10th 2009 – Bonneville Salt Flats USA

August 10th 2009 at World Famous Bonneville Salt Flats Speed Week in the USA proved to be a successful day for the Black Thunder Racing Team .Alan Thoresen is running Black Thunder ZX14 in 1650cc MPS-F (modified partial streamline fuel class). Present record stands at 214 mph. This morning Alan ran 198.080 mph on the short course just 16mph short of the needed speed for a world land speed record.

Alan is well known in Drag Racing in NZ, and holds the No 1 Title for Modified Bike for 2009.

Dean Veale ran 193 mph against a 191.6 record taking him to impound for the night, in the morning at 6am (Aug.11,2009) Dean will be doing his back up run to claim the record for AG (special construction) 1650cc.

This is Dean’s first visit to Bonneville, and he was invited by Alan to accompany the Black Thunder Team who are on their third race campaign to Bonneville with the Kawasaki ZX-14 “ Black Thunder”. Dean is also well known in Drag Racing in NZ, as he holds the No 1 Title for competition bike.

Racing at the 61st Bonneville Speed Week continues tomorrow with both Alan and Dean running to improve their speeds over the next few days.

August 11th 2009

Dean Veale ran his back up run for the A-G 1650cc Record on his Hayabusa Special Construction bike named “The White Elephant” but missed out on his record by half a mile per hour. Unfortunately the track conditions on the short course were not as good as the previous day, and traction became an issue for most competitors.

Alan Thoresen ran his Kawasaki ZX-14 “Black Thunder” on the same short course and also suffered traction problems with a speed of 188.530mph which was down on his run the day before of 198.080 miles per hour.

Both Alan and Dean elected to run on the Special Course and found far better traction and as a result Alan ran his best speed of 198.702 mph at a density altitude of 6277ft, and Dean again managed to qualify for his record class at 197mph against a 191mph record.

The “White Elephant” has gone in to impound tonight and will run first thing in the morning to back up his record attempt.

The Black Thunder Team will be trying some new variables to look at pushing the speed of the Kawasaki ZX-14 up closer to the record of 214mph.

Alan Thoresen who rides the Kawasaki ZX-14 is from Hamilton, New Zealand and is aged 54.

The Black Thunder Team consists of Alan Thoresen, Violet Thoresen, - Team Driver and PR, and Andy Goodridge from Te Awamutu who is Crew Chief for 2009.

Dean Veale who rides the The “White Elephant” is 44 Years old and is from Kaukapakapa , north of Auckland.

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