Don Vesco (April 8, 1939 – December 16, 2002) was an American businessman and motorcycle racer who held multiple motorcycle land-speed and wheel-driven land speed records. In his lifetime, he set 18 motorcycle and 6 automobile speed records. His accomplishments recognized by the

American Motorcyclist Association The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is an American nonprofit organization of more than 200,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights. Its mission statement is "to promo ...

include winning the United States motorcycle Grand Prix 500 cc class in 1963, operating a California motorcycle dealership that sponsored up to 60 racers at a time, and setting a number of motorcycle and automobile land speed records.

Speed records

His motorcycle land speed records were set in 1970 at in a twin-engined

streamliner A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating wikt:streamline, streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "High-speed rail, bullet trai ...

" Big Red", becoming the first person to ride faster than 250 mph; in 1975, when he pushed past the milestone for the first time with " Silver Bird"; and in 1978 at in a twin- turbo powered streamliner " Lightning Bolt", a record that stood for 12 years. In 2001, he set the FIA

wheel-driven land speed record Land speed racing is a form of motorsport. Land speed racing is best known for the efforts to break the absolute land speed record, but it is not limited to specialist vehicles. A record is defined as the speed over a course of fixed length, aver ...

of in a turboshaft powered streamliner called "Turbinator"., although the record has since been eclipsed. Brother Rick improved the "Turbinator," and current Vesco driver Dave Spangler averaged in 2018. Vesco died in 2002 from prostate cancer.

Other designs

In addition to his own land speed record vehicles, Vesco had a consulting role in other streamlined vehicles. One was Max Lambky's

Vincent Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

-engined

Lambky Liner The Lambky Liner is a motorcycle land-speed record Streamliner motorcycle, streamliner designed by Navy veteran and Vincent motorcycle restorer Max Lambky from Kansas, United States. It reached a top recorded speed of at the 2007 International Mo ...

streamliner. Another was the "Project 200" streamliner designed by his business partner, Matt Guzzetta, and speed tested by Vesco at El Mirage Dry Lake. Project 200 both competed in the Craig Vetter Fuel Economy Challenge, and in 1983, performed an American coast-to-coast transit without refueling, sponsored by '' Motorcyclist'' magazine. Vesco also designed aftermarket motorcycle accessories including extended range gas tanks for offroad motorcycles sold through Don Vesco Products, which also had a line of motorcycle fairings called "Rabid Transit" designed by Guzzetta.

Honors

Vesco was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and posthumously inducted to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2004.

Collections

Vesco's "Big Red" #11 streamliner is part of the

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alabam ...

collection. His #14 streamliner, with a fiberglass body molded around a 22-inch aircraft drop tank, powered by twin supercharged Yamaha XS650 SOHC engines, is on display at the National Motorcycle Museum in Iowa. The "Project 200" fuel efficiency contest streamliner was on display at the San Diego Automotive Museum as of 2011.

Notes and references

Notes

Sources

;Speed records * * * * * * ;Other projects * * * * (Rabid Transit fairing) * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vesco, Don Motorcycle land speed record people American motorcycle racers American motorcycle designers Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Racing drivers from San Diego 1939 births 2002 deaths Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from prostate cancer People from Loma Linda, California Motorcycle racers from San Diego