Give a little to charity and you too could have been able to crank up your high-performance car to speeds you’d never get away with otherwise Saturday.
More than 100 drivers paid up for the chance to take their car down Runway 6 of the Russ Beach airport in Smiths Falls for the “Race the Runway” event on Saturday.
“We build these to go fast and unfortunately we can't do it on the roads,” said Will Demelo, driver of a 1974 Pantera. “This is the place where we can do it legally.”
“I'm here for the cars, the speed, the power and the Porsche 911 Turbo,” said Daniel Martin. “Got clocked the second time around at 254 (kilometres an hour).”
Not only could participants go about 150 kilometres an hour faster than is allowed on the highway, they could also do it in a historic setting.
“(It’s) a fantastic initiative at Smiths Falls to get an aviation museum together, the area has a very rich aviation history and is doing all sorts of fundraisers,” said Race the Runway founder Peter O’Belenis.
“Seemed to me with a runway you can do a much bigger fundraiser and have a lot of fun at the same time.”
Those not behind the wheel said the thrills don’t apply to the drivers alone.
“It’s an adrenaline rush just to see them and hear ‘swoooosh’ coming down the track,” said one fan.
“(Drivers) are coming across the line and they're freaking out, they are hitting their brakes fast,” O’Belenis said. “It's quite intimidating when you've never done it before.”
Proceeds from the event went to the Russ Beach Smiths Falls-Montague Aviation Museum, with organizers saying they hope to do it again next year.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Natalie Duddridge
