PETROLHEADS and thrill-seekers enjoyed a weekend of high adrenaline fun for the Motorcycle Wheelie World Championships in York.

The weekend over August 15 and 16, run by Straightliners at the Elvington Airfield near York, saw motorcyclists from all over the world putting their machines to the test to try and achieve new world records and personal bests.

Thousands of spectators flocked to see competitors riding as fast as possible for a kilometre using only their back wheel in a bid to beat Egbert Van Popta’s record of a terror-inducing 199mph.

Gary Rothwell achieved the fastest wheelie of the event at 197mph – just short of the world record – and the fastest woman in the two-wheel speed test was Becci Ellis at 259mph, making her the fastest woman in the world.

Riders came from around the country, with some of the 59 entrants travelling from as far afield as the US, Sweden, Finland and France for the event, which attracted international media interest.

The UK Timing Association was also on hand to ensure record ratification and timing were completely accurate.

The championship, now in its tenth year, was founded by Dave ‘Dodge’ Rogers, who broke the record at 137mph in 2013, and was also representing Britain in the competition.

He said: ““In the early days of wheelie world records it was dominated by an elite few with high powered turbo bikes.

“Working with Straightliners we wanted to also involve the average guy on his sports bike. The World Wheelie Championship has achieved this by attracting serious motorcycle riders from all walks of life.”

Trevor Duckworth, race organiser, said: "It has been the best one we have ever done. We've never had this amount of interest before. I think it's caught the imagination of people.

"The wheelie is popular and it's the only event where people can do what they do."

He added that the weekend event attracted lots of families as well as motorcycle enthusiasts.

Other events at the championship range from the outlandish to the ridiculous, from a jet-powered shopping trolley, the world’s fastest toilet, a motorised garden shed, Europe’s fastest granddad biker – as well as one of the most powerful motorbikes in the world at 8,000cc.

There were also many conventional two and four wheeled vehicles in the event which combines power, speed and human endeavour.