On the back wheel for a kilometre at 190mph+ the goal of motorbike wheelie world champions

Riding on the back wheel for a kilometre at over 190mph for a kilometre is the goal of motorcycles bidding to be the wheelie world champion. This can be seen over and over again at the 10th World Wheelie Championship set to take place in England in mid-August. Up to 30 top competitors from the USA, UK, France, Holland and Ireland will be competing for the world title. Success depends on exclusively the rider’s high-level skill, which is used to control the speed and balance of the motorcycle. This is no mean feat as some of these retro fitted machines are the most powerful in the world.

Thousands of spectators are expected at the motorcycle World Wheelie Championship that takes place on August 15th. and 16th. in England. The participants will ride very powerful customised motorbikes with some rated at 450 horsepower if turbo charged viewed by thousands of spectators. The winner and world record holder will be the fastest to complete a kilometre in the wheelie position. Success depends on the rider’s high level skill to control the speed and balance of the motorcycle as no electronic or mechanical aids can be used.

Tony Robinson on a Harley Davidson at Elvington Airfield, Nth. Yorkshire (Naomi Fountain) 

The top wheelie riders at the event will be current record holder Egbert Van-popta from Holland who achieved 199mph wheelie in 2015. Also present will be Ted Brady from Ireland who is the second fastest and who is expected to speedy down the runway at over 190mph. Representing GB will be Dave 'Dodge' Rogers, previous World Wheelie Champion, who conceived and is the original driving force behind the World Wheelie Championship.

The World Wheelie Championship is organised by Straightliners and takes place at Elvington Airfield, North Yorkshire, England. Straightliners is affiliated to the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) and the International Organisation of Professional Drivers (IOPD). Rider participation including record ratification and timing is administered by to UK Timing Association (UKTA).  Both Straighliners and UKTA were set up by renowned motorcycle racer Trevor Duckworth.

Speaking about the World Wheelie Championship ‘Dodge’ said “In the early days of wheelie world records it was dominated by an elite few with high powered turbo bikes. Working with Straighliners we wanted to also involve the average guy on his sports bike. The rules for the World Wheelie Championship has achieved this by attracting serious motorcycle riders from all walks of life.”

Media enquiries to Tom Burns worldreachpr@gmail.com