![]() ![]() Ilminen’s childhood interest in land speed racing was rekindled when he met Bill Whisenant at a motorcycle event in southern Wisconsin. Ilminen still owns 12 of the 28 motorcycles that have passed through his life.īut it took 35 years before his enthusiasm took him to his first high-speed ride on the iconic salt flats. “Seeing the late Don Vesco on the cover of the January 1971 issue of Cycle magazine after he set a world land speed record with his Yamaha streamliner at Bonneville added to the fascination with motorcycle sport in all its forms,” Ilminen said. Ilminen’s interest in Bonneville also started early. My first powered two-wheel machine was a 2.5-horsepower HPE Cat minibike that my dad bought me in 1968.”įor Ilminen, taking the minibike out on the back roads of Iron County, Wisconsin and watching TV shows and movies like “Then Came Bronson” and Bruce Brown’s “On Any Sunday” fueled his interest. “When I got old enough to reach the pegs myself, he let me ride his Yamaha RT-2. “My older brother, Randy, was the first in my family to own motorcycles,” he said. ![]() Ilminen’s father nevertheless bought his son his first motorcycle when he was 13. “He was deeply impressed by the power of that big machine, but never did own a motorcycle himself.” “My dad used to tell the story of getting a ride from a buddy on a four-cylinder Indian many years ago,” he said. ![]() The BeginningĮven though he started riding at age 13, Ilminen is not the product of a motorcycling family. 25-30, and Ilminen’s story demonstrates that a racer doesn’t need a factory budget or huge team to have a shot at setting a world record. ![]() The 2018 AMA Land Speed Grand Championship is set for the Bonneville Speedway outside Wendover, Utah, Aug. For Gary Ilminen, the salt of Bonneville Speedway is where his interest in motorcycling kicked into high gear. For land speed racers, salt is the stuff of hallowed ground. Return To Table Of Contents | Return To Magazine Archiveįor most people, salt is a common seasoning. ![]()
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