A motorcycle racer trying to top 300 mph (482 kph) died after losing control and zooming off a runway at a former US air base.
Bill Warner, 44, was clocked at 285 mph (458 kph) before he lost control, said Tim Kelly, race director for the Loring Timing Association.
Mr Warner was conscious and talking after the crash but died about 75 minutes later, Mr Kelly said.
Riding his modified turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa, Mr Warner previously hit 311 mph (500 kph) on the same course in 2011, using 1.5 miles of pavement. That is considered to be the world land speed record for a conventional motorcycle, Mr Kelly said.
“No one will touch Bill’s achievements or be the type of racer he was,” Mr Kelly said.
This time he was trying to hit 300 mph using just a mile of pavement, Mr Kelly added.
Mr Warner crashed during the Maine Event, an annual timed speed event that uses the runway at a former Strategic Air Command base that closed in 1994.
