UK closed-circuit record?
#1
Posted 11 November 2011 - 08:12
(The MIRA record was subsequently broken by the McLaren F1 in 1999 at 168mph) but, as far as I know, the time set by the Lambo at Millbrook still stands.
I need to sift through all the "heresay"/"myth" and get to the facts of the matter. Does anyone know who is the responsible body for recording such records? Can anyone please confirm the history of the UK closed circuit record since 1967?
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#2
Posted 11 November 2011 - 08:33
#3
Posted 11 November 2011 - 09:13
#4
Posted 11 November 2011 - 09:32
A definition of record is......
the best performance or most remarkable event of its kind
....so it really does not matter who records the record and if the record is recorded then it is a record.
/Carl
#5
Posted 11 November 2011 - 10:26
..I really must make a record of that ...(so I don't forget)A definition of record is......
the best performance or most remarkable event of its kind
....so it really does not matter who records the record and if the record is recorded then it is a record.
/Carl
#6
Posted 11 November 2011 - 10:34
I think "if" is probably the operative word.If such a record has an official existance, the RAC MSA would be the body responsible for supervising and recording it.
Are you actually Sir Humphrey Appleby in disguise?....so it really does not matter who records the record and if the record is recorded then it is a record.
/Carl
#7
Posted 11 November 2011 - 10:59
The lap record at Rockingham is 215mph (Tony Kanaan 2001) does that count?
... as noted here http://en.wikipedia....peedway#History
#8
Posted 11 November 2011 - 11:47
The RAC normally normally recognise lap records set during a race and don't count qualifying and practice. On the other hand, Brooklands only recognised lap records that were set on an empty track and didn't accept times set in a race. In the US they also recognise officially timed qualifying.
In the case of MIRA or Rockingham it boils down whether you can trust the timing. If it's electronic using the installed system you probably can, but if it's a friend or a bunch of friends or colleagues with hand-held stopwatches the time is suspect.
It's a bit like golf. Most clubs only recognise scores set in competitions. I had a school friend who was an excellent golfer (handicap of 4 or so) and his kid brother was almost as good. One day when we were playing he got annoyed with his brother and broke the course record. We knew he'd used the match tees etc but nobody else did. He couldn't even tell anybody as the story could filter back to the handicap committee and influence their decision at the next review.
Edited by D-Type, 11 November 2011 - 11:52.
#9
Posted 11 November 2011 - 12:00
#10
Posted 11 November 2011 - 12:49
#11
Posted 11 November 2011 - 13:32
As I understand it, the cars in the Nurburgring Marathons ran at racing speeds throughout. The car covering the greatest distance in 84 hours was the winner. It's true that there was a target lap time and exceeding it resulted in severe penalties which effectively eliminated the car. I'm not sure whether this fits the rally definition better or whether I've missed something. It's true that the events were run under a rally licence.I've said before that those long-distance Nürburgring "races" were really rallies (replacement for the Liége-Rome-Liège etc) but seem to think I was shot down. Certainly the earliest versions fit the rally definition better
It would be ironic if the Nurburgring events were regarded as rallies because the pre-1965 events were seen a closer to road races than conventional rallies!
#12
Posted 11 November 2011 - 15:06
Just like a rally special-stage, thenIt's true that there was a target lap time and exceeding it resulted in severe penalties which effectively eliminated the car.
Surely that clinches the argument?It's true that the events were run under a rally licence.
#13
Posted 11 November 2011 - 15:46
1968:
The basic goal was to achieve the highest possible average speed over the distance without incurring mechanical breakdowns, and keeping in mind the following:
- There were no prescribed target times or average speed
- A pit stop may not take more than 20 minutes 59 seconds
- One lap may not take more than 30 minutes (first four hours) or 24 minutes (after that)
- The first three hours are a 'warm up' only and a maximum of 9 laps will be scored even if the car completes more
- The number of laps recorded during the final 12 hours may not be less than the number of laps recorded during the first 12 hours
1969:
The regulation booklet literally says: "The Marathon de la Route 1969 is not a speed race and not a rally. It is a special trial which highlights one of the main qualities of a car: the reliability."
The basic goal and regulations were the same as in 1968, except the maximum pit stop time: now 15 minutes.
As for the original question in this topic:
The 1.479 mi Rockingham Motor Speedway near Corby, England is the fastest-ever racing circuit in Europe. It has an outright record of 0.24,719 = 346.545 kph / 215.379 mph, set by Tony Kanaan (Reynard-Honda) during practice for the Rockingham 500 in September 2001. The official lap record was recorded by Jimmy Vasser (Lola-Cosworth) in 0.25,217 = 339.729 kph / 211.143 mph in September 2002.
Edited by Rob Semmeling, 11 November 2011 - 15:46.
#14
Posted 11 November 2011 - 16:05
Despite all of that, the winner was the competitor covering the greatest distance, the event was continuous and there was a massed start, all of which makes it more like a race than a rally, in my opinion.
#15
Posted 11 November 2011 - 16:12
#16
Posted 11 November 2011 - 17:14
But, if you took the allowed time on all stages you would find after a while that controls were closed to you, ie you were time barred. So, in practice you had to arrive early as frequently as you could. Which means that in effect it was flat out all the way - a race in all but name.
#17
Posted 11 November 2011 - 21:43
I'm not sure when the term "closed course speed record" first came into use. I know the Guinness Book used it in the early 1970s. I suspect that many of the drivers for whom world closed course records are now claimed had never heard the term. Some closed course records seem to have been bestowed retrospectively. I would be interested to know when the term "closed course speed record" (world or otherwise) was first used and when the first conscious attempt at setting such a record occurred.
Mike
Edited by m.tanney, 12 November 2011 - 15:27.
#18
Posted 12 November 2011 - 09:08
The Guinness Book of Records spawned an industry of defining new "records" and then measuring attempts to claim them, so it may well be that the "UK closed circuit record" is one of theirs and so nothing to do with RAC MSA controlled motor sport as we know it.