(August 15, 2011) Since 1924 the Campbell family has used the Pendine sand in Carmarthenshire, Wales, as the home for their Bluebird Electric record attempts. During the weekend of Aug. 13-14, Don Wales, grandson of the celebrated Malcolm Campbell and nephew of Donald Campbell, and his son Joseph returned to the iconic seven-mile stretch of beach in an attempt to add another entry to the history books.

Unfortunately their attempt to set a new electric vehicle land speed record was foiled by weather conditions and damage to the Bluebird on Sunday, Aug.14.

The Bluebird Electric set the current UK Electric Land Speed Record of 137 mph in 2000. Organizers this time had hoped for speeds of 150 mph.



Organizing a land speed record attempt is an epic logistical feat before a wheel has even turned. The team has faced countless hurdles in their quest for speed — delayed component parts, cancelled runs, tight budgets, limited testing and too few hours in a day. Not to mentioned the inherently short window of time between low tides at Pendine and the unpredictability of the weather.

Saturday was the 2011 Bluebird Electric’s first time on Pendine, and it was only the second time Joe Wales had got behind the wheel of the vehicle. Weather conditions on the day hampered the exploratory runs.

A blue sky on Sunday put the Bluebird team in good spirits and Don was keen to give Joe the opportunity to enter the record books himself. Sadly, the return leg of a fast outward run was brought to a premature end.

Limited visibility within the cockpit and an alarming slide towards the sea at speeds in excess of 100 mph caused the car to bounce severely on the uneven surface and hit a soft pothole of sand. The resulting impact damaged the bodyshell, steering components and disconnected a bottom wishbone.  Only Joe’s natural talent for car control on soft sand and quick reactions meant the damage on impact was as minimal.

“When you can't see the ground in front of you for 60 meters or 70 meters you're in trouble before you've seen it,” said Don Wales after the accident. Unfortunately, incoming tides meant the car could not be repaired on site in time to run again.

Bluebird Electric is the culmination of months of effort from the engineers at Bluebird Automotive with valuable assistance from The University of Bristol, Swansea Metropolitan University and Tirius Ltd. Bluebird is powered by 300 Nickel-cadmium Vented cell batteries, channelled into two Brushless permanent magnetic motors, each producing 268 horsepower and a total of 811 pound-feet of torque.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances of the weekend, Don Wales remains optimistic that Bluebird Electric will return to Pendine for another shot at record breaking.

“We’ll take the car back to Pembroke Docks and see what need to be fixed and where we go from here. We’re a small team with a lot of volunteer help and severely struggling with finance. Hopefully we can secure sponsorship to ensure the project still has life in it. But the important thing is that Joe is well.”

To show support for the Bluebird team and get behind it for a potential return to Pendine, visit www.bluebirdspeedrecords.comand follow them at www.twitter.com/bluebirdspeed and http://www.facebook.com/bluebirdspeedrecords