Becci ‘ANGELPAWS’ Ellis
WORLDS FASTEST WOMAN ON 2 WHEELS

From the beginning…

 

Becci Ellis has been involved with motorcycles for just about all her life so she really didn’t have any excuse for not falling in love with them.

There wasn’t such a thing as a CBT when she decided to go for a full license; you had a 6-week course on a Thursday evening and Saturday morning. It wasn’t long after she completed her training she had her
test and passed, jumping straight onto a Suzuki GS550.

Becci loved the training side of things so much she volunteered her time helping and supporting instructors teaching basic handling skills and would go off on weekend runs with the learners to help them gain confidence on the road.

As the years went by Becci had ridden thousands of miles up and down the country and abroad as well as enjoying the freedom that riding her motorcycle gave her.
When she was 25 she was offered some part time instructing at a motorcycle training establishment in Yorkshire where they had started teaching the new CBT training course as well as off road motorcycle skills on 10 Acres of land it owned.

After working there about 18 months, Becci was offered a full-time job, having helped develop the training establishment from the ground up.
She spent over10 years teaching learners to ride motorcycles from absolute beginners up to advanced levels on and off the road and after being one of the first instructors to complete training at Cardington, she also taught the Direct Access route for those riders who wanted to gain a licence to ride a larger motorcycle rather than being restricted to smaller bikes for two years.

Becci quotes “I never did total the number of miles I covered on a motorcycle throughout these years but an estimate would be around 75 – 80 thousand miles and that was just the training miles so I guess with personal mileage too it will have been well over the 100-thousand-mile mark by the time I stopped teaching”.

It was during this time Becci met Mick (her husband) who she trained up to become one of the CBT instructors.

Mick introduced her to ‘Sprinting’ with the ‘National Sprint Association’ where he himself had competed and achieved many world records.

They acquired a Suzuki RGV250 in Black and she started Sprinting/Drag racing. Those were the days when a chock was put behind the rear wheel of your bike, there was a scratched out start line on the tarmac and a set of simple lights to tell you when to go.

Becci went on to running her bike in many events with the NSA winning many plaques and trophies along the way. One of Events she won was a knockout competition held at Esholt near Yeadon, Leeds.
Becci recalls “I remember coming back down the road towards the pits after winning the knockout competition and a load of the big guys came and dragged me off my bike, taking it away to one side and then throwing me up in the air 3 times cheering. Apparently, this is what was done if you won the knockout competition… (No one ever told me though)”.
At the trophy presentation at the end of the event Becci was presented with a special shield from Charley Butterworth, now Chairman of the NSA and MCN who were there recording the event interviewed Becci which later was published in their paper.

 

Becci was introduced to Trevor Duckworth who Mick had known since he was 19 years old and learned about the new company that Trevor had formed. Trevor started up Straightliners to run Drag racing events at Elvington, Melbourne in York and Santa Pod Raceway. The bikes competing with Straightliners were more modern, bigger and faster than the NSA and as well as running quarter mile drag racing events they also held record events at Elvington land speed events along the length of the runway in both directions and had to be completed within an hour, then those two runs would be added together an average was calculated to see if a record was established or broken.

Becci competed in the quarter mile drag racing for many years but when it was possible entered any land speed event that Straightliners held in particularly the standing mile.

“I’ve always had a passion to be the best at something and it became obvious to me that I wanted to be the fastest woman on 2 wheels” says Becci.

Bought originally to provide spare parts for their quarter mile Drag Bike, Becci decided to test the performance of the first generation ‘T’ registration standard Suzuki Hayabusa at the first Top Speed event held at Woodbridge in 2008; setting a time of 183.1mph and winning the trophy for ‘Fastest Lady’ inspired her to continue competing over the full season in all the Top Speed rounds, reaffirming her ‘Fastest Lady’ title at each event. In the final round at Elvington, she pushed her machine to achieve 183.4mph in 35-40mph crosswinds; this outstanding performance landed her in second place in her class, and the trophy for overall ‘Lady of Speed’ for 2008.

This was only the beginning of her dream and her goal started with breaking the 200mph barrier

Combining a life-long passion for motorcycles with many
years riding experience as a professional motorcycle
instructor and on Team BDR’s black Suzuki Hayabusa
rewarded Becci Ellis, ‘Angelpaws’, with the ‘Fastest Lady’
award at every Straightliners Top Speed event:
2008 with 183.4mph
2009 with 193.5mph
2010 saw a well-earned 192.4mph after a fellow top
speed rider lent his machine, a Kawasaki 1400cc, to Becci as she and Mick had moved house and her bike
was still in storage, even though she had not ridden a bike at all that year, this was a great achievement.

Determined to achieve 200mph, in 2011 Becci ran a personal best with 198.7mph at Elvington, barely stopping at the end of the breaking area, just the last few feet bringing the bike safely to a standstill 6 foot onto the grass. Phenomenal! Only 0.2mph under the fastest ever recorded speed done by a woman on Elvington runway.

SCUNTHORPE Local News Paper
Full speed ahead for Becci

A Scunthorpe contract employee has proved that she has nerves of steel as she wowed the crowds at Elvington Air Field with near National record breaking speeds on her Top Land Speed racing bike.
Speed demon Becci Ellis, Inventory specialist for Stores, on 21 August, won the Fastest Lady award in motorcycle Top Land Speed racing – meaning she has retained the title since 2008 – when she reached a personal best speed of 198.7mph. This breakneck speed is just 0.2mph off the long-standing record at Elvington for fastest female top speed motorcycle racer.

Speaking about the achievement, Becci said: “It was phenomenal! I barely stopped at the end of the braking area and ended up six feet onto the grass!”

Not content with her Fastest Lady title, Becci has her sights firmly set on smashing the 200mph barrier next season.

“It’s like a craving,” she said. “Once I’ve completed one top speed run, I can’t wait for the next.”
With the aim of competing in the National Top Land Speed Records attempt in 2012, the motorcycle, now the season is over, will be having a total overhaul and will be rebuilt adding a turbo kit to gain more power from the 1300cc engine.

SCUNTHORPE Local News Paper. 2012 season
“Biker Becci blasts into record books”

A Scunthorpe employee is still beaming from ear to ear after she achieved her dream of smashing the 200mph barrier on her motorbike last month.

Daredevil Becci Ellis, Inventory Management Specialist Stores, became one of the fastest ladies in Europe when she reached 225.4mph at a recent Top Speed Tuesday event at Elvington Airfield. Becci said: “I managed to get to 198.7mph last year, but I knew that I could break 200mph. “Since May my team and I have been working on the bike, fine tuning it. On the day, conditions were perfect – no rain and a slight breeze behind me.” The impressive speed, which Becci achieved on a Suzuki Turbo Hayabusa, looks set to make her the one of the fastest woman on a motorbike in the world.

Becci said: “For me it’s not about the ranking – although that is great – but the feeling of personal achievement. I’ve already stripped my bike down to refresh it and try to improve on my speed again next year.”

Stuart Longmuir, Manager Stores, said: “What a fantastic, but also pretty scary, achievement. We are all really pleased for Becci who has shown real determination to achieve her goal. She also shows that same drive to succeed at work so we all know it is only a matter of time before she goes even quicker!”

On Christmas morning, 25 December 2012 Becci was given one of the best presents ever
from her husband Mick. Wrapped up was a GT35 Turbo, high performance pistons & rods
and a load of other bits and bats that came with the kit to build her a special turbo tuned
Hayabusa.

It wasn’t going to happen overnight and both Becci & Mick was aware that her bike
might not be ready for the start of the seasons Top Speed Monday test & Tune day in
March 2013.
Then disaster struck, Mick severely hurt his back, which caused him to be immobile for
nearly 4 months. The bike build was on hold. With other rider’s speeds increasing all the
time the frustration of getting her own bike on the track was starting to get her down.

As the months went by all she could do was watch and support her fellow racers
spending most of her time photographing them. The only thing keeping Becci busy this
year was being the official photographer for Straightliners, photographing the events
they held over the year.
Tony Foster, a former member of Team BDR who sadly died in 2014, had just had his
second turbo Hayabusa engine refreshed by Mick and offered Becci a ride on it at the top
speed meetings in May & June. Becci was honoured and managed to achieve top speeds
of 231.1 mph in May and albeit against a few side winds, achieved 224mph in June. With
the biggest meeting coming up shortly in August 2013, she was hoping and praying that
her bike would be ready. Together with help from friends and colleagues from Team
Mess, European Champion Drag racer Rick Stubbins & technical support from Motec
wizard Brad O’Connor – BTC – Moto, they finally finished the build in time.

Unfortunately, the August meeting was dampened down with bad weather so fast speeds
were not on the cards but gained some technical information from the runs to set the
bike up for the next event in a few weeks’ time.
September arrived, the next event was held at RAF Woodbridge where after slightly damp
conditions and a few teething problems ironed out Becci managed 227.3mph.
To finish 2013 off the final top speed event was back at Elvington in November, Becci
smashed all her personal bests that she had achieved and ran 237.7mph; this was
fantastic way to end the season.

2014
After the winter break it’s always great to get back on the bike and in March the season
started at Elvington Airfield and although the weather was cool it was a pleasant day, with
only a slight breeze it was dry.

First run felt so comfortable and smooth. Returning to the pits the team reported that Becci had just run 235.6mphWhat a fantastic start to 2014. Staying calm and checking the logs they upped the boost and prepared the bike for the second run.

Heading back into the pit area after her second run Becci said “I see my team with smiles on their faces. This has to be good news”. Becci gave Mick and the team a breakdown of the run and then was told how fast she had gone; 239.2 mph……. Becci jumping up and down with delight, “Wow, another PB and only 0.8mph off 240 mph” she shouted, her heart was pounding with excitement and an adrenaline rush.

Mick plugged the bike Motec logger system into the computer and downloaded the data.
Everything looks fantastic, everything doing what it should be doing. This ended up a
perfect day, with a brand new PB under her belt and awarded as the fastest rider at that
meeting the team was going home on a high.

On 17th May 2014 was when Becci became the first woman to get a British National Record with the Official Speed Record Club. She had to run both directions on the runway within an hour of the first run and then an average was then taken of the 2 speeds. Previously the record stood at 231mph held by Mike Grainger and Becci broke that record with a speed of 233.21 mph. The Speed Record Club list for British National Records had only 16 people listed, which includes Donald Campbell who was one of the fastest in the world on land and in water before he died.

Before the end of this event Becci managed to smash her personal best yet again with a
241.9 mph run. This was a perfect end to a weekend of personal achievements not only for
herself but for the bike and her team. Becci said “We were now set up with all the
information and we have the confidence that we could go even faster, the bike will get a
thorough check over which also would entail the tyre’s being removed and checked for
wear and tear by Andy Gilderson from A18 and Michelin themselves”.

On Tuesday 17 June 2014 Becci became the Fastest Woman in the World on the Turbo
Hayabusa built by her husband, with a record-breaking speed of 248.5mph (400kmph).
The previous record was 243.6mph held by Jennifer Robertson in America. Not only did
Becci break the world record but she actually did it twice within half an hour of each run,
firstly at 247.4mph and then finally at 248.5mph. It was also announced that she had
broken the track record on this runway as the fastest woman ever on 2 wheels.

“I was absolutely buzzing and so proud of my husband and team for building me this
record-breaking bike, it’s a dream come true” said Becci. She has been contacted by
people from all over the world congratulating her and the team even had an interview
with Look North Television, she said “It’s one of the best feelings I have ever experienced
and one I will never forget”.

16 – 17th August 2014
GUINNESS World Wheelie and Top Speed Records

The weekend of the World Wheelie and Top Speed Records had arrived at last. The team arrived at the airfield on Friday night to set up the pit area and settle down for the evening. The new colour of the bike had been kept a secret and the reveal would be on Saturday morning.

The weather report was looking pretty good for the weekend although the wind predicted was going to be very strong with gusts between 20 – 30mph. Saturday morning arrives, it’s been a little stormy overnight with the wind and the rain. Although it was overcast it was perfect racing conditions, fairly cool and the wind was coming straight down the track. The wind metre was saying 10 to 15mph gusts so this was going to help with the top speeds although there were some WSW gusts at times. Becci’s bike was unloaded from the van and the paintwork by Apache Paints revealed at last. It got the approval from all.

10.00am all riders and their crew were called to the pit gates for a ‘riders briefing’ given by Trevor Duckworth, Straightliners Proprietor and event organiser. We are now ready to run. The first run would be a shake-down run on the same settings that Becci ran the 248.5mph run on back in July. Returning to the pits the team received their timing card 245.6mph. The bike is thoroughly checked over and the data from the Motec downloaded to the computer to be analysed. Only minimal changes were made to the bike after Becci gave her feedback of how the run went to her team discussing the way the bike felt during the run. With the exception of the strong winds, which were gusting slightly, everything was brilliant she reported.

Becci explains how the second run went.

“At the top of the runway I positioned my bike at the start line, the start-line crewman radios through checking that the track is clear before giving me the signal to set off. The all clear is given and a thumb up from Phil.

Off I go… the power of the engine together with the boost propels me to 100 miles per hour in approximately 3.5 to 4 seconds, shifting through the gears as the revs reach
the maximum RPM we had set, throttle position pinned from 3rd gear all the way through to top gear, I pass the checker boards; easing the throttle off and applying the brakes to slow the bike down enough to stop before I reach the end of the runway, turning right to return to the pits area.

The run felt amazing and I knew it felt really good so was hoping that I have achieved my goal for the weekend going for that 250mph. I turn into the pits area and everyone was clapping their hands and my team beaming, my heart was beating really fast as I brought the bike to a stop just outside our pit area. 260.4mph… OH MY GOD I was absolutely over the moon.

Never mind 250mph, I had exceeded my goal by over 10mph”. She continues, “We couldn’t wait to see what the Motec had logged. After speaking to a lot of people who came to congratulate me including ITV4 with Henry Cole, I got to give my break down of the run to Mick while the rest of the team tended to the bike fuelling, air and all the checks”.

After a long discussion, the team decided that a gearing change was needed as the bike was maxing out the rpm with the set-up it was using.

Mick and Mark ‘WOGGIE’ Wells set to removing the rear wheel of the bike to change the sprocket and the bike was again set up for another run. This run would be another shakedown run to get the feel of the bike and check the settings for Sunday as it was getting late on in the day. That run gave Becci a speed of 257.9mph and felt great so they knew they had a good setup for Sunday.

Sunday morning arrives, the sun is shining.

After another rider briefing by Trevor the meeting started. The wheelie
bikes took themselves off up to almost the top of the runway where
again the start-line crewman was waiting at the start of the measured
mile.

The bike was getting prepared for the first run of the day, with the new
gearing and a slight tweak of the engine, Becci waited patiently until the
last wheelie competitor had completed their run.
The bike was pulled out of our pit area and off she went up to the start.

“I was kindly given first position to run my bike before any of the other
bikes by the riders as they appreciated I had to try keep my heated-up
tyres as warm as possible as instructed by Michelin.
Off I go… the immense power of the bike from first to second was noticeably stronger but I kept it going, changing gear and pulling back on the throttle till it
would not twist any further I knew then it was at 100%, I flew through the
checker boards. This time the wind caught me slightly as I shut the throttle off making me drift slightly to the right but I was okay. It took a bit more to stop the bike this time using almost all the runway.

I turned off the main runway making my way back to the pits. Again, I was getting
the thumbs up and my crew were grinning. 261.6mph, absolutely brilliant, I could hardly speak…”

Henry Cole who was recording for his TV program at this event was
totally blown away by the speed Becci had just done and asked if he could do an interview with her and Mick which was included in his program ‘The Motorbike Show’. Could this weekend get any better for Becci and Team BDR.

The bike was triple checked over and the data collected from the Motec Management logger. Everything was reported as performing perfectly.
The wind was noticeably stronger, showing up to 28mph gusts at times, veering 90 degrees making stability of the bikes on the runway difficult at times. The bike was prepared ready to go at a moment’s notice. All the Top speed riders were called to the pit gate once more as the last few wheelie guys finished their runs.

Phil, the start-line marshal radio’s through once more asking for the all clear.
He gives Becci the thumbs up to go… Focusing on the runway ahead she selected first gear, Becci recalls her memory of this run “taking a deep breath, I pulled back the throttle as I released the clutch, the back tyre gripped and the bike launched forward with such immense power, reaching the max rev limit set in the Motec management, I change in to second gear, continuing to pull back on the throttle I reach the rev limit once more, shifting into third gear the throttle reaches 100%; 4th gear then 5th gear and finally sixth gear selected ( all gear changes done in just 9 seconds) keeping the throttle pinned wide open at 100% the bike feels very stable and smooth then approximately 300yards from the checker boards a gust of wind just catches me, I ease the throttle off slightly and immediately the bike stabilised; I wind the throttle back to 100% all within a split second… the checker boards seem to be a blur as I blasted past them, shutting the throttle off letting the engine slow the bike down first then applying the brakes steadily increasing the
pressure.

The end of the runway seems to be getting closer much quicker than on previous runs, I
squeeze the breaks a little harder… I’m getting very close to the end of the runway and I continue to brake progressively trying to bring the bike to a complete stop. In a split second I made the decision to run onto the grass area rather than brake far too hard on uneven and broken surface at the end of the runway. The bike still travelling at a fair speed bumped off the end of the runway onto the field, I released the brakes and after about 25 to 30 yards on quite uneven ground the bike came to a stop. My heart pounding, OMG… WOW WOW WOW “…

With the engine stopped and unable to push the bike off the grass on her own Becci waited for the next rider to finish their run to assist her getting her machine back onto the runway. Riding back up the return road to the pits she was aware that people where clapping as I entered the pits, turning into where her crew were pitched just about everyone was waiting clapping and cheering. Becci say’s “My heart was pounding ten to the dozen. I didn’t even get to park the bike up as my team member Alan Krapa Brown whipped it from me and the timing card shoved in front of my face by Mick… 264.1mph I could hardly believe my eyes; I was unable to speak… this had become more
than a dream for me…”

 

BDR Performance Engineering – Mick Ellis

So, what about the man from BDR Performance Engineering who built this phenomenal bike and what are the technical details.

BDR Mick Ellis started drag racing back in the 1970s struggling to race home built machines on limited finance. Together with lifelong friend Trevor Duckworth, there was only one thing to drive their passion…. World Records. Mick’s dedication and full on commitment helped him in achieving many successes with the National Sprint Association and Straightliners.
The first run on the ladder was to win the 250cc championship in the mid 70s. After winning many more championships, a few years later it was declared that Mick was riding the fastest ever 250cc 2stroke petrol burner in the world.

From there the motor was fitted to a 3-wheeled cycle-car which took 2 years to build and at the end of his first full season in 1981, Mick took the 350cc World Record over the standing 1/4 mile with his Suzuki 252cc tuned motor.
This inspired Mick to want to go even faster and over the next 2 years his 3-wheeled cycle-car was developed and made ready for a records meeting in October 1983.
This records meeting ended in catastrophe when on his return run the cycle-car flipped and rolled down the runway, spitting Mick out mid crash. Mick’s injuries were so server that it took over a year to recover from this high-speed crash.

During the recovery time, his friend Trevor Duckworth took the seat after that and went on to take several world records on Mick’s machine. After Mick’s brother Tim took a record on this machine in the late 80s, the bike was retired. It wasn’t till 1993 that Mick returned to racing with Straightliners and his wife Becci.
After a steep learning curve fitting a turbo to Becci’s Kawasaki ZX600R he went onto build his first Suzuki Hayabusa drag bike. This bike was built normally aspirated with a 10″ slick
and wheelie bars but after half a year running it was screaming out for more power, so a turbo was fitted.

The next step was the fitting of a Motec engine management system at great expense but was shown to be worth every penny as the bike was running 7 second passes on the 1/4 mile drag strips. Mick made a heart-breaking decision to retire from riding his bikes because of his injuries and concentrated on the engineering, building and development of the bike for his brother Tim to ride but in 2007 yet again disaster struck the team as Tim crashed the bike at the end of a run. The damage was mainly cosmetic to the bike but took Tim over a year to recover fully from a badly broken leg.

With the battered bike standing in the garage Mick took the motor from the bike and built a Super Street bike which ran successfully with many 7 second runs over standing start 1/4 mile and achieved many trophies for winning its class and took a few track records too.

It was decided to buy an old Hayabusa to be used for spare parts for the supper street bike but before it was stripped, Becci rode it at a top speed meeting in 2008 at Woodbridge just to see how fast it would go.

That was that, this bike would be developed by Mick & Becci over the next few years, starting normally aspirated for 3 years and then fitting a turbo and Motec system which has lead them to the success in 2014 with a British National Record, Elvington Track Record and breaking the record for being the fastest Woman in the world twice over a standing Mile only to smash that at the World
Wheelie & Top Speed Records event obliterating her previous record with a speed of 264.1mph that now puts her 4th fastest overall in the world over a standing mile.

Becci comments;
“I owe all my achievements over the past years to my husband and BDR Performance Engineering who together has a reputation built on over 35 years engineering
experience, outstanding race performances, numerous World, European and National track records and absolute dedication to Racing, I am proud to be a part of BDR
because it is one of the most innovative performance engineering teams in existence”.

2015

Going into 2015 with the title of the ‘Fastest Woman in the World on 2 wheels’ and the fourth fastest rider in the world, just 30mph behind the fastest speed ever recorded in a standing mile at 297mph, Becci knew that her job wasn’t going to be easy to reach her goal of 270mph but with her team behind her she was going to do her very best.

With a newly rebuilt engine over the winter period the first meeting of the year was at back at Elvington in March where hopes were for fair weather, but with drizzly weather at the start of the day and the report for Elvington Runway 26 being overcast with a light wind blowing in the wrong direction and very cold, the team were not expecting any record breaking runs but just looking at getting the bike and Becci set up, testing and tuning. With on-board camera supplied by the teams sponsor Direct Distribution footage of the runs was going to be extremely helpful for development.
With a new cooling system and more sensors added there would be a little bit more work to do than normal.

5 runs completed with a few minor problems ironed out and only a chain replacement, leaving the airfield having gone 234.231mph the team were happy and ready for the next meeting in April.
Excellent weather for the April Top Speed Tuesday with a 20mph westerly wind was everything the BDR team could wish for. First run out of the van was the best of 5 runs done in that day with a 247.584mph but unfortunately the bike was showing a misfire and was baffling the team’s engine management crew members Rick and Mike. There were also problems with 6th gear as the bike just didn’t seem to want to go in to 6th under power but would under normal power. Bike packed in the van and off back to the
workshop for checking. This was going to be an interesting few weeks sorting out these problems out before the Records meeting in May.

In May 2015, the British National Records brought joy to the team after earlier testing had shown problems with gearing, although not completely ironed out, Becci continued to run high 240/250mph runs finishing her day slightly earlier than expected almost matching her record with a top speed of 263.74mph only to have an engine rattle develop at the very end of that run which turned out to be a valve guide broke and managed to get onto the top of the piston. Engine out and striped.
Back on track in June for another top speed Tuesday getting the bike ready for the August World Record attempts, Becci and the bike were consistently doing high 240-250mph runs finishing June with 255.709 mph.

August 16th/17th Land Speed and Wheelie Records

At this event held at Elvington Nr York tragedy struck. As Becci was travelling down Runway 26 a gust of wind blew her left foot off the footrest approximately 400 metres before the speed trap at the end of the mile causing the bike to become unstable. She fought vigorously to try recovering her leg and stabilizing her bike as she stormed through the speed trap beam at 254mph only to be blown bolt up-right in her seat. Unable to recover from this, Becci made a split-second decision allowing the bike to run off the runway travelling at 165mph into the field keeping the machine going in a straight line
as long as possible which ended up at about 300 metres from the runway before the bike dug in at around 100mph and spat her off over the top, sliding on her front for a further 80 metres.

She miraculously survived practically unscathed with only a broken ankle, some internal bleeding, damaged tendons and torn muscles in her neck shoulders and arms; unfortunately, the bike suffered more serious damaged having toppled end over end for a similar distance to Becci ending up on the unmade access lane at the bottom of the runway smashed to pieces, with only the engine and turbo and engine management box surviving.

2016

In 2016 Mike, Becci’s husband and her team spent 12 months rebuilding her bike, named
‘BUSAPAWS II’ and used all the knowledge and vital information learnt from 2015 to build a more stable, aerodynamic, precision engineered record breaking machine. Becci & Mike paid 90% of the rebuild costs and the rest came from the team, friends and sponsors.

Becci revealed the new bike for the first time at the Yorkshire Air Ambulance Depot in Wakefield where the team that looked after Becci after the crash were thanked for everything they did. This was followed by the official launch of the bike at G T Motorcycles in Plymouth thanks to fellow Land Speed racer Mike Grainger.

Becci remains Un-phased by her ordeal back in 2015 and has pledged to carry on, letting nothing stop her dream of reaching 270mph barrier or as close to it as possible. The whole Team would like to thank all who have supported them throughout and to all the sponsors who without their generous contributions would not have been able to run in 2016 and beyond.
After only a few outings on the newly built bike in 2016, Becci managed to gain another British record for the class she was running in at a speed of 231mph; in June she reached 246.5mph. The new bike suffered from a few teething problems in the first few months racing with a faulty electronic map sensor which eventually failed.
Following electrical repairs and a cylinder head rebuild, testing the bike again at Elvington gave Becci 241mph in 16 seconds before having to shut down because of crosswinds. This satisfied the team the bike was ready for another attempt but unfortunately unfavourable weather conditions at the World Land Speed & Wheelie Records event in August and the Land Speed Records in September held at Elvington on runway two six meant that Becci was unable to improve on her top speed of 246.5mph for 2016 but the team were extremely happy with the performance of the bike and are excited about the 2017 season.

 

2017

Over 2017 BDR Performance Engineering have acquired a new sponsor to help Becci and her machine break the 270mph barrier.

Not satisfied with being the current holder of the record, Becci is now busy preparing for a new attempt to further raise her own record speed. In addition to multiple further mechanical modifications to the previously record breaking Hayabusa, particular attention is now being paid to the aerodynamics of both the bike itself and to the rider.
To get highly accurate data, the staff of Manchester Metrology used a FARO Edge ScanArm HD to undertake the critical scanning routines of the bike and rider.

A 3D model of the scan has now been sent to Northumbria University (Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Department of Mechanical & Construction Engineering lead by Professor Robert Dominy FIMechE, C.Eng, MSAE, PhD, DIC,BSc (Hons) who have provided invaluable assistance in the field of aerodynamic virtual simulation.

LAND SPEED BIKE BUILT AND PREPARED BY BDR PERFORMANCE ENGINEERING 650BHP+ TURBO HAYABUSA USING 119 OCTANE FUEL,WITH PROVEN TOP SPEEDS OF OVER 264.1MPH

 

SPECIFICATIONS

▪ ENGINE: Original
▪ Gen 1 Suzuki Hayabusa 1300cc
▪ Garrett GT35 turbo (Original supplied by GT Turbo’s)
▪ Flowed & polished cylinder head
▪ Woosner low compression pistons
▪ Carrillo conrods
▪ Balanced crank by Alex Macfadzean Balancing Services
▪ Undercut gearbox,
▪ Billet output shaft, with BDR Outrigger
▪ Billet selector shafts,
▪ Upperton lock-up clutch
▪ Redesigned Intake charge cooler,
▪ Standard spark plugs,
▪ 900cc injectors
▪ Original Bosch fuel pump
▪ Remote oil filter
▪ MoTeC M400 ECU & Datalogger (Supplied by BTC Motoronics)
▪ Motec Dashboard (Supplied by BTC Motoronics)
▪ Complete rewire by Mark Wells
▪ BDR exhaust pipes
▪ Silencer by Pipe Werx
▪ 650bhp plus
▪ Using 119 octane fuel.

FRAME:

▪ All New standard Hayabusa frame & subframe, steering geometry altered by John Warrington Motorcycles.

FRONT END: All New Except PFM discs and callipers.
▪ Standard forks, yokes and wheels, forks raised through yokes to lower the front, SBS Pads, PFM Discs and Callipers.

REAR END: All New
▪ Swinging arm 4 inch longer than standard, machined by Graham Sykes Performance Engineering, Nitron shock, Standard wheels, Standard disc & calliper with SBS Pads, EK drag racing chain, All steel (one off) selection of sprockets, various machining by Dave Taylor and Tom Armitage.

BODYWORK: All New
▪ Standard Hayabusa bodywork, race nose panel with no headlight or indicator cut-outs, plus aftermarket seat hump.
▪ Also in 2016, full race fairing supplied by AIRTEK, USA.

PAINT: All New
▪ By Apache Paints, Scunthorpe.

THE TEAM:
BDR Performance Engineering
BECCI ELLIS (Angelpaws) RIDER

Motorcyclist for over 35 years, spending 10 of those years as a motorcycle instructor (being chief instructor for 4 years), Racing for over 27 years, originally with the National Sprint Association, then joining Straightliners where I have achieved more than my dream to become the fastest lady in the world on 2 wheels, the biggest increase since 1978, more than 38 years!

 

Mark Wells Electrical Engineer
Andy Gilderson Tyre Technician
Mick Ellis Team Crew Chief and bike builder
Rick Stubbins Motec and Engine Management
Alan Brown Mechanical Engineer
Maxine Taylor Catering & Entertainments Manager    

TEAM SPONSORS:

▪ Direct Distribution Services (Worldwide)
▪ Manchester Metrology
▪ Northumbria University (Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Department of Mechanical &
Construction Engineering
▪ A18 Motorcycle Tyres (Scunthorpe)
▪ Team Mess Racing (Wigan)
▪ Protek Racing (Scunthorpe)
▪ Straightliners (Huddersfield)
▪ UK Timing Association (Worldwide)
▪ G T Motorcycles (2012) (Plymouth)
▪ PipeWerx Exhausts (Lancashire)
▪ Bennett Motor Services (Scunthorpe)
▪ GSPE Performance Engineering (North Yorkshire)
▪ No Limits Nutrition (Lancashire)
▪ Live To Ride Racewear (Lancashire)
▪ Gilderson Herbert & Long Accountants (Scunthorpe)
▪ Alex Macfadzean Balancing Services (Midlands)
▪ John Warrington Motorcycles (Yorkshire)
▪ G P Tuning (Scunthorpe)
▪ Genspeed Racing UK (York)
▪ Apache Paints (Scunthorpe)
▪ Airtech USA (USA)
▪ Support from The Land Speed Record Club
▪ Motul
▪ SBS
▪ EK Chains
▪ Startline Media (Lancashire)
▪ Image Village – Marketing & Media (Lancashire)
▪ Aron Vickers Photography
▪ Paul Fishwick Photography
▪ Phil Evans Photography
▪ Steve MacDonald Photography
▪ Support from YORKSHIRE & LINCOLNSHIRE AIR Ambulance

FUTURE PLANS

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