Don Vesco, 63; Held Speed Records for Cars, Motorcycles

Don Vesco, a land-speed record-holder for motorcycles and cars, died Monday in Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego of prostate cancer. He was 63.

Long associated with the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Vesco set 18 motorcycle and six automotive records during a career that began when he was 16. Among his achievements is the current wheel-driven land-speed record of 458.44 mph. The world land-speed record for all cars is 763.085 mph, set in 1997 by Englishman Andy Green in a car powered by two jet engines.

Vesco was 62 when he drove his jet-powered Team Vesco Turbinator to the record Oct. 17, 2001.

Until the time of his death, he was planning to become the first driver to go 500 mph in a wheel-driven vehicle.

“Given the proper salt texture, it could average 500,” he said.

Vesco and his brother, Rick, who designed the Turbinator, were instrumental in the “Save the Salt” effort at Bonneville, the longest and straightest such stretch in the country.

Vesco’s record has an asterisk, however. His car was powered by a turbine driven by propellers. Fellow Californian Al Teague holds the piston-driven record of 409.986 mph, set in 1991.

In 1970, Vesco was the first person to ride a motorcycle at more than 250 mph, and five years later he broke the 300-mph barrier on his Silver Bird Yamaha, powered by twin Yamaha TZ750 engines. In 1978, he increased the record to 318 mph on a Kawasaki turbo, a standard that stood for 12 years.

Born April 8, 1939, in Loma Linda, Vesco had a passion for speed while growing up in San Diego, watching his father, John, race Model A and Model T Fords on weekends. He was a crewman for his father when John set a class record at Bonneville in 1951.

“Everything we did was a race,” Vesco once said. “The first thing I remember is racing tricycles and scooters around the block. You name it, we raced it. From our toys as little kids, racing was always a part of my life.”

He was also fascinated by what makes vehicles go faster.

As a third-grader, he was tearing apart model airplane engines and making them faster.

In his first major racing accomplishment, he won the 1963 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the United States, forerunner of the Daytona 200, at Daytona International Speedway. Riding a Yamaha, he averaged 89.405 mph for 124 miles around the 3.1-mile course combining two banks and an infield road.

After breaking all the two-wheel land-speed records, Vesco and his brother decided in the 1980s to tackle four-wheel records in their own custom vehicle. The result was the Turbinator, a car 31 feet long, 3 feet wide and only 2.5 feet tall. It was powered by a turbine engine from a Chinook helicopter.

Vesco said he and his brother once worked for three days without sleep to be ready for Bonneville when the salt was right.

“When you see the sun set and rise and haven’t gone anywhere but the shop, and then you see the sun rise again, you know you’re in trouble,” he said.

Racing against time is also dangerous. Vesco had his share of high-speed spills, but none as bad as one in 1986, when a rear tire blew out while he was traveling about 350 mph.

Witnesses said the car went 30 feet in the air before crashing and rolling over three times. Vesco suffered a broken neck but never lost consciousness.

He made some of his fastest runs after losing an eye when he was hit by a rock while watching a sprint car race in 1996.

Vesco was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, and in April he and his brother were named “Car Guy of the Year” by the automotive industry at its eAuto World Conference.

In a 1975 interview, Vesco said he chased speed because “basically, it’s my hobby. Some people play golf, some go fishing and some ride bikes in the desert. I get my enjoyment from the challenge on the salt.”

Information on survivors was not immediately available.

Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at El Cajon Mortuary in El Cajon.