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Race the Base Top Speed Challenge, Cold Lake AB. Aug. 28-29
Race the Base was a once in a lifetime opportunity! Eighty-five of the worlds fastest exotic cars from all over North America came to participate in this prestigious charity event held at Cold Lake Air Force Base.
I was fortunate enough to have been invited by the military to make exhibition passes on behalf of the Canadian Motorcycle Drag Racing Association over the course of the weekend. This was a car only event so I was the exotic among the exotics! How can I describe the magnitude of this event....well it was something I will remember forever. Staying on the base in an executive suite reserved for dignitaries was truly special. Rubbing elbows with the top brass in the military was amazing. I was a VIP among the VIP's and was worked into the program throughout the weekend. The EB Speed pit stall was set up among the cars on Friday and then on the TAC ramp on Saturday.
Friday morning was the pre-event briefing, where everyone was introduced and the rules were laid out. The military set up a huge tent city for the VIP's and drivers. The food was amazing and there was tons of it! The event coverage was second to none. There were several massive ColossoVision high resolution outdoor screens, at least three boom cameras, one in the helicopter and at least two more mobile units on the ground.
Friday's weather was cool and windy, with most of the wind coming at about a 70 degree angle across the runway. I spoke to a few of the drivers who made runs early on, they said they could really feel the wind and were having to steer into it rather aggressively. They were complaining that the crosswind was scrubbing off speed, I was just worried about going in a straight line.... So my turn came up aboard "Snow White". The wind had a huge effect on my trajectory. It was like I was riding around a gentle curve the entire time, with the odd gust blowing me 30-50ft across in an instant. Not the most pleasant feeling in the world but I managed to rip off a 309km/h run right off the trailer! VIDEO HERE! I made a pass on my Pro Street GSX-R1000 “Eleanor”, but I had a sensor malfunction about 3/4 of the way down the runway, causing the bike to lose boost. It wasn't clocked but I'm confident I was somewhere in the low 300's given the rpm I was at in 6th gear. That night I moved the pit to the tarmac and set up between the Canadian Armed Force's Leopard tank and a CF-18 Hornet.
A five a.m. start on Saturday was a must as I had to get the bikes out and set up the new pit area and trailer. The weather wasn't any better, and it was raining on an off throughout the morning. I was up twice, and just about to make a run when the rain came. The slower cars still made passes in the wet, but I value life too much to even think about making a run in the rain. The crosswind was more than enough to deal with. My first two passes were good, but the radar station was so far down the track that I was off the gas by the time they clocked me (my bike is so small that they had trouble hitting it at a distance) The runs on “Snow White” and “Eleanor” were displayed in the mid 280's. Once I returned to the pit, many fans came up and said that the radar guy was robbing me and that I was the fastest thing there by far, nobody seemed to care what the clocks said! As the day went on I was able to make 2 more runs, this time I was going to start accelerating further down the runway and try and drive through the radar station and get HARD on the brakes. It worked perfectly, “Snow White” posted 322kph (201+mph)! One of the fastest speeds of the event, She had plenty more left but the bike was tracking to the left and I wasn’t able to pull it back without shutting down a touch early. Prior to my pass on “Eleanor” I was ready to go as the CF-18 was taxi'ing past me. Name one place in the world where you can be lined up with 5 million dollars in exotic cars and have a CF-18 only a few yards away from you while thousands of fans are giving you the thumbs up? Words can't describe it! “Eleanor” did the same thing as “Snow White” only much harder to keep going straight as the front tire was super light while accelerating, allowing the crosswind to push me across the runway with ease. I think the clocks displayed 312 or so but it didn't matter as I know I was well into 350's at one point earlier in the run.
Afterwards I set the bikes up with the CF-18 in the background and let the fans take pictures and sit on them. Next stop was the Gala dinner for the drivers and their guests, VIP’s, politicians, and the top military personnel who helped pull this event off. Another incredible meal and great entertainment, par for the course as this event was set to impress.
The Race the Base Top Speed Challenge was an event to which all others shall be measured. I was truly honoured to be a part of this amazing event, and I will remember it forever. I owe a big thanks to all of those who made this dream come true.
Lt. Col. Carter, Cpt. Button (ret), Maj. Umrysh, C.M.D.R.A.,
Shannon McNeney, Zahir Rana and Parts Canada
Waiting to make another top speed run aboard "Eleanor", being held until the CF-18 taxi's past! Simply amazing!
Above photo courtesy The Canadian Military (4 Wing Cold Lake)
Above photo courtesy The Canadian Military (4 Wing Cold Lake)
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