Consider the numbers: 248km/h @ 8800 revs through multiple gear shifts. This is how world-renowned Kiwi drifter Mad Mike Whiddett attacked the corners on Franschhoek Pass in BADBULduring a recent trip to the Southern tip of Africa.
Conquer The Cape (playing in the player above) is the latest in a string of boundary-pushing world firsts for Mike and he loved every second of the drive.
"The drive itself was just crazy," Mike says of the R45 between Franschhoek and Villiersdorp.
"I can compare it a bit to Conquer the Crown – a very successful project we did back home that was a game-changer for drifting because of the credibility the sport got for the precision driving. The scenery is very similar, but this road was far more raw, with like massive cliff-drops and not much run-off. Not much space for error."

At the 2017 F1 Europe Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, Williams Racing tied the record for tje fastest pit stop ever at 1.92 seconds. The blistering time was first set in 2013 by Team Red Bull at the US Grand Prix.
Through eight races this season, Williams Racing has owned the fastest pit stop time in every single race. You can see the complete list of times

The gargantuan Stratolaunch carrier aircraft, built by Scaled Composites and nicknamed the "Roc," has the longest wingspan of any aircraft ever built: 385 feet from tip to tip. The six-engine mothership is designed to carry rockets between its two fuselages. Once at altitude, the mega-plane will drop the launch vehicle, which will then fire its boosters and launch to space from the air.
​The big aircraft is designed for a maximum takeoff weight of 1,300,000 lbs., making the plane capable of carrying launch vehicles and their payloads weighing up to about 550,000 lbs, with 250,000 lbs set aside for fuel. The first launch test will use only one Pegasus XL rocket, but Stratolaunch has designed the system so up to three launch vehicles can be dropped during a single flight. The company will also look to expand the types of launch vehicles that are compatible with its carrier aircraft.

​

It's a new way of approaching spaceflight, reminiscent of the X-plane testing the Air Force did in the 1950s and 60s, and Paul Allen's company Stratolaunch Systems is leading the way. The long-aircraft just rolled out of the Scaled Composites hangar for the first time earlier today, May 31. Fueling tests will begin in the coming days, followed by engine runs, taxi tests, and finally first flight.Stratolaunch Systems is still working on the rocket models that will be dropped from the carrier aircraft, but in October 2016 the company said it would use modified Pegasus XL rockets built by Orbital ATK for the first tests. In preparation for today's rollout, Scaled Composites spent the past weeks disassembling a three-story scaffold that surrounded the aircraft during construction. The aircraft's full weight rested on its 28 wheels for the first time, allowing Scaled Composites to weigh the almost entirely composite plane for the first time. It came in at 500,000 lbs.
Flightline testing will be conducted at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California over the course of several months, extensively testing all the systems of the new aircraft before flight. Stratolaunch is also preparing for delivery of the first Pegasus XL rocket to their facilities in Mojave. The new spaceflight company is on track to conduct the first launch test by 2019.
Stratolaunch is betting on a new way to launch rockets and payloads to space, and it has completed its gigantic aircraft for the job, revealing it to the world for the first time. If the Roc can drive up launch efficiency and drive down price, it might just change the orbital game.

tags: giant jet, paul allen , breed of speed , aviation news, nathan finneman , pilot , space x , personal astronaut

Of the 33 drivers competing in this year's Indianapolis 500, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso has caused the most stir. A two-time Formula One World Driving Champion, big things are expected of him for his first time at Indy. So far, he hasn't disappointed. Driving for Andretti Autosport, he qualified at an impressive 231.300 mph to start fifth in Sunday's race, his first oval. IndyCar brought Alonso, 35, to New York for interviews. Following is what we got from him.

Jim Clash: Why skip Monaco this year and compete at Indy?
Fernando Alonso: The Indy 500, the 24 Hours of LeMans and that Formula 1 race are the biggest events in motor racing. Having an opportunity to experience this Indy 500, it was greater than racing in Monaco. Unfortunately, we don't have a competitive package where we can fight at the front [in Monaco], so we take this opportunity - we live this experience, we live the moment, and hopefully we enjoy it.
Clash: Compare qualifying at Indy to Formula One races.
Alonso: The format is different. Those four laps you are out on the track you have to put all of them together. I'm quite happy with the results. We had a small issue with the engine on Sunday morning. We had to change it, so it wasn't calibrated perfectly for the qualifying. So there was a little issue in one corner with overboost. Without that, we probably would have been on the first row of the grid. We were happily surprised about the performance this first week. We know qualifying is not the final thing about the Indy 500 - it's about the race - so we've done nothing yet. We need to put next Sunday everything we learned into the race.
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inRead invented by TeadsClash: How are your Andretti Autosport teammates treating you?
Alonso: Fantastic. Amazing team, amazing teammates. They're been really helpful, all of them. Marco [Andretti], Ryan [Hunter-Reay], with all the experience they have. Also Takuma [Sato] and Alexander [Rossi], because they came from Formula One. Then the advice from Michael [Andretti], our team boss. They all made me understand that the race is long - it's not like in Formula One where after the first corner the race is pretty much defined. Here, it's a vey long race. You need to stay calm, take the opportunity at the end. Also, you have to set up the car for traffic behind other cars because you won't be alone on the track Sunday, you will be in a group. So it's important to have the confidence there. Many things are different here, and Alexander was especially helpful. I have everything I could dream in terms of preparation and how I adapt to the Indy car and oval racing. Then you need to perform out there because you are alone on the track.
Clash: Anything people don't know about you?
Alonso: Not really. My life has been covered the last 15 years [laughs], so there are few things people don't know about me - nothing really important.
Clash: How do you get back in the car after a horrific crash like Sebastien Bordais' in qualifying Saturday?
Alonso: At the end of the day you understand this is motor sports. We are doing this because we love cars and we love racing. There is always this danger factor there. But there is that in everything we do in our everyday lives. So you close the visor. You don't feel any fear, any problem. You just want to be quicker and quicker.
Clash: Of your two F-1 championships in 2005 and 2006, which was most special?
Alonso: The first one was very special because you feel those kind of emotions. The second one was special as well, because we fought with Michael Schumacher until the last race. That added some value to the second championship. So for both of them I have great memories.
Clash: What would it mean to you to win the Indy 500?
Alonso: That would mean there is one race left - the 24 Hours of LeMans.

Roger Moore, the handsome English actor who appeared in seven films as James Bond and as Simon Templar on “The Saint” TV series, has died in Switzerland after a short battle with cancer. He was 89.
His family issued an announcement on Twitter: “It is the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated.”


Moore appeared in more official Bond pics than his friend Sean Connery over a longer period of time, and while Connery’s fans were fiercely loyal, polls showed that many others favored Moore’s lighter, more humorous take on 007.
In 1972, Moore was asked to join Her Majesty’s Secret Service. He took on the mantle of 007 for 1973’s “Live and Let Die,” which would lead to six more turns as England’s top spy. In addition to reviving the franchise at the B.O. after waning prospects at the end of Connery’s run, the new James Bond relied on more humor in stories that cranked up the camp.
Moore as Bond began to shake off the Connery comparisons and pick up speed after 1977’s “The Spy Who Loved Me” launched the series into super-blockbuster status, raking in $185.4 million worldwide. Next up, the outer space-traveling “Moonraker” (1979) cumed $202 million and 1981’s “For Your Eyes Only” took $194 million.
“Octopussy” (1983) marked a downward turn in the franchise’s fortunes, with B.O. of $183.7 million, and 1985’s “A View to a Kill” saw the actor ready to surrender his license to kill, taking in a little over $150 million.

The young actor came to the U.S. in 1953. MGM signed him to a contract and he received supporting work on several pictures. He played a tennis pro in 1954’s “The Last Time I Saw Paris,” with Elizabeth Taylor. The role was one of several in the ’50s that hinged on his tall, athletic good looks. He would often play royalty or military characters.
Moore had his first taste of smallscreen stardom from 1956-58 as the lead, Sir Winfred, in ITV’s “Ivanhoe.” While still drawing film roles, he would continue to star in TV programs, following “Ivanhoe” with short-lived ABC Western “The Alaskans” and replacing James Garner in “Maverick” in 1960-61 (Moore played British cousin Beau Maverick). By the time he arrived on “Maverick,” its popularity was waning, but Moore won over the cast and crew with his good humor and charm, on-set qualities for which the actor would be known throughout his career.
In 1962, Moore began playing one of the roles that would define his celebrity, dashing thief Simon Templar, who would steal from rich villains each week on “The Saint.” The show ran 118 episodes, transitioning from B&W to color and finally wrapping in 1969. The British skein initially ran in syndication in the States but was part of NBC’s primetime schedule from 1967-69.
Stories would feature exotic locales, beautiful women and plenty of action, elements shared with the bigscreen tales about a certain British spy of the era. Ironically, it was the “Saint” contract that prevented Moore from competing for the role of 007 when Sean Connery was cast in 1962’s “Dr. No.”
Moore returned to the bigscreen with a pair of forgettable thrillers in ’69 and ’70. Despite having sworn off TV, he was subsequently lured back for “The Persuaders.” The show, which featured Moore and Tony Curtis as millionaire playboy crime-fighters, ran only one season; it was successful in Europe but failed in its run on ABC in the U.S.
During his 13 years as 007, Moore landed feature roles in other actioners, but none that would compete with the Bond franchise. Movies from that period include 1978’s “The Wild Geese,” with Richard Burton and Richard Harris, and 1980’s “ffolkes” with James Mason and David Hedison, who played CIA agent Felix Leiter in “Live and Let Die.”
The actor took great fun in skewering his slick image offscreen and on-, including appearances in “Cannonball Run” and TV’s “The Muppet Show,” in which he struck out with Miss Piggy; in the 2002 comedy “Boat Trip,” he played a flamboyant homosexual with some Bond-like elements, and in 2004 he lent his voice to animated short “The Fly Who Loved Me.”
He also occasionally appeared both on the big- and smallscreen. He appeared in the Spice Girls feature “Spice World,” provided a voice for “The Saint” feature in 1997, appeared in an episode of “Alias” in 2003 and had a role in the 2013 telepic version of “The Saint” starring Eliza Dushku.
Moore did quite a bit of voicework in the 2000s in pics including “Here Comes Peter Cottontail,” “Agent Crush,” “Gnomes and Trolls: The Forest Trial,” “De vilde svaner” and 2010’s “Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore,” whose title was an allusion to Bond girl Pussy Galore of “Goldfinger”; his “Cats and Dogs” character was Tab Lazenby.
He became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in 1991 and had been an active advocate for children’s causes. In 1999, he was honored by the British government with the title Commander of the British Empire.
Moore was born in Stockwell, South London. Despite health problems, Moore excelled at school and took an early interest in art and drawing. His grammar school education was interrupted by the start of WWII; he and his mother spent most of the war in Amersham, 25 miles outside of London.
In 1943, Moore decided to leave school and pursue work in animation at Publicity Pictures Prods., where he was a junior trainee in cartooning. But mishandling of some celluloid brought a swift conclusion to that career path.
Moore began his long acting career during the summer of 1944, when a friend recommended that he seek work as an extra on the film “Caesar and Cleopatra,” which brought Moore a walk-on role and the attention of co-director Brian Desmond Hurst, who was impressed with the looks of the tall, thin young man and secured him extra parts in two subsequent pics. With the support of Hurst, Moore auditioned for and was admitted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
In 1945, Moore was called up for national service and, after basic training, was recommended for the Intelligence Corps. “The only reason they commissioned me was I looked good in a uniform,” Moore joked of his military career.
The actor’s autobiography, “My Word Is My Bond,” was published in 2008; his other books include memoir “One Lucky Bastard” and “Bond on Bond.” In recent years he toured with a popular one-man show, “An Evening With Roger Moore.”
Moore was married to skater Doorn Van Steyn, singer Dorothy Squires, Italian actress Luisa Mattioli and finally to Danish-Swedish multimillionaire Kristina “Kiki” Tholstrup. He is survived by Tholstrup; a daughter, actress Deborah Moore; and two sons, Geoffrey Moore, an actor, and Christian Moore, a film producer.


tags: breed of speed , roger moore , bond , james bond dies , lotus , nathan finneman colorado , bos , 007

The Skip Barber Racing School has filed for bankruptcy, according to documents provided to The Drive, with somewhere between $10 million and $50 million in outstanding liabilities.
The school filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday, according to the copy provided to The Drive.
The most prominent creditor by far is Lime Rock Park of Connecticut, the court filing reveals, with Skip Barber Racing School owing the track $1.225 million for track rent. Somewhat ironically, Lime Rock Park is owned by Skip Barber himself, who founded the school that bears his name. Barber has long since divested himself of Skip Barber Racing School, selling off controlling interest in it back in 1999.
The school also owes rent to several other race tracks across America, including $239,617.19 to Road Atlanta, $169,568 to California's Monterey County (the lawful owner of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca), $112,000 to Mid-Ohio, $105,983 to Palm Beach International Raceway, $56,623.77 to Virginia International Raceway, and $29,600 to Willow Springs, among other unsecured claims to creditors. 
The filing declares that the school possesses assets valued at roughly $5.3 million. That includes a listed $1,489,500 worth of automobiles and $1.6 million in auto parts. It also places a value of $2 million on the Skip Barber Racing School brand name and training techniques. 
The Skip Barber Racing School was created in 1975, after Barber retired from professional racing and set about teaching high-performance driving as a coachable skill. According to the website, the school helped to launch the racing careers of Josef Newgarden, Spencer Pigot, Marco Andretti, Conor Daly, and many other professional drivers; it also counts celebrities as Tom Cruise, Patrick Dempsey, and Jerry Seinfeld among its graduates. 


tags: breed of speed , skip barber racing school , nathan finneman , bos , racing school

Motorcycle racer Nicky Hayden succumbed to injuries from a bicycle crash on Monday. He was 35.
Hayden was training on his bicycle on the Rimini coast in Italy on Wednesday when he was struck by a car. He was taken to a local hospital with chest and head trauma, and was then transferred to the Bufalini Hospital in Cesena.
The hospital released a medical bulletin on Monday announcing the death, having said last week that Hayden had severe cerebral damage and multiple traumatic injuries.
Hayden, who was in Italy following a race at nearby Imola, was transported to the Bufalini facility following the incident on the Rimini coast on Wednesday.


Nicknamed the “Kentucky Kid,” Hayden had worked his way up to the premier class of MotoGP by 2003, when he was just 21 years old, teaming up with Valentino Rossi at Repsol Honda.
Just three years later, Hayden would win the MotoGP World Championship after a season-long battle with Rossi.
Hayden remained in MotoGP full-time until 2015 but was unable to make it back to the top step of the podium again.
In 2016, Hayden switched to the Superbike World Championship where he took a race win in Malaysia. He was 13th in the points following his latest Superbike race at Imola this year.




tags: nathan finneman , nicky hayden crash, hayden death, racing news , breed of speed , colorado

What was once reserved for MotoGP experts is now available for hobby petrolheads and bike freaks alike. Thanks to the Icaros, fans of the sport can now experience what it’s like to ride at hair-raising speeds without the worry about suffering injuries.
After releasing Icaros Pro in April 2016, a prototype of the virtual reality computer game and sports equipment, the founders and designers Johannes Scholl and Michael Schmidt are now following up with a new and improved version. 
“We’ve developed the Icaros R to provide people with motorcycle track grip and racing feeling,” says Schmidt. “I’ve ridden my Ducati in extremely amateur fashion around some very big curves, and I can honestly say that the feeling you get using the ICAROS has much more to do with real bike riding than playing computer games with a controller.”

The playful approach is the key to ICAROS, although it is primarily intended to achieve an actual goal: movement.
“We see ourselves as a sports equipment manufacturer,” says Schmidt, who has sold over 200 ICAROS “Pro” devices with his company to fitness centres, event agencies, large companies and Arcades. “The gaming component, however, is a great motivator for people and helps to get more out of it than you normally would,” says Schmidt.
This is why he and his team are currently working on an online multiplayer game where sporting competition is the focus.
“The whole process will be global and by 2018, and it will be possible to take part in global contests on all Icaros products,” says Schmidt. “Users will be able to compete in qualifying sessions and finally to determine who is the best in a live final.”
The Icaros R will be launched later this year.

tags: virtual reality moto gp , virtual reality , nathan finneman colorado , breed of speed , vr future , cool

Skydiving instructor Mike Robinson was at 12,000 feet, just seconds away from his fourth and final jump of the day, when a second plane carrying other skydivers struck the aircraft he was in, sending them all tumbling toward the ground.
None of the nine skydivers or two pilots sustained serious injury when the two planes collided in midair Saturday evening in far northwest Wisconsin near Lake Superior. Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration were in the area Sunday talking to those involved, and the cause of the incident was still being investigated, said FAA spokesman Roland Herwig.
Robinson, an instructor and safety adviser for Skydive Superior, said the skydivers had gone up for their last jump of the day – called the "sunset load" – and the two planes were flying in formation. It was supposed to be a routine jump, and a fun one for Robinson, who usually jumps as a trainer.
All of the skydivers were instructors or coaches and had hundreds, if not thousands, of jumps under their belts. It was Robinson's 937th jump.
"We do this all the time," Robinson said. "We just don't know what happened for sure that caused this."
He and three other skydivers were in the lead plane, and all four had climbed out onto the step at the side of the Cessna 182 and were poised to jump. The plane behind theirs had five skydivers on board, three in position to jump and two more inside the plane, at the ready.
"We were just a few seconds away from having a normal skydive when the trail plane came over the top of the lead aircraft and came down on top of it," he said. "It turned into a big flash fireball, and the wing separated."
"All of us knew we had a crash. ... The wing over our head was gone, so we just left," he added.
The three skydivers who were on the step of the second plane got knocked off upon impact, Robinson said, and the two inside were able to jump. The pilot of Robinson's plane ejected himself, and the pilot of the second plane landed the aircraft safely at Richard I Bong Airport, from where it took off. The plane was damaged.


Robinson said his group was lucky.
"It might've been a lot worse," he said. "Everybody, to a person, responded just as they should, including the pilots."
He said that as he tracked away from the plane he grew concerned when he saw only one emergency parachute – meaning only one pilot had ejected. He was relieved to learn that the pilot of the second plane was able to stay with the aircraft and land it.
Robinson said he suffered no injuries, but a few jumpers had bumps, bruises and muscle soreness. And despite the scare, he said he would not hesitate to jump again.
"Whenever the clouds and winds allow us to be up, we'll be jumping," he said, although now the company is without aircraft.

tags: breed of speed, plane collision , nathan finneman colorado , sky diving crash , plane collides , insane airplane crash 

Far Ahead Of Its Time.If you’re an aviation enthusiast, you probably know who Howard Robard Hughes Jr. is. A businessman, investor, director and aviator, this man’s accolades are nearly endless. One of the feats of engineering we’ll be focusing on in this article is his record-breaking aircraft, the H-1 Racer.
Built all the way back in 1935, only one example of it was built although a few privately owned companies built replicas not too long ago. It was an aircraft specifically built to beat the existing world speed record. It succeeded.
Building a plane which had new design advancements such as retractable gear and flush rivets, this plane was way ahead of the then common bi-planes that dominated the skies.
In 1935, Hughes flew the aircraft himself shattering the world landplane speed record by reaching 359.38 miles per hour. At the end though, he was forced to make an emergency landing due to fuel starvation. Although banged up, the H-1 was in relatively good shape and Hughes vowed to make improvements and make her go faster.
Below you’ll find two videos. The top on is a quick excerpt about Hughes and his flight. The one below it, although silent, is the actual footage of the day he took off with this H-1 Racer. It’s quite spectacular.



tags: breed of speed, hughes h1 , howard hughes , airplane h1 , nathan finneman colorado , breedofspeed, pilot , aviation history