At 0430hrs your alarm sounds reveille - shades of Jordan, this. Breakfast is at 5, with the team operational by 0630. ThrustSSC won the toss last night and will take the first desert slot - a good job Martyn Davidson and Desho Molnar recognised months ago the possibility that both cars would be ready to run at the same time on the same day.
By 0730 the team are preparing to move out - the desert slot begins at 0730 and runs until 1000. A last minute comms problem is quickly resolved by Robert Atkinson, and the two Pegasus microlights take to the air. Merlo - call sign "Merlin" - moves off to Mile 2, about another half mile East of the Desert Pits and stands by for the run. In the event of an incident, it's 6-ton lifting capacity may be needed, but with a peak speed of some 25mph, it needs to be carefully positioned before each run. The BBC's second cameraman follows close behind in their 'Winnebago' - it's actually a Ford, but no-one seems to call them anything else over here.
By 0745 ThrustSSC is rolling out onto the desert and is taking up position for the first run. Three runs are planned - time permitting, speeds will increase from 125mph indicated (approx. 134mph ground speed), through 280mph (300mph) to 420mph (450mph). The first two runs will use maximum dry power, the last will bring in minimum afterburners. Runs Controller Jayne Millington calls 'desert closed' around this time, with the Mach 1 Club members on security patrol at each desert entrance acknowledging.
At 0810, ThrustSSC is in position opposite the Merlo at Mile 2. A light mist hangs over the south-west end of the desert - it rolled down off the hills last night. Team 1 attempt to start their Palouste - the first we hear of a problem is a request for Robert Atkinson to proceed from Recovery to Start to assist. Andy Green in the SSC reports that it is recalcitrant - although it is not an igniter problem. If anyone can fix it, Robert can - but time is ticking away and the team are under a deadline.
Robert makes his way back down the course, followed closely by Team 2's Palouste. Andy is happy for their air-start unit to be used - with only a short 1.7 mile run planned, it can reach the car in time in the even of a jet-pipe fire on engine shutdown. It will have to be fixed for subsequent runs, though.
Finally, at 0850, the twin Spey 202's in ThrustSSC are started. "Firechase" calls ready. "Merlin" calls ready. Jayne gives Andy Green in ThrustSSC clearance to roll, and at 0858 the engine pitch climbs and dust rises from the desert behind the car. The SSC accelerates away as Andy Green goes to full dry power - the maximum achievable without the afterburners. An unwanted interruption breaks out as Firechase's radio mike sticks on - this could be a problem for the SSC if Andy is unable to get through to control. Firechase's crew realise the problem and fix it - we'll have to watch for that one in future.
Reaching a peak of 148mph, Andy Green throttles back to idle and lets the car roll to a stand to give Ron his much needed rolling resistance figures for the Black Rock Desert. Despite the estimated factor in his calculations, the car stops 1.72 miles down the track - bang on the calculated mark - and the Team 2 on Recovery move into action. It's a slick turnround and the Merlo barely has time to reach its next holding point at Mile 6.5 before '10 minutes to run' is called by Jayne. The run alongside the tracks is interesting - the measured mile (Mile 6 to Mile 7) is seen for the first time marked out by huge green and red signs, while the desert is noticeably smoother and softer than the Ga Jafr in Jordan.
Robert Atkinson reports that the recalcitrant Palouste is now serviceable, while "Mobile Recs" advises that the world-famous French photographer Alain Ernoult and his Paris-Match escort, Christophe, are taking pictures from in front of the car. Andy Green requests that they be removed.
At 0930 the Speys are started again. Jayne calls: "All stations, 5 minutes to run, 5 minutes to run. All stations, minimise." At 0937 SSC is rolling again and the familiar rooster tail is beginning to rise above the distant haze. Barely has the car started than Andy Green calls that he is aborting - he has had an electrical failure and has barely exceeded 50mph. Firechase and Team 2 proceed at top speed to the stricken car - but at 0940 Andy Green calls: "SSC is safe." Everyone relaxes again.
The desert is handed over to the Spirit of America team at 1000. At the ThrustSSC debrief the cause is clear - old, cold cells in one of the batteries had been hard worked by a combination of the morning's various tests, heavy use of the hydraulic pump and long running times on the systems. A simple replacement will suffice to fix it - all being well ThrustSSC can resume the Black Rock Campaign tomorrow. The good news is that Andy Green reports that the car rides and handles: "Very, very, smoothly." ThrustSSC was designed for this desert, and the benefit is being felt.
At 1100 the opposition's long white car is seen being towed to the north end of the tracks - like ThrustSSC they jack the steering wheels to do this. Unlike ThrustSSC, that means they tow the car facing forwards. At 1158, a rooster tail can be seen from the Pit Station roof as the American car accelerates further away. It is hard to judge distances through some 5 miles of haze - no estimate of speed can be made. We later hear that the onboard data acquisition shows a 328mph run.
A second run is planned for Craig Breedlove - running north to south, finishing around Mile 4. At 1235 a 20-minute warning is issued. Everyone waits expectantly outside, looking for the dust cloud to rise above the reflected sky. It's a long wait, broken only by the chatter of spectators above the hum of the generators. Twisters, picked out by the dust they carry, make their way across the desert in the strong breeze. The sun breaks through the clouds for the first long period of the day and the temperature rises. At 1330 a 10-minute warning is advised. Eventually at 1340 the planned run is called off.
Both cars have run, albeit with problems - the race is on!
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