Aircraft

PICTURES: A1GP challenges Air New Zealand's Boeing 777 in race at Auckland Airport to promote upcoming Taupo

By Peter Clark

Flightglobal.com showcases these photos of A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) driver Jonny Reid and his "Black Beauty" race car and an Air New Zealand Boeing 777, under the command of Air New Zealand's’s chief pilot Dave Morgan, as they took part in a race on parallel runways at Auckland’s international airport on 8 January.

The race between the A1GP single-seater and the 313-passenger 777-200ER (ZK-OKD) was held to promote the A1GP races at Taupo on 20 January.

In the first race Reid's Black Beauty race car reached nearly 290km/h (157kt) speeding past the 777 as it left the runway at just under 146kt. 

Black Beauty was a little slower in the second race due to surface water on the track and was unable to reach its top speed because the car's engine had a speed limiter set up for the Taupo A1GP racetrack.

"I've never been on such a wide track before and it was fantastic looking across and seeing the Boeing 777 alongside me - it was something else altogether," says Reid. "Conditions weren't ideal, but it wasn't too bad because of the straight track. There was a little bit of drizzle so there would have been some problems with corners, but it went ok."

Before the race, Morgan said the big challenge for the 777, which weighed in at the relatively light weight of around 141t (310,500lb) as it had no passengers or freight and minimal fuel on board, would be keeping it on the ground long enough.

 

Images courtesy of Air New Zealand