After talking about it for so long, I finally got to see the Black Rock Desert last week. I had been in Alaska as an observer for a major RAF flying exercise and managed to break the flight back long enough to go and see Andrew Noble, who is already living in Gerlach on the edge of the Desert, and get out onto the desert itself.

(Map of the Black Rock Desert site)

(The Measured Mile on the Black Rock Desert looking South. Photo: Andy Green)

The Black Rock Desert has dried flat, smooth and hard, with a usable distance of over 15 miles, onto which we are planning to mark a 13-mile track (which leaves plenty at both ends for a safety over-run, something we didn't have in Jordan). Another major difference from Jordan is the stones - we picked up literally tonnes of stones from the Jafr desert; in the Black Rock, Andrew and I drove for 25 miles and saw just one stone (and yes, we did pick it up!).

(The surface of the Black Rock Desert with the Trimble GPS unit. Photo: Andy Green)

The surface itself is incredibly smooth - we drove from one end of the course to the other without seeing a single ripple or bump. The surface is slightly cracked, like all such playas (and all land speed record teams, according to some people); it is firm enough to take the weight of the SSC (just as well, really!) but is softer than the rock-hard surface of the Jafr desert. Now I can understand why Richard described Thrust 2 as having a Rolls-Royce ride on the Black Rock Desert: having seen the surface, I'm looking forward to the same thing in the SSC.

(The spectator area looking towards the North end of the tracks. The black line shows their approximate position. Photo: Andy Green)

The spectator area on the edge of the desert (or playa, to be more correct) offers a superb view of the whole course. I was initially worried that the people who came to see us run would not get much of a view because they would not be allowed on the desert, but in fact the viewing area is sufficiently high that they will have a much better view than the Thrust team who are down on the playa itself. So get yourself out there - it's going to be quite a sight!

Gerlach is a fascinating frontier town. Everyone was very friendly and they all wanted to know 'When is the Thrust team coming to Gerlach?' It was great feeling to be able to say 'Soon - very soon!' Posters of the Car are already up on the walls in Bruno's Bar and at the Miner's Club, both of which we will get to know very well I expect (in a town of 200 people, there aren't many other places to go).

Further afield, Reno, 100 miles south-west of Gerlach, is the international airport and mini-Las Vegas... a place to have a lot of fun (or lose all of your money!) when the Car isn't running. It's a good place start if you're coming out to watch the cars run in September, with plenty of cheap hotel accommodation - although you might want to book your hire car in advance, as I had some trouble getting one.

After all the hard work, the Car is nearly ready to go. In a couple of weeks we'll be loading the Antonov and flying to Nevada for the greatest race ever. We've got a great Car and a fantastic team... and now I've seen the Black Rock Desert, I can confirm first-hand what we've been saying all along: it really is the perfect surface for the world's first supersonic land speed record.

(For more information on the Black Rock Desert and visiting the record attempt, please see our Black Rock Desert pages.)

The author of this article, Andy_Green, is ThrustSSC's driver and a pilot in the Royal Air Force.

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