Record Breaker Liane Langlois!

Alberta motorcycle racer Liane Langlois has made history by becoming the first-ever Canadian woman to set an official Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) motorcycle Land Speed World Record.

Competing at last week’s Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials (BMST) on the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, the 50-year-old from Edmonton piloted her unfaired, three-cylinder 2012 JKR Powersports 2295cc Triumph Rocket 111 Roadster with weighted sidecar to an FIM World Record of 136.331mph over a timed kilometre.

As well as becoming the first Canadian woman to set an official FIM-accredited motorcycle Land Speed World Record, Langlois – who works as a senior Advisor for Chrysalis: An Alberta Society for Citizens with Disabilities – is now only the fourth Canadian motorcyclist to ever achieve the honour.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Langlois, who has been a BMST regular since 2014. “We did a shakedown pass a couple of days before my record run and I ran 130mph and it felt bumpy, but when it really mattered my down run felt much better. On my return run I wasn’t feeling a lot of traction but I managed to keep it above 135mph for the world record. I’m really excited.”

All record categories are gender-neutral and determined by the method by which the motorcycle is propelled, body kit, power source, capacity and number of cylinders. Riders are measured over both a timed mile and a timed kilometre and after their initial down run they have two hours to complete a return run with the times combined and an average calculated to determine the official speed.

During the annual BMST six-day residency on Bonneville Salt Flats that ran from August 23-28, conditions were not ideal with intermittent rain, unpredictable temperatures and occasional strong winds conspiring to ensure that while many new national American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) records were set, world record-breaking runs accredited by the FIM were in short supply.

In fact, out of upwards of 50 FIM World Record attempts by an international entry of racers who travelled from as far afield as Australia and Japan to compete, only four new records were set,making Langlois’ achievement all the more remarkable.

Already a three-time AMA Land Speed record holder, Langlois – who is the President/Founder of the Alberta Motorcycle Safety Society – also received the coveted She Moto award at the end of the event for her all-round contribution towards inspiring female competitors.

“I love being the only female in Canada doing this,” she added,“but I would love to help grow it and get more women racers out there, kicking butt with the men. It’s an incredible feeling to race at Bonneville and there is something about the salt that keeps drawing me back. It’s addictive.”

The FIM is the global governing body for motorcycle sports with a remit that among many other disciplines also includes MotoGP along with the Superbike, Motocross and SnowCross World Championships. The Swiss-based organization places such prestige on the highly-specialized Land Speed World Records discipline that it sent a team from Europe to Bonneville to monitor record attempts.