Bonneville Salt Flats Record-Setting BMW S1000RR To Be Auctioned For Charity

Jack Broomall holds eight different motorcycle land speed records, set at the world-famous Bonneville Salt Flats on a variety of bikes. The records are cherished, as are the machines. But Broomall won’t think twice about auctioning his BMW S1000RR later this month, as a donation to the Austin Hatcher Foundation (AHF) for Pediatric Cancer.

Broomall has a special link to the Foundation that goes beyond being a fundraiser, as a close friend of AHF founders Jim and Amy Jo Osborn. In the autumn of 2006, Broomall witnessed the short life of the Osborns’ infant son, Austin Hatcher Osborn, a life cut short by an aggressive cancer. It was a tragedy that led to the Osborns forming the Foundation, with the over-arching mission to erase the effects of pediatric cancer.

“I was one of the few who got to hold Hatch in their arms … yes, I guess you could say I have a pretty strong emotional connection to the Foundation,” Broomall said. “The connection runs deep, back to even before ‘Hatch’ was born and I saw the work Jim and Amy Jo were doing for children’s charities. I can remember thinking way back then, that they were just extraordinary people.”

Broomall will himself be extraordinary on July 27 as part of the Mecum Auction at Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa., when he parts with the BMW. The bike carried him to a 1000cc Modified/Gas Class record average speed of 182.262 mph last summer. It has been modified to the fullest extent of the American Motorcyclist Association Land Speed Racing rules, and has a specially tuned engine capable of more than 200 horsepower.

All that is serious stuff. But not nearly as serious as the cause, which is the catalyst for this high-speed donation.

“I started going after land speed record at Bonneville in 2007 and I’ve used my success there as a forum to talk about the Austin Hatcher Foundation,” Broomall said. “Bonneville and the advent of the Foundation coincided, and we’ve been able to do something good.”

For more information, visit www.hatcherfoundation.org or contact the Foundation via email at info@hatcherfoundation.org.

By Troy Siahaan