From the BBC:
Blind man sets land speed record
Mike Newman aims to raise awareness of charity Vision 2020
A 43-year-old man has claimed the new world land speed record for the blind. Mike Newman, from Sale, Greater Manchester, raced to 167.32mph in his specially-made BMW M5 at Elvington Airfield, near York, on Tuesday. Event organisers said the record was set after the average speed was taken from two runs.
Mr Newman hoped to break the 200mph barrier but was thwarted as he ran out of room on the track. He said: "It has been a wonderful day." The record has to be officially confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records. A father of two, Mr Newman set a record of 144mph in a Jaguar XJ-R in August 2003.
Mr Newman wanted to reach speeds of 200mph
He said: "It has been a really exciting day. Hopefully I have raised awareness ahead of World Sight Day and shown that you can achieve anything you want."
Mr Newman wanted to increase awareness of his chosen charity Vision 2020. John Galloway, who helped organise the record attempt, said: "This is a marvellous achievement.
"Mike drove totally unassisted. It is a fantastic achievement and has been one of the most emotional days of my life."
Blind man sets land speed record
Mike Newman aims to raise awareness of charity Vision 2020
A 43-year-old man has claimed the new world land speed record for the blind. Mike Newman, from Sale, Greater Manchester, raced to 167.32mph in his specially-made BMW M5 at Elvington Airfield, near York, on Tuesday. Event organisers said the record was set after the average speed was taken from two runs.
Mr Newman hoped to break the 200mph barrier but was thwarted as he ran out of room on the track. He said: "It has been a wonderful day." The record has to be officially confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records. A father of two, Mr Newman set a record of 144mph in a Jaguar XJ-R in August 2003.
Mr Newman wanted to reach speeds of 200mph
He said: "It has been a really exciting day. Hopefully I have raised awareness ahead of World Sight Day and shown that you can achieve anything you want."
Mr Newman wanted to increase awareness of his chosen charity Vision 2020. John Galloway, who helped organise the record attempt, said: "This is a marvellous achievement.
"Mike drove totally unassisted. It is a fantastic achievement and has been one of the most emotional days of my life."
![[:D]](/images/smilies/biggrin.png "Big Grin [:D]")
![[hihi]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_hihi.gif "Hi Hi [hihi]"){kind=icon}
