Leading car magazine, Fast Car, will head to Crail Airfield’s first event of the season for 2005 this Sunday (6th February), to catch thousands of Scotland's top road cars in action at Scotland’s ¼ mile.
The modified car bible will not only be on the look out for Scotland’s specialist cars to feature in forthcoming issues of Fast Car, but will also be on site to snap users of the airfield’s unique drift track, where drivers are required to complete a circuit followed by a figure of eight round the extended drifting oval.
The ‘Drift’ craze - which started in Japan - is now a huge crowd puller at organised events. Relatively new to the UK, the skill is extremely popular south of the border and has shown signs of real growth in Scotland - especially with rear wheel drive vehicles, which can drift more easily.
For those visiting the event for the first time, participants can take part in two disciplines - the 'Run What You Brung' action on the ¼ mile strip that takes place on the mile long runways of the 350 acre, WW2 air base and the drift/sprint track.
Organiser, William Robertson, has made a number of changes to the track at the Airfield. “This year we will be lengthening the track by moving the gantry back to increase the run off distance.
“Performance times at Crail are building year on year and we expect to see some new records for 2005. With the return of the ‘Streetfighters’ bike meet in July - where last year a bike pulled in a time of 180 MPH in 8 seconds - lengthening the track could make all the difference. Last year some brakes were glowing red by the time they reached the bottom of the strip, so increasing the stopping distance should prevent this problem and also allow Fireforce to achieve a full ¼ rather than just an eighth of a mile.”
Visitors to the event should be on the lookout for ‘Lucky Booty’ tickets throughout the year. With amazing prizes on offer, there will be a number of special entry tickets where the lucky winners can pull in ‘booty’ ranging from Max Live tickets and car accessories, through to a new set of tyres, a ‘Super Chip’ or even a total body re-spray.
The 2005 season will receive support from all the leading modified car magazines and stunt acts, which visitors have come to expect from the Crail Airfield events. This will include the world's number one precision driver, TV stunt master, Russ Swift, performing two wheeled tricks and pinpoint accurate driving skills with his Mini & Mitsubishi Evo Stunt show; Terry Grant, who returns with his unique show involving his TVR and Dwarf Car - driven both at the same time, and the10,000 hp ‘Fireforce’ returns to Scotland for more jet action alongside the crazy Dutch ‘Pyromaniac’ jet quad.
“We are also booking new acts for 2005, especially from Europe, as the Rosyth Ferry has opened up the chance to get acts never seen in Scotland before, making access a great deal easier for them to get here”, said Robertson.
Crail Airfield will also have Nitrous Oxide on site for the new season. Ed Davis a regular at the events at the Crail and Edzell events, will provide a bottle refill service for drivers that run out on the day.
The only requirement to take part at Crail is a valid UK driving licence and a £15 signing-on fee, which entitles participants to unlimited runs and the new drift/sprint track. At the end of the day personal performance print-outs showing reaction times to the start lights, 60', 1/4 mile times, and top speed will be given out – personal times can also be easily accessed through www.crailairfieldpromotions.co.uk
Those planning to travel to Crail Raceway on the St Andrews A917 road, going through Kingsbarns, please be aware that this route is closed on Sunday due to roadworks. Please allow for extra travelling time, taking care to follow the diversion signs.
Gates open from 9.30am - 5pm. £7.00 per adult, under 16’s £3.00. The 1/4-mile and the drift/sprint track will be open till 4:30pm. The 2005 dates are currently on the Crail Raceway web site crailairfieldpromotions.co.uk
