quote:
From http://drive.fairfax.com.au/content/20010831/news/news3.html
German Dirk Auer won't settle for a circuit of the park on his inline skates. He likes his high-speed runs blistering and buffeting – he clocked 270km/h hanging grimly off the saddle of a motorbike and aims to reach 300, to match the speed he has clocking clinging to the rear spoiler of a Porsche racer.
Auer's skates have prototype wheels developed by Dunlop to withstand the rigours and extreme temperatures.
After the run behind the Kawasaki ZX-12R at Germany's Lauritzring Eurospeedway, an ecstatic Auer said, "When we first started talking to Kawasaki we were planning about 260km/h – 270 was just a bonus!"
The rider, World Superbike ace Akira Yanagawa, was a little more realistic about the whole attempt. "I thought I was crazy, but now I've met someone crazier than me!"
Auer, the undisputed champ of top-speed inline skating, and Yanagawa are finessing their technique to reach the 300km/h mark.
Anyone care to come up with a suitable epitaph for this guy's (rapidly approaching) headstone?
"He had it coming" is the best I have managed so far.
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