Quickest forms of racing

[Jack_Bauer]

If an F1 car can make it down the Corkscrew then an F1, and I suppose around Nurburg as well.

F1 cars can easily make it through the Corkscrew - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=I_bWOdY6mbU

On any normal racing circuit ('Road Courses', as they tend to be known in America) an F1 car should be the fastest over one lap and over a short-ish race, probably followed by Champ Cars. If the race is an endurance race then reliability issues would make a Le Mans Prototype the obvious favourite. Provided they could get it to ride the bumps and cambers sufficiently cleanly then F1 cars should be the fastest around the Nordschleife too.

[kingofthering]

Quick question- what was the fastest Le Mans prototype race car? Could it set a lap time similar to the fastest F1 car, or could it be even faster?

A Jaguar XJ/9 holds the record for highest average speed, IIRC.

[Kultag]

Isn't the Thrust SSC a race car? And there are those Boneville lakesters at 400+ km/h. And if you check how 1000 cc race bikes accelerate to 350 km/h... I'm not sure they are far behind F1 cars (though they are poor in the corners). Or a 917/30 at Talladega?

[NSXType-R]

I guess you could call the Thrust SSC a race car, but what's it racing against?

It's only for top speed records on the Salt Flats, so I don't think it's a type of racing, not unless you're seeking for a line that never moves, it's not racing, I think at least.

[henk4]

I guess you could call the Thrust SSC a race car, but what's it racing against?

Time...

[Sledgehammer]

Theirs also motorboat racing, speeds get close to 140 mph and lasting 45 minutes.

The question is just to vague to answer appropriatly. I would think that the thrust scc is a form of racing. Racing in its nature is competative and breaking speed records is just a slice of the pie.

[jediali]

what about the space race? The Apollo 11 that dropped Armstrong of went 25000 Mph to escape the earths atmosphere.

[cmcpokey]

what about the space race? The Apollo 11 that dropped Armstrong of went 25000 Mph to escape the earths atmosphere.

38 years ago today as well... good timing.

[Cyco]

The space race was also a slow one - it took 10 years from the gun sounding till someone landed on the moon.

[NSXType-R]

First is first, there's no denying that.

The engineering effort must have been freaking huge. This is a massive rocket you're talking here, not a 4 wheeled wonder. The rocket is many hundred times more complex than the car. It has so many components, and if any one of them goes wrong, the pride of the country and the lives of the astronauts are gone. The undertaking of engineering a rocket is far greater than engineering a car. And in that short amount of time too. Getting to the moon is far harder than going round that corner.

[jediali]

38 years ago today as well... good timing.

i was reading an article about it in the times, just popped into mind here..

[Homem de Gelo]

What about the Red Bull air race?