Unique BMW Speed Challenge

BMW CAR AND MOTORBIKE VERSUS A PRO HIT GOLF BALL
by Marty Bernstein, Advertising & Marketing Editor
The Auto Channel.Com

Chicago, IL (Cog Hill Golf Course) To jump start its first sponsorship of a PGA Tour Event, the BMW Championship, BMW last week staged a unique speed contest. The object? To deter-mine if a car and motorbike can match, much less beat the pace of a golf ball hit by a professional golfer.

There were three competitors: Stewart Cink, four-time winner on the tour and three-time President's Cup team player, struck golf balls with various clubs while a BMW M5 car and a BMW K1200R motorbike driven by professional motorsports drivers – Graham Rahal in the car and Nate Kern on the bike, roared off from a standing start. There were no false starts either.

The physics of propelling a 1.5-ounce golf ball are very different from acceler-ating a 4,000lb BMW M5, or a 522lb BMW K1200R motorbike. The golf ball achieves its highest speed as it leaves the face of the club (up to 190 miles an hour with a driver) and then slows as its travels through the air. The 507 horsepower BMW M5 can rocket from a standing start to 62 mph in just 4.7 seconds, while the 163 horsepower BMW K1200R motorbike needs just 2.8 seconds to reach this speed. Unlike the slowing golf ball, the car and the bike keep accelerating under the thrust of their powerful engines.

When Cink, Rahal and Kern were put to the test, Cink's drive of the golf ball was able to outpace the BMW M5 and BMW motorbike for each of three runs. During the first run, Cink led the trio, winning by approximately 30 feet with Kern coming in a close second followed by Rahal. During each of the next two challenges, the golf ball also came away the winner, finishing ahead of Kern by approximately 15 feet on the second run and approximately 20 on the third run. # # #