The Power of Perseverance

Jim and Jody Cole at the 2021 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials

There’s always lots of action to shoot at the races, but it’s the human side that is so meaningful to capture.

Jim Cole had a frustrating week with technical issues and setbacks, thinking his week was done after he blew his Hayabusa engine on Day 2 of BMST. But that night in the pits, the racing community came together, swapped parts, pooled resources and multiple teams/builders found a way to do a full rebuild on Jim’s 1600-class turbocharged Busa. On Day 3 it was stripped down to the bare frame, spread out across two tables and the bed of a pickup truck, but it came together piece by piece and fired up on the morning of Day 4 to a chorus of cheers in the pits.

“It’s super humbling,” said Cole. “No place but here do you see this. We do all kinds of racing and Bonneville is where people are at their best.” 

Jim headed back out onto the track and still experienced more technical issues, less-than-ideal conditions and even more frustration, but he and his wife Jody pressed on.

“Jody told me that I lost the fire in my eyes and that it was gone,” Jim told me. “She said she needed to see something.”

On Wednesday afternoon (Day 4), Jim was finally able to put in a qualifying run of 211 mph for the FIM world record (1600cc, turbo, non-faired, multi cylinder). For an official record you have to complete a second run in the opposite direction within two hours. This is the moment Jim and Jody Cole shared before the return run, which was 212 mph for the world record.

When I caught up with the Cole’s at impound, Jim was beaming, and only had one thing to say: “This is why you never give up.”

Congrats to Jim Cole on your new world record! And to everyone who helped him get there, you are the land speed racing community at its best, and why I love this sport!

September 3, 2021