Friday 4th September 2009

Hit 200mph In Edinburgh (Airport)

A chance to Vmax your supercar at 'Race the Runway' charity event

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The runway: perfect for testing your top speed

Short of a run out to Germany (or a permanent move there) there aren’t many places you can go to wind your car up to its Vmax, especially if your pride and joy has a potential top speed that begins with a two.

Even then, the idea of a ratty Transit meandering into the fast lane at 80mph while you’re closing in at 180mph is going to give even the ballsiest driver something to think about.

Thanks to BAA, though, there is now a safer option. Edinburgh airport is holding a charity event called ‘Race the Runway’ in support of Edinburgh-based St Columba's Hospice. As the name implies, this is a chance to fling your car down a 2km stretch of the runway at Edinburgh airport, both in a straight line and on a slalom course. Cars will be timed on both runs and their maximum speeds clocked, with a prize awarded to the fastest time of the day.

Participants and guests will also get a tour of the air traffic control tower, and be fully kitted out in aviation firefighter breathing apparatus to be taken through a fire simulation exercise (though presumably not at the same time as the tour of the control tower).

If you want to have a go at ‘racing the runway’, there is a minimum charity donation of £250, with a minimum donation of £50 for guests.

The event will take place on the afternoon/evening of Thursday 24 September from 3.30pm, with the first cars hitting the runway at 4pm.

Places for both guests and drivers are limited, so if you want a go, and to find out more information, call Maggie Grieve on 0131 551 7731.

[norman156]

Seems like a good idea, though £50 just to spectate (which is what I assume they mean by guests) is a little steep

Edited by norman156 on Friday 4th September 01:22

[deevlash]

is this the same thing?
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
I can max my car in my cul de sac though so it would be a bit of a waste of time for me!

[Stu_00]

norman156 said:

Seems like a good idea, though £50 just to spectate (which is what I assume they mean by guests) is a little steep

Edited by norman156 on Friday 4th September 01:22

I suspect its not cheap to hire a airfield of this nature, how will schedule flights leave / arrive?

Strange!

[Papa_Hotel]

Sounds like fun! Only a few miles from the airport.... now, if only I wanted to throw £250 away...

[Tony*T3]

200mph in 2 kilometers.....?

How many cars will do that (and stop)

I know my 1.9tdi will struggle.

[Wanta996Gotta]

Great idea BUT £250!

[Mr Freefall]

norman156 said:

Seems like a good idea, though £50 just to spectate (which is what I assume they mean by guests) is a little steep

Edited by norman156 on Friday 4th September 01:22

and Insurance.

What happends if you trash your car, or it catches fire and you damage the runway. Not too sure BAA will be too impressed about the 're-tarmac of the runway bill' afterwards, or the planes that cannot use the runway due to such.

Mr F

[Mr Whippy]

Tony*T3 said:

200mph in 2 kilometers.....?

How many cars will do that (and stop)

I know my 1.9tdi will struggle.

Yep, you'll need something exotic to hit 200mph.

150mph will probably be fairly easy for some Ruf's or similar though

[bikerPaul]

Don't think the Mundaneo is the car to do this in so i phoned and asked if i could use my CBR600 but it is a cars only event. Health and safety wouldn't let them use bikes. Dull!

Paul

[BlackCup]

The £250 is 4 charity n rich people with 200mph cars which excludes most of us lot so I don't kno y ur moanin about the price !

[G_T]

Can you do 200mph runs in the wet? I live by the airport and it's been raining non-stop for about 2 days. September is supposed to be a wet one.

BlackCup said:

The £250 is 4 charity n rich people with 200mph cars which excludes most of us lot so I don't kno y ur moanin about the price !

I think people like myself are dissapointed at not being able to spectate for less than £50. Seems a bit overpriced to be honest.

[nonuts]

Mr Whippy said:

Tony*T3 said:

200mph in 2 kilometers.....?

How many cars will do that (and stop)

I know my 1.9tdi will struggle.

Yep, you'll need something exotic to hit 200mph.

150mph will probably be fairly easy for some Ruf's or similar though

Depends if it's 2km + braking or not as 2km would still be short of the length at VMax from what I remember it's around 1.7miles from the end to the timing beams.

[bikerPaul]

nonuts said:

Depends if it's 2km + braking or not as 2km would still be short of the length at VMax from what I remember it's around 1.7miles from the end to the timing beams.

Depends on what runway it is. The main one is over 2k but the other one i believe is about 1.8k. My guess is that it won't be on the main one.

Paul

[nonuts]

bikerPaul said:

Depends on what runway it is. The main one is over 2k but the other one i believe is about 1.8k. My guess is that it won't be on the main one.

Paul

Doubt anything this side of a veyron / very silly Ruf will be hitting 200 then!

[Ricky944s2]

norman156 said:

Seems like a good idea, though £50 just to spectate (which is what I assume they mean by guests) is a little steep

Edited by norman156 on Friday 4th September 01:22

I would guess that they dont want too many people at this thing, if it was say a tenner to go spectate you would have all kinds of folk (inc. a few NEDs im sure) through the door and with airport security, i dont think they'd want a pile of people wandering around their airport. So the min. 50 quid fee sorts that out.

And by the sounds of the tour and fire fighting 'dress-up' it too will be small number of people, at a time certainly. I think anyway.

Would have been better doing a Track day Sprint in the Royal Highland Centre next door!!!!!

[ShadownINja]

Tony*T3 said:

200mph in 2 kilometers.....?

How many cars will do that (and stop)

I know my 1.9tdi will struggle.

If it was 3km my 1.8 Golf would definitely hit 200mph.

[Ricky944s2]

nonuts said:

bikerPaul said:

Depends on what runway it is. The main one is over 2k but the other one i believe is about 1.8k. My guess is that it won't be on the main one.

Paul

Doubt anything this side of a Remapped 335D will be hitting 200 then!

EFA

[emicen]

Hmmm... a plan is forming.

Fair play to Edinburgh airport for letting it happen at all. With all the security and health & safety hoops to jump through I imagine it wasn't an easy one to arrange.

[GreatGranny]

Hmmm. only grass runoff at either end.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&source=hp&...

[nonuts]

GreatGranny said:

Hmmm. only grass runoff at either end.

With no doubt quite a few expensive, big, solid lights in the way...