One equation to a successful attack on the record in 2005 is solved--that is the talent required to ride such an inherently different motorcycle--a streamliner. First the rider must have the desire and the confidence that if someone else can do it he can. He has to have the willingness to listen to those who have "been there and done that" and take their advice, and his physical stature must be such that he can fit in the liner fully suited in his fire suit, gloves, boots, and helmet. When viewing the rider in his battle armor, standing beside the 2.9 square foot frontal area of the missile in which he intends to enter, his first assessment is, "You have to be kidding!" No way Jose is he ever going to get his dough boy silhouette into that machine. Then the magic begins. The canopy is opened. That's a little better. The handle bar assembly is raised, providing a visual inspection of the area below the two obstacles. "You know, that thing is bigger than I thought". Next the rider steps into the void, sitting first, then pulling himself as far forward as possible, bending his neck and squeezing his neck vertebras until a bit of discomfort is felt. His helmet, which has been tube locked against the front portion of the roll bar cage finally gives way to the determined rider to do what it takes to enter the machine. Once this maneuver is practiced two or three times, entering and exiting becomes a piece of cake. What at first appears to be an impossible feat becomes routine. Over the years many of the mechanical aspects at first thought to be impossible have shrunk to miniscule solvable irritants. So hang in there everybody like Yogi would say, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings."

So what is the premise in which I'm stating the rider problem has been solved? As you are aware the 2004 attempt was undertaken with a major handicap in the area of rider qualification. The 2002 attempt was not subjected to this handicap as the riders I put into the seat for Dan Smith's effort with liner number 5 were both allowed to go as fast as the liner would take them. Both Don Vesco and Dave Campos had a class "A" license. This was not the case in 2004. The primary rider, Don Angel, had a class "C" license, or so we thought. This would have allowed him to make a just below 200 MPH pass over the salt for his first ride. This license was earned in 1998, which made it six years old. This fact was the first obstacle to overcome when we arrived on the salt. The scrutineers referred to a rule in the rule book which states that a license that is over four years old is null and void. The driver or rider in our case, must start all over. We were limited to a 150 MPH pass on our first run.

I designated Hartmut as the back up rider for the 2004 attempt. This decision came from a gut feeling that he would be the man for the job. I hit the nail on the head on this one. I couldn't have chosen anyone more capable or enthusiastic. Hartmut took to it like a duck to water.