A Nitromethane fuelled drag racing motorcycle will make an attempt on the FIM elapsed time land speed record over a 1/4 mile later this month, with support from Gates.

Ian King, riding the Gulf Oil Dragracing Top Fuel Bike, will make the record attempt at Elvington Airfield, just outside York in the UK. He needs to run an average time of 8.96 seconds for the ¼ mile distance over two runs, set nearly 20 years ago at the same venue.

Five different drive belts - all designed, manufactured and supplied from Gates standard product range, will deliver the power that the engine needs. The primary drive uses a Gates Poly Chain® Carbon™ Volt®14MGT 1400 90 belt, considered to be the best available on the market for the purpose. It transfers the 1500HP power from the engine to the clutch, on to the gearbox and then finally through the driveline to the rear wheel. At the other end of the engine is a Gates PowerGrip® GT3 belt that delivers power from the crankshaft to the supercharger. A second PowerGrip® GT3 belt drives one magneto, the fuel pump and oil pump and a third drives a second magneto. A fifth, much smaller Gates Poly Chain® Carbon™ Volt® belt, drives an additional pulley that configures all of the other belts.

The attempt is fraught with danger. Once the engine power and the torque kicks in at launch, the front wheel leaves the ground and there is no other way to steer the bike other than to use the rider’s own balance and bodyweight. Instability is a major issue during both the acceleration and the braking procedures.

Gates has been a sponsor of the team for nearly 15 years.