 |
|
| The Varna Team |
|
| Due to the less than ideal
conditions present during the week of Battle Mountain 2003, this was the
first year that Sam Whittingham did not set a new 200 meter world
record. He did post the fastest speed for the event at 78.242 MPH. He
also set a new world record for the fastest HPV crash, at over 80MPH,
briefly going airborne in the process. This crash occurred because of a
blowout just before the timing traps. Sam was shaken by the crash and
slide but the well built Varna Diablo protected him from damage and he
emerged unscathed.
Freddy Markham raced the Varna Mephisto
and posted a top speed of 68.387 MPH.
We are looking forward to seeing Sam, Fred and George
return for the 2004 event.
|
Varna Diablo II at BM in 2003 - Picture by
Arne Hodalic |
|
Fred being prepared for launch at BM 2003 |
|
Sam will be racing the Diablo II again this year, but next year...
| For 2005 Varna
designer/builder George Georgiev is modifying the Diablo II
molds to create a new 2 wheeled speedbike. The body of this version
will be a couple inches longer, and an inch or so wider than the
Diablo, but the wheelbase will be stretched a whopping 6 inches. George
knows that a longer wheelbase is very important for stability a high
speeds. This bike will be a camera bike, and George has modified
the top of the bike to remove the canopy and replacing it with a more
aerodynamic method of fairing Sam's head. |
New Varna speedbike plug mounted on
rotating frame
Picture by John Tetz |
Picture by John Tetz |
George is also
working on a new 3 wheeled speedbike, based on a design
he originally built in 1987. This LWB FWD delta camera navigated
trike has a 14 inch track width, and is the smallest frontal
area streamliner he has ever built. Because of the extremely
narrow track, this trike may not be safely rideable on SR305, as
the bumps and slight camber may cause the vehicle to tip. When
George originally built it, camera technology had not progressed
to the point where he could use camera to navigate it, but now
the technology is widely available. This design will overcome
the wind sensitivity issues that single track speedbikes have at
high speeds.
In this picture you can see the
fairing shape for the narrow track rear wheels. |
| This is a front view of the
trike shell. You can see the comparison to the Varna Diablo in the background.
The new shell is very similar in shape to the Diablo, but without the canopy bulge. Georgi believes the frontal area will be smaller. The camera makes it look kind of big but in reality it isn't.
|
Picture by John Tetz |
Picture by John Tetz |
This is the old Torso2
trike shell with a modified top. George says that this bike went
the straightest of any bike he has ever built, so the pilot can
concentrate on maximum power rather than keeping the vehicle on
the road. George says that in the late 1980s, while flying
blind, Sam powered this bike in a 1K TT to 53MPH. |
9/30/04
Georgi recently sent me these pictures of the next generation of
Varna speedbikes. Here's another shot of the Varna singletrack
speedbike. No canopy is required as it will use video camera
remote viewing |
 |
 |
Here's the new camera
operated delta trike speedbike fairing. This one is about the
same size and shape as the Diablo, but with dual wheel fairings
in the back. |
| Another shot of the
trike fairing. |
 |
 |
George contemplates on
the beautiful shapes. |
| Georgi takes a break
from sculpting the fairings to play with his dog, Leah. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sam's BM 2003 Powertap graphs showing
speed VS power
|
|
Varna Diablo II Statistics
Size - 8 feet long, 16.0 inches wide, 29.5 inches high
Weight - 60 lbs
|
|
|
