World blind speed record attempt at 200 mph in E60 M5
beckhammania23
Discussion Starter • #1 • Sep 30, 2005 (Edited by Moderator)
THE DATE IS SET FOR THE WORLD BLIND LAND SPEED RECORD ATTEMPT AT 200MPH
Mike Newman, the current World Blind Land Speed record holder and the Speed of Sight team have now set a date of Tuesday October 11th 2005 to break the World Blind Land Speed record. This date coincides with World Sight Day on the 13th October 2005. The Speed of Sight team will make their attempt at smashing the existing record of 144.7mph with the aim of pushing the World Blind Land Speed record above 200mph.
Using the runway at Elvington Airfield in York, Mike will be driving a BMW M5. The road-going M5 is electronically restricted to 155mph but, for the record attempt, BMW have engineered a one-off, derestricted car capable of a top speed of 205mph. Factory standard Continental Tyres ensure the M5 keeps contact with the runway at all times.
Mike's exploits have attracted the attention of the fastest man on earth. Andy Green, driver of the Thrust SSC Team said:
"As the current World Land Speed Record holder, I understand as well as anyone the thrill, excitement and physical challenges of driving at high speed. However, the thought of doing this without being able to see where you are going is just astonishing and takes the challenge into a different league. I have followed the progress of Mike Newman and the Speed of Sight team to their current record of 144mph with fascinated interest. Now with the support of BMW and the use of a new M5, Mike has every chance of smashing this world record and achieving his ultimate ambition of driving a car at over 200mph."
The record attempt will be made possible through the sophisticated state of the art microSAT GPS systems communications equipment supplied by sponsors Scan Computers, Site Link and Datron Technologies.
Mark Hargreaves of Datron Technology said:
"We are happy to continue to support Mike, the Speed of Sight Team and VISION 2020 in their goal to generate funds and global awareness. The microSAT GPS technology and telemetry system will measure and record all the vehicle parameters such as speed, distance and time as required by Guinness World Record Books."
World Blind Land Speed Record Holder, Mike Newman said,
"Every five seconds someone in our world goes blind. Every minute a child goes blind; 80% of which is avoidable."
By attempting to reach speeds of 200mph, Mike Newman will increase awareness and much needed funds for his chosen charity VISION 2020: The Right To Sight, a member of the World Health Organisation. Their aim is to rid the world of preventable and curable blindness by the year 2020. VISION 2020, whose UK patron is HRH Sophie Wessex, are responsible for organising the worldwide awareness event, World Sight Day, which occurs two days after the record attempt, on Thursday October 13th 2005.
In August 2003, in front of a worldwide audience, Mike set the current average mile speed record of 144.7mph, by driving alone in his Jaguar XJ-R, over a measured mile. He is looking to smash this by taking the BMW M5 to speeds approaching, and hopefully in excess of, 200mph whilst alone in the vehicle and completely unable to see the road ahead.
http://www.speedofsight.co.uk
www.automanias.nl :byebye:
Re: THE DATE IS SET FOR THE WORLD BLIND LAND SPEED RECORD ATTEMPT AT 200MPH
I wish him good luck and a lot of fun doing it
:belgium: Vic
2007 RR TDV8
2005 E60 M5 Saphire Black/Portland Natural Brown (Sold)
2005 X5 3.0D Carbon Black/Cinnamon Nappa
Amjad Ali
I wish him all the best. Fantastic effort and spirit.
Well done old chap!!!!
:cheers:
The BMW M5 (c) 1984​
The ORIGINAL & BEST.............:M5rev:
Imitators include
Any AMG, RS Audi, XJR TATA sorry meant Jaguar
I am sure BMW are flattered
ALPINA in one word.....PEERLESS
Re: The date is set for the world blind speed record attempt at 200 mph
Fantastic! Go for it & good luck :wroom:
2002 E39 Carbonblack/Caramel M5 (best car I ever owned)
2005 E60 Blue Onyx/Caramel/Light Figured Ash M5 (worst car I ever owned)
2007 E90 Montego Blue/Black Alpina D3 (sublime)
2015 White/Saddle Brown Alpina XD3 BiTurbo.. omg!!!
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e60-m5-e61-m5-touring-discussion/68781-now-im-furious-weekend-hell.html :tonquesmilie:
Good luck to them, but I find it pretty hard to believe you can hit 200mph at Elvington - how long is the runway there?
200mph in an M5 would take a straight at least 3-4 miles long, I'd have thought...
2011 BMW 1M Coupe
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***former BMW toys***
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bernhtp
Not meaning to be unsympathetic, but this is one of the stupidest stunts I've heard of. I initially assumed it came from The Onion.
HomerUK
Not sure how they would do it with a blind driver but the runway will have taxiways and various other interconnects, so it could be like a big oval track with the right configuration and 2 runways. Alot of abandoned air fields have been converted to tracks, look at where Top Gear do there testing, and these are small to medium airfields. Think how long the runways filly loaded B52's would need for take off and landing, there are a few airfields capalbe of handeling these dotted over the UK.
I wish them all the luck in the world and hope they can break the record well and truly :M5launch:
bernhtp said:
I think that's the point, by being a "stupid stunt" its going to get media attention, think of how many positive things you hear about in the news on a daily basis. They are always interested in how many people are hurt or killed in an event rather than how many were saved or heroic action that saved x number of lives.
M-Fünf
Here's Elvington from 8,000 Ft. I measured the length, and it measures out to be 1.87 miles...I don't know how accurate that is, however...
Good Luck with the run!
M-Fünf (a.k.a. Jeff) :martini:
His: Not an M5
Her's: '04 M3 Silver Gray/Black 6 speed
GuyGT2
#10 • Sep 30, 2005 (Edited by Moderator)
Re: The date is set for the world blind speed record attempt at 200 mph (reults here!
I have driven at Elvington and Bruntingthorpe, which are both the same length at 10,000 feet which is 1.92miles (plus a few extra metres of non-official surface).
There is categorically no way he will get an M5 to 200mph there, 180-185mph is more realistic, as there is simply not enough distance.
I have driven my Ruf R-GT2 (Ruf tuned Porsche 996 GT2 with genuine 630PS) at full-bore for the full-length of the runway about 30 times now on several seperate days now at Bruntingthorpe (at the VMax events). My speeds are always between 195mph and 197mph, even though the car is capable of higher speeds and hits the re-limiter easily on the autobahn at it's gearing limited speed of 207mph (true top speed is circa 215mph with longer 6th gears).
My car is much much faster than a stock M5 (620bhp and 1440kg vs 500bhp and circa 1800kg). AdamT on here will also be able to add to this, as we hit the factory limiter of 164mph in his M5 on the last but one day there with plenty of space left, he reckoned it would have hit low/mid 180's in the distance available.
Just my 2p.
2005 Alpina B5 (with Birds LSD)
1997 Alpina B10 3.2 Touring RHD #005 (The Autocar Testcar)
others...........
Yep Guy is right, there is no way this chap will hit 200mph, We cant even do it in our Ruf cars
1995 Alpina B8 4.6 #10-(engine blew up. sold)
2001 BMW ///M5(sold)
2003 RUF R turbo
1990 RUF CTR
2006 VW Golf R32 DSG
2005 e60 M5 (sold)
2007 997 GT3 RS Carrara White
2008 Renault Clio 197
"You know it is kinda ironic, these old people are being kept alive by the organs of the young people they ran over" - Chief Clancy Wiggum
You forget the inherent advantage a blind man has. He has more length to hit 200mph because he can't see the end of the runway.
Results are in, maybe the Lab went with :M5thumbs:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/4331032.stm
Blind man sets land speed record
Mike Newman aims to raise awareness of charity Vision 2020
A 43-year-old man has claimed the new world land speed record for the blind. Mike Newman, from Sale, Greater Manchester, raced to 167.32mph in his specially-made BMW M5 at Elvington Airfield, near York, on Tuesday.
Event organisers said the record was set after the average speed was taken from two runs.
Mr Newman hoped to break the 200mph barrier but was thwarted as he ran out of room on the track. He said: "It has been a wonderful day."
A father of two, Mr Newman set a record of 144mph in a Jaguar XJ-R in August 2003.
Mr Newman wanted to reach speeds of 200mph
He said: "It has been a really exciting day.
"Hopefully I have raised awareness ahead of World Sight Day and shown that you can achieve anything you want."
Mr Newman wanted to increase awareness of his chosen charity Vision 2020.
John Galloway, who helped organise today's record attempt, said: "This is a marvellous achievement.
"Mike drove totally unassisted. It is a fantastic achievement and has been one of the most emotional days of my life."
vndkshn
Looking at the dog reminds me of the blind joke "Why don't blind people skydive?" It scares the s**t out of their dogs!
Not sure how it was supposed to draw awareness to the struggle that blind people live with everyday, but as a publicity stunt it wasn't bad. Glad to hear he didn't kill himself.
Fantastic news - very well done to him :wroom:
johnsh39
He was on ITV Granada news earlier, looked like he enjoyed himself.
2005 - E60 M5, Silverstone II, Silverstone Full Merino Leather, Bluetooth, Sun Protection Glass and Hi-Fi system Professional Logic 7 - Gone but not forgotton
Congrats to Blind Mike Newman
Congrats to Mike Newman
Hes Blind and broke the blind world speed record at 167.32 mph in an M5.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4331032.stm
Im sure we all congratulate him on his amazing feat.
Re: Congrats to Blind Mike Newman
:wroom: :cheers:
louv
We should bring him over to make a run on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Heck, someone should give ME an e60 M5 for a shot at Bonneville.
'01 Tundra, '15 X6M, '15 i8, '15 Miata
'09 R1200GS-Adv, '10 G450X
trev0006
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