Motorcycle, auto speed record holder Don Vesco dies at 63

Wednesday December 18, 2002

SAN DIEGO (AP) Don Vesco, a land-speed record-holder for motorcycles and cars, has died. He was 63.

Vesco died Monday in Scripps Mercy Hospital of prostate cancer.

He set 18 motorcycle and six automotive records during a career that started when he was 16. Among his achievements is the current wheel-driven land-speed record of 458.44 mph. The world land-speed record for all cars is 763.085 mph, set in 1997 by Andy Green in a car powered by two jet engines.

In 1970, Vesco was the first person to ride a motorcycle at more than 250 mph. Five years later he broke the 300-mph barrier on his Silver Bird Yamaha, powered by twin Yamaha TZ750 engines. In 1978, he increased the record to 318 mph on a Kawasaki turbo, a standard that stood for 12 years.

Vesco did most of his tests on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where he and his brother were instrumental in the ``Save the Salt'' effort to preserve the longest and straightest stretch in the country.

Vesco had his share of high-speed spills, including a 1986 accident that sent his car 30 feet in the air and broke his neck. He also lost an eye when he was hit by a rock while watching a sprint car race in 1996.

Vesco was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, and in April he and his brother were named ``Car Guy of the Year'' by the automotive industry at its eAuto World Conference.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)