FIRST 2017 FORD GT OWNER TO OFFICIALLY DRIVE 200+MPH at RUNWAY RACING MOJAVE CA

[skyrex]

WOW!!!! We had another great race day at the Mojave Air and Space Port yesterday. Over 7 years of organizing and participating in these top speed events I have been able to experience and be apart of so many utterly amazing moments. Seeing family and friends smiling from ear to ear after they have a great run. Watching fathers and sons bond over a love of cars. The different generations melding together in pure automotive bliss. And especially satisfying is being able to be a small part of drivers being able to achieve that hallowed life long dream of driving over 200 MPH. Well yesterday we all got to see a little piece of automotive and Ford GT history. The first officially timed 2017 FORD GT owner to drive over 200 MPH!!!!

It absolutely could not have happened to a better man. The Runway Racing Top Speed Challenge is proud to announce that our own Ford GT Forum member, long time Runway Racing participant and someone I feel lucky to call a friend....... Flagstaff GT......BARRY LEVITAN is the fastest 2017 Ford GT owner on Planet Earth!!! Barry rocketed that new 2017 Ford GT down the runway at Mojave Air and Space Port over 20 times topping out at a top speed of 203.2MPH!!!!!

Barry promised to chime in later all about his experiences yesterday but graciously allowed me to make the initial announcement. Here are some pictures of Barry and his gorgeous officially 200 MPH certified 2017 Ford GT. From all of us at Runway Racing and from all the participants who were able to witness a great piece of automotive history BIG CONGRATULATIONS BARRY!!!!

And of course his car number was 40! We have more pictures we are sorting through and we were fortunate that we had a professional camera crew out there that is also sorting through their footage now for Barry's runs so there will be more fun links, pics and vids to come. For now enjoy these pics of Barry and his incredible Ford GT!!

 

[Jason Watt]

Well done - that's awesome...!!!! Go baby goooooo

 

[Spirit]

CONGRATULATIONS BARRY !! :thumbsup

 

[sandman]

Great job!

 

[FlagstaffGT]

So maybe I had to wait until the headwinds died down. I was 197 consistently with headwinds all morning, over 200 when the wind changed. Let's say a 2 mile runway at high acceleration and speed, and 1 mile braking and 3 miles of taxiway with average acceleration and speed with a typical 20 mpg (roughly my mpg traveling to and from 900 miles). 18 runs x 6 miles is 108 miles, so 36 high speed miles and 72 average speed miles. 72 average speed miles at 20 mpg is 3.6 gallons. Removing 3.6 gallons from the 16 gallons of gas used leaves 12.4 gallons of gas used for the 36 high speed miles, roughly 2.9 mpg. Moral of the story is 200 mph uses a lot of gas. And creates a lot of brake dust. Max speeds were in fully automatic, switching to manual and trying my best was always 0.5-1 mph slower. 200 mph is in 7th gear, could not downshift to 6th near that speed. Car just rips through the first three gears into fourth. I gave rides and let others take the wheel in the afternoon (with the favorable winds) and all those runs were over 200 mph. As a passenger I really felt being pushed back in my seat. And got a little nauseous. It was sort of fun. Just recounted my runs, think it's 20, so mpg is down even more.

 

[wmjim]

Awesome Barry! Congratulations!!! You're the MAN!

 

[Special K]

Way to represent Barry! So nice to see the car stretching her legs!!


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[FENZO]

Wow!

 

[Simon]

Fantastic!

 

[CJ428]

Nice

 

[STORMCAT]

Congratulations Barry!!! Excuse me if I'm a little slow. I know some of those events they ran more than one mile was it an exact measured mile?

The dust on the wheels looks more likes sand then brake dust...... does the air brake come up in Vmax mode?

 

[FlagstaffGT]

I would never reach 200 in a single mile, in anything I drive. Ever. Probably. Likely. That is at the end of 1.5 mile. Did Hoover up runway dust behind me, to the point others thought I was smoking. V- max the wing stays down, but I have questions in to Ford about the air brake deploying, should have an answer soon, ish. I ran in track mode with the wing up one time and of course it slowed me down a mph or two, or three. I sort of tried everything to go faster.

 

[FikseGTS]

awesome!! so the 169.9 is 1/2 mile? that's really strong!

 

[skyrex]

awesome!! so the 169.9 is 1/2 mile? that's really strong!

Yes it is. We have three traps set up at our events now to give our participants the 1/2 mile, mile and 1.5 mile speeds.

 

[GTMD]

Wow Barry! That's awesome news! Way to pioneer into a new club with the 2017 GT. Congrats!

 

[FikseGTS]

how did other GTs do? any other cars to compare to?

Yes it is. We have three traps set up at our events now to give our participants the 1/2 mile, mile and 1.5 mile speeds.

 

[Blue Moose]

Excellent Barry. That looks like a great time. Glad to see you enjoying your car!

 

[ChipBeck]

Outstanding Barry!!! So 169.9 at 1/2 mile and 203 at 1.5 miles. What was your best speed at 1 mile?? How does it feel to be the fastest NFGT owner? Cheers.

Chip

 

[fjpikul]

Impressive news. Glad for you. No Arlette?

 

[skyrex]

how did other GTs do? any other cars to compare to?

There is no apples to apples comparison when doing old to new. We had 3 other GT's there ranging from my TT at 237, mitty's new TTGT which went 222.9MPH (new personal best for him....BIG CONGRATS MIKE :thumbsup:thumbsup) and new 200MPH club member Steve Connor arty who did low 200's with his SC car but I cant remember exactly and I would need to look at the results when I get them next week for an exact speed. Maybe he can chime in if he sees this.

I have been at Mojave for a long time. I told Barry 200 was in the cards for his car based on similar cars that have run at our events but it really depends on conditions. They change quickly in Mojave. In the morning we had very cool temps but we had a combo of cross and head winds. Like Barry said in those conditions it was 197ish all morning long. Once the winds shifted to a nice but not crazy tail wind we knew he was going to get 200+. The paddock went WILD when he did it!! :banana:banana:club:banana:banana

First there was the agonizingly close 199.7 he ran once the winds shifted to tails. The collective groan/swearing (what I said was not fit for print :lol) in the paddocks was universal. Then on the next run he broke through with a 200.2MPH run. After that he seemed to improve with every run....200.9 next continuing up until he hit 203.2. He had a few other times in there but I don't remember them all and will have to see the results to get them unless he wants to chime in on his 200mph progression. I know I saw at least 5 200mph runs by his car between my runs.

Like I said conditions were good not great. In best case scenario Mojave conditions a 210-212 is possible for the new FGT's. For me at the speeds I run great conditions can add 5-7 mph to your best times. For stock exotics/vehicles I have seen over the years or driven great conditions make an 8-12 MPH difference over personal bests for some drivers. (My Ferrari picked up 11MPH in April over its best time when we had peak conditions) Again we had good conditions Saturday so I would say there is another 7-9mph on the table at our venue in the right conditions for the NFGT but no more. You would need more asphalt if you wanted to go faster.

Here are some more pics from the event. One is Barry getting his first 200MPH time slip. That is one damn happy looking man!! We also give out casino chip speed awards and I was thrilled to give Barry his 200MPH club chip!!

Tomorrow I will make a post about one of the best adventures I have had at Mojave....my run in that gorgeous new FGT of his.