Speedy cuts

[Gob]

A British lawn mower raced into the record books for the second time in two days tonight by setting a new world land speed record.

The unique jet-red lawn mower - codenamed Project Runningblade - hit 86.069mph yesterday adding almost 6mph to a previous top speed set in America four years before.



Tonight rider Don Wales topped the new record time he set himself just 24 hours before with an impressive speed of 87.833mph.
It meant the historic Pendine Sands venue, in west Wales, witnessed two world records on consecutive days over the weekend.

But the hoped for target of speeding through the 100mph barrier across a mile-long section of beach remains elusive.

'We are very excited and very pleased to have beaten our own record today,' said Clare Hansley-Boyd, a spokeswoman for the British team.

'We have finished the weekend world record holders and have improved on yesterday's speed so we are happy with that.'
Today's new lawn mower record was set after an afternoon of meticulous preparations which included course inspections and test drives.

Once all preparations were complete a record attempt took place over a measured mile in one direction with the driver returning within an hour.

Challengers also have to ensure that the machine used to make the record attempt is built primarily from lawn mower parts.

Proof that it is a genuine lawn mower also has to be shown before the attempt gets going with a public grass-cutting demonstration.

The world record weekend was dreamed up by the National Motor Museum (NMM) in Beaulieu, Hampshire, which is normally home to the Sir Malcolm's Bluebird.

While that plan has proved successful whether or not a new attempt to smash the 100mph barrier will be mounted is unknown.

'The team is very tired after the efforts they have put in over the weekend,' Mrs Hansley-Boyd said tonight.

'It is a bit early to say where we will be going from here but I think the 100mph target is something that everyone will be aiming at for the future.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0onvnZZEE

I used to go fishing on Pendine sands, it's just down the road from me mams.

[Jarlaxle]

Hmm, looks like the guys from Sta-Bil need to get cracking! (That's the record he broke...I saw the Sta-Bil 80+MPH mower on last year's Power Tour.)

[Gilead]

How do they fit the cutting deck under there?

[BoSoxGal]

Ok, but does it cut grass at that speed?

[tyro]

I’m underwhelmed.

What in hell is the point?

Clearly it isn’t really a lawn mower and so it can’t be the world’s fastest “lawnmower”.


Mind you, if I had so much time on my hands and more money that I knew what to do with, I might dabble in something costly, pointless and misnamed.

[loCAtek]

Ok, but does it cut grass at that speed?

Worse still, what if he hits a stone at that speed?

[Gob]

Mind you, if I had so much time on my hands and more money that I knew what to do with, I might dabble in something costly, pointless and misnamed.

Ok, what?

[tyro]

Oh, I don’t know….


…. A free speech web forum might be fun.

[Gob]

The great-grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell's attempt to smash the UK land speed record for an electric car was ended by a pothole on a beach.

Joe Wales veered off course and Bluebird Electric was damaged at Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire.

Mr Wales, 19, suffered mild whiplash in the attempt to break the 137mph record held by his father Don.



His great-grandfather Sir Malcolm and great uncle Donald Campbell have held world speed records on land and water.

He had been joined by his father Don Wales, 50, from Addlestone, Surrey, who was attempting to break his own record, set in 2000.

The record bid for the weekend was aborted after the car's suspension was damaged, says BBC Wales reporter Sarah Moore.

The team said they were "disappointed but relieved Joe was OK" after the accident, when the car veered off course into unprepared sand and the right front wheel upright sheered off - causing the suspension to fail.

Mr Wales, who spoke after being checked over, said he was "gutted" and was disappointed for the crowd of several hundred, who turned up to watch.

Pendine is the scene of notable speed record attempts over the decades, including Malcolm Campbell in 1924.

For the electric car attempt, Don Wales was optimistic he could exceed 150mph despite hitting technical problems on Saturday.

Before the attempt he said: "I think we've got to be confident. The guys behind us have worked so hard for the last six weeks or so - the mechanical team and the electrical team from Bristol University - so I've got to put my faith in them because they've done all the hard work up to now.

"Then it's up to me to drive the car and get it above 150."

Sir Malcolm Campbell himself set a record in a combustion engine on the same beach, Pendine Sands, with a speed of 146mph in 1924.

His son and Mr Wales' uncle, Donald Campbell, took the water speed record to 152 mph in 1950, but died in a further attempt in 1967.

Earlier this week, Mr Wales said: "Ten years ago we set a UK record of 137mph at Pendine Sands and we are going back there this weekend to hopefully increase that speed to somewhere around 150mph or 160mph.

"This really is the start of a two or three-year campaign with a target of 500mph."

The Bluebird team, which includes mechanics from Nelson in Lancashire, plans to test the super-fast car's technology this weekend and then to build a new electric vehicle for a further world record attempt.

They are hoping to eventually hit 500mph and pass the 307mph record set by the American Buckeye Bullet 2.5 team last year.

Mr Wales's son Joe Wales, 19, will also drive Bluebird to attempt the quarter-mile and 500-metre UK speed records.

"I am very proud to be representing my family and their heritage. Hopefully, this is the start of a world-record car."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-sout ... s-14522963

[dgs49]

Can't help but compare that lawnmower to the post-war sports cars that English manufacturers were producing. I suspect that "lawnmower" could probably outrun a stock MG-TF.

But you wouldn't have the fun of a Lucas electrical system or a leaking roof & windows.

[Jarlaxle]

I’m underwhelmed.

What in hell is the point?

Clearly it isn’t really a lawn mower and so it can’t be the world’s fastest “lawnmower”.


Mind you, if I had so much time on my hands and more money that I knew what to do with, I might dabble in something costly, pointless and misnamed.

For Sta-Bil, it's a PR stunt. For this guy, no idea.

(But actually, it IS still a mower! It IS still capable of grass-cutting.)

[Jarlaxle]

Update! The Sta-Bil-104+ Octane Booster mower holds the record again, at a touch over 96MPH!

[MajGenl.Meade]

The great-grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell's attempt to smash the UK land speed record for an electric car was ended by a pothole on a beach

I could understand it if there was a descendant of Donald Campbell's attempt to smash the water speed record - we all knew that some of his bits came out of taps in Manchester. One shower and ..... Wonder how Malcolm's attempt managed it?