WORLD SPEED RECORD

MACLEAY ISLAND’S MOSS LANE TO ATTEMPT E1 CLASS ELECTRIC WORLD SPEED RECORD! Moss Lane is one very ‘appropriately-named’ person. Islanders know Moss as the Commodore of the Tingira Boat Club. What they don’t know about him is that he has a long history and a love of all things motor and motor sports. And it would be fair to say that he doesn’t let the moss grow under his feet and he loves to move in the ‘fast’ lane (sic.) He has been ‘retired’ from his working life for about two years or so, and it is no surprise that he has been ‘beavering away’ in his Macleay Island workshop for the past 2 years or so on a ‘special project’. It is called Project Electric 200 which just happens to be an attempt on the World Land Speed Record in the E1 Class which is for electric vehicles that weigh under 500 kilograms. The current world record was established in 2021 at the famous Bonneville in the US, by a university team of more than 30 people. The speed record is 152 mph for an electrically powered vehicle under 500kg. This coming March, Moss Lane is taking his totally personal hand-made machine to Lake Gairdner, South Australia, to participate in Speed Week where he will attempt to not only break the world record, but to approach and hopefully exceed 200 mph driving his hand-built ‘Lakester’. Moss Lane is a very determined and clever man. He is also in his ‘early 70’s’ so now you must be thinking shades of Bert Munro the 68-year-old New Zealander and his 47-year-old Indian motor bike and the now famous movie The World’s Fastest Indian! Not quite, but almost. There are lots of similarities between Moss and Bert! Moss’ history in motorsports in extensive. He was introduced to the sport by his dad, who raced motorcycles. He told The Friendly Bay Islander: “In the late 1960’s, I was one of the first people to compete at the first speedway near the Horse track in Townsville, aged 17. “I competed in the early 1970’s Queensland Speedway for about 5 years and moved onto offroad racing, had go a go karts, then helped the Brisbane Sporting Car Club (BSCC) with their events, becoming vice president of the club in 1987. ”I went back to off road racing with the BSCC club in 1986 to 2003 as a competitor, organiser, then chief starter for the Queensland and National Off Road Championships, and along the way I became a Clerk of Course - CAMS Steward and event organiser with several clubs in Queensland, before competing in six Endeavour Foundation events as well as super rallying.” Moss and his family built a home on the islands in the 1990’s and he worked in the trucking industry. Inspired by the Covid pandemic lock-downs, he decided he wanted to try and set a land speed record driving a car of his own design and workmanship which he has been fabricating in his Macleay Island workshop. Now about $20,000 later, he is almost ready to attempt the world speed record. He has event built a very stylish trailer to transport the ‘Lakester’ to South Australia for the world record attempt. Before he heads off to SA, he hopes to have some practice runs on a SE Queensland airstrip to test out the vehicle. Moss’ design certainly looks the part. It is 5.2 metres long, with ground clearance between 25mm to 50mm, depending on track conditions. It stands 850mm high (ground to top of roll cage), and has a wheel track of 1200mm. It is powered by a Warp 9 DC electric motor, which can generate around 100hp depending how much voltage is applied. A LITHIUM ION Battery Pack, generates 144v DC volts, from 20 Nissan Leaf battery modules. The System weighs 80kg. Moss knows there may be many changes and adjustments to come in the process to the World Record, but he is confident of his design and workmanship. He is confident of success, and all islanders will be cheering him on. He has been helped along the way by State Member for Redlands Kim Richards, and the Bay Islands Auto Car Club and, in particular, Ian McParlane. It is not too late for sponsors to come on board, for which Moss Lane would be most grateful. If you can help out, you may contact us here at The Friendly Bay Islander.

• Moss Lane and the ‘engine’ of his ‘Lakester’: a battery and electric motor.