Page 54 - Classics Issue

Vmax200 started ffteen years ago when petrol-head oil broker Craig Williams and his friends wanted to see how fast their cars could go, so he rented an airfeld and they spent a sunny Saturday doing just that! The event has grown up somewhat since then and Williams, now a Director of Supercar Club Auto Vivendi which owns Vmax200 invited Paddock Life along to see what it’s all about. As we arrived we could see that some very serious players had turned out up for the event, no less than two Bugatti Veyron, a Pagani Huayra, a Porsche 918 and an ultra-rare Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato all were ready to take their place on the grid, resting up in the paddock there were a plethora of supercars also patiently waiting to hit the runway.. Vmax200 are no strangers to motoring royalty though, it’s not unusual to see a Ferrari FXX, McLaren P1 and La Ferrari in attendance although the current crown is held by the Swedish Koenigsegg One:1 at a frankly absurd 240mph whilst piloted by Le Mans racing driver Oliver Webb who turned up to play on his day off no less! After a thorough briefng from Williams and his safety team MSS it was time for the safety lap and 50 hypercars and supercars made their way down the straight for a sighting lap. It was one of those spectacles you don’t see very often and quite literally the ground shook beneath us. Next it was time to race the runway for real and with a full TV crew capturing the action for ‘Vmax200 TV’ the cars lined up and battle commenced. It’s all taken in good spirits and camaraderie was high as the day went on. With Aston Martin as partners for 2017, Vmax200 now features ‘The fastest test drive in the world’ whereby Vmax200 drivers have the chance to take to the runway in the full range of AML cars and push them to their ‘Vmax’.