Post by Crossbones Dennis on Mar 22, 2010 18:08:01 GMT -6
Guinness World Records has accepted Leslie Porterfield, owner of High Five Cycles in Dallas, as the Fastest Woman in the World on a Motorcycle.
According to a press release issued by Foremost Insurance Group (which sponsors Porterfield, a Foremost independent agent), motocross rider and stunt woman Marcia Holley previously held the title for more than 30 years. Her record of 229.361 mph was set with a single-engine streamliner motorcycle in 1978.
Guinness is recognizing Porterfield’s 232.522 mph, set in the 2008 BUB Speed Trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats on a 2002 2000cc turbo-charged Suzuki Hayabusa.
“I couldn’t believe it when they called,” Porterfield stated. “It takes a while after filing the paperwork with the FIM [International Federation of Motorcycling] to get the record certificate, and then with Guinness. This has been going on for a while, and when they called, I was just thrilled.”
Foremost says Porterfield first set the Bonneville Salt Flats on fire in 2008 by recording an overall land speed record of 232.5 mph in the 2000cc modified class, the fastest record of any woman on two wheels.
After that, she was honored as the AMA Female Rider of the Year in 2008, was featured in the Discovery Channel documentary Speed Capital of the World: Bonneville and toured the world as a public speaker — all while owning and running her dealership.
Most recently, Porterfield was a featured speaker at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows and the 22nd Annual AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast.
While her crew begins prepping for the next round of speed trials, which begin in May in El Mirage, Calif., Porterfield is taking some time to focus on StandUp for Kids, a nonprofit organization that assists homeless children in America. In June, Porterfield and StandUp for Kids will raffle off a Honda CBR1000RR, with all proceeds going to the charity.
After that it’s back to Bonneville, back to BUB and back to the hunt for her next accomplishment. “I don’t just want to be the fastest woman in the world,” Porterfield told Foremost. “I want to be the fastest person in the world. That’s what’s next.”