Southern NSW Street Luge Racers member Nic McKirdy of Batemans Bay will join a select group of extreme racers from around the world in an attempt to break the world speed records for street luge.
He and the other competitors will be approaching speeds of around 150km/h, or 100 miles per hour, as they lie flat on their backs on their luge boards, only centimetres from the road surface.
McKirdy departs on September 12 for Quebec, Canada and the L'Ultime Descente event to compete for the World Gravity Sports Association world records in both the street luge limited and classic luge classes. Both records were set at the event in 2016.
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He said his preparations for the event are going well, and he has assembled his boards and testing was going well.
“Before winter set in, I travelled to the alpine regions and set a personal best according to my GPS in both the street and classic luge discipline,” he said. “I reached a personal best speed of 121km/h in street luge and 110km/h in classic luge.”
He is currently trying to obtain a special aerodynamic suit to wear over his leathers, which he hopes will give him a competitive edge.
“My goal for the event is to be competitive in the classic luge category,” McKirdy said. “In the street luge category, I am competing in the limited class, which is a board that does not have an aerodynamic fairing.
“I am taking my first ever luge which I raced at Mt Panorama in 2010. My aim is to set a new personal best and obtain a speed higher than 150km/h.”
His travel plans entail flying to Toronto to meet with a Canadian friend and another ex-pat Aussie. He will then make the eight-hour drive across Canada to the town of Les Eboulements.
There is a third Australian from Brisbane who will also be competing in the inline class, he said.
In other Southern NSW Street Luge Racers news, fellow Batemans Bay racer, 19-year-old Jayden Hodge had been hoping to compete at the Noosa Pro Am event in Queensland, but that event was now cancelled.
This would have been his second competition after his first event at the start of the year at Bathurst at Newton’s Nation.
Stan Gorton
Walkley-nominated journalist based at The Islander on Kangaroo Island with an interest in the local community and the environment.
Walkley-nominated journalist based at The Islander on Kangaroo Island with an interest in the local community and the environment.
