I Am Blind Racecar Driver, Mike Newman. I am the fastest blind person on the planet! Ask me anything!

But, how?

Uhhhh...The Force?!?! You of all people should know...

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Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRxdHdz1yGs I'm alone in the car in front and the chase car radios through to let me know if I'm in the correct line and if not, how much I should correct it. Doubt you could push me around the Walmart car park that quick.

But seriously, how do you drive blind? Do you listen for obstacles or is there some other way for you to know where you're heading?

Replied below so just copying it here: Ok so, when I'm going for speed records IE in a straight line, I have an intercom in my car and I have a chase car following me where the passenger's role is to give me directions over the radio as to whether I'm on the right line and how much I need to correct my line, and most importantly when to get on the anchors! WHen driving around an actual race circuit, as you can see on the documentary I drive a specially prepared car with steering wheels and two brake pedals, and Jorge gives me instructions over the intercom and intervenes when necessary for any safety reasons. And no unfortunately, I've tried showing the DVLA all my trophies but they still won't give me a license... As for your last question, Jorge is reading them out to me and writing what I say to save some time...

How do you know your really driving a race car and its not just your friends making car noises and shaking your chair?

OH...CRAP......Does this mean that my guide dog, is actually a guide cat?!?

Does your dog like doing 186 mph?

He falls asleep absolutely every time without fail at any speed above 50mph so... I don't think even he knows the answer to that question...

What's your favorite kind of beverage?

Basically...Beer!

ever take vodka eye shots? I mean it's not like you have to worry about going blind.

That's a thing??

Pretty Interesting, it always amazes me how people can overcome any challenges placed in front of them.

How do you race without the ability to see??

Do you have a Drivers License??

Last question.

How will you see/hear our questions and respond if your blind?

Thanks!!

Edit: For dumb use of words I'll leave it, but it was a honest mistake.

Ok so, when I'm going for speed records IE in a straight line, I have an intercom in my car and I have a chase car following me where the passenger's role is to give me directions over the radio as to whether I'm on the right line and how much I need to correct my line, and most importantly when to get on the anchors! WHen driving around an actual race circuit, as you can see on the documentary I drive a specially prepared car with steering wheels and two brake pedals, and Jorge gives me instructions over the intercom and intervenes when necessary for any safety reasons. And no unfortunately, I've tried showing the DVLA all my trophies but they still won't give me a license... As for your last question, Jorge is reading them out to me and writing what I say to save some time...

I reformatted your response:

How do you race without the ability to see?

Ok so, when I'm going for speed records IE in a straight line, I have an intercom in my car and I have a chase car following me where the passenger's role is to give me directions over the radio as to whether I'm on the right line and how much I need to correct my line, and most importantly when to get on the anchors! WHen driving around an actual race circuit, as you can see on the documentary I drive a specially prepared car with steering wheels and two brake pedals, and Jorge gives me instructions over the intercom and intervenes when necessary for any safety reasons.

Do you have a driver's license?

And no unfortunately, I've tried showing the DVLA all my trophies but they still won't give me a license.

How will you see/hear our questions and respond if you're blind?

As for your last question, Jorge is reading them out to me and writing what I say to save some time.

Thank you very much!

Whats the scariest thing youve ever seen.. I mean heard while racing

It's not about the scariest thing I've heard rather than what I've not heard... Last year in the Porsche I was doing 160MPH when the radio connection cut off and I lost track of how far down the runway I was so yeah...thank god for ceramic brakes!

How will you see/hear our questions and respond if your blind?

Jorge is helping him out for speed, but he could do it all on his own using a Braille monitor and keyboard. There's many different kinds out there, some blind people read on a Braille monitor and use a regular keyboard, some use a Braille keyboard. Some use text to speech and a regular keyboard. Blind people aren't helpless in front of a computer!

Couldn't have said it better myself! Thank you.

What does it look like to go 186mph?

How the fuck would I know?!

As a visually impaired person, you live the dream you glorious motherfucker.

Living the dream IS living! Get in touch man, we'll get you out on the race circuit!

How did you lose your sight? Edit: An "o" got loose.

Well, I was born with Glaucoma and I could never really see much at all. By the age of 6 that was it, my sight was gone 100% and soon after I had my first prosthetic eyes put in.

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Not really... I could never see much... I can remember the Volkswagen Beetle! It's shape.

Your first? Do they need to be replaced often? How well do they work in your opinion?

Medical science is awesome.

Not very often, every 20 years in my case but unfortunately they're just cosmetic implant :/

What has been the most difficult obstacle to conquer while learning to drive while blind?

Honestly?!...Finding someone to lend me a car in the first place...

Which car has been your favorite to drive?

Well, the first Guinness World Record I set in 2003 was in a Jaguar XJR and of course... you never forget your first time! But that GT2 last year was just mind blowing! I can't even imagine what the GTR will feel like...We're gonna be testing it soon!

How do you feel about the possibility of self driving cars? Is this something you would want? Would it change your day to day life? I'm sure you wouldn't give up racing but how about running to the grocery store?

I think Self-Driving cars are the way forward for everybody! You're right I won't give up racing no doubt, but the freedom to get in my own car and do what "you" take for granted would be absolutely amazing!!

Is it easy to keep your bearings? I imagine I would get forgetful and spend a lot of time figuring out where I actually am if I was blind, can't even imagine doing that at high speed.

I can normally manage really well (had a few years of experience both at being blind and at breaking speed records) but this one time a couple of years ago whilst I was breaking an aerobatic record with some ex "Red Arrows" pilots, There was a moment when I didn't know whether I was on my arse or my elbow...

So i gotta ask. How the hell do you drive a car near 200mph and not crash? Also have you ever picked up anyone by dropping the fact your a blind racecar driver? Thanks for sharing your story and your time.

Jorge here hijacking Mike's answer to tell you a little story: Mike says he's never pulled anyone with the "Blind Racecar driver" thing, and that may be true...but this one time we went to the Pub after one of our events and we met a few girls who were super interested in coming to the track the next day and John the team principle was trying to hook me up and said, "well make sure you just grab our number so we can direct you there" pointing at me, and as I'm taking my phone out of my pocket Mike just starts shouting out his number out, and the girls saved his number and I was left out to dry...so yeah...I was completely cockblocked by a blind guy... Mike didn't even know what cocblocking was but nonetheless I can assure you he was very proud of what he had just done!...

Sorry I just realised I did miss the first part of your question... but you can have a look up on the first few comments and it'll be there. Thank you!

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Chase your dreams! Every day of your life! And pay no attention to the "dream stealers"... A TON of people will tell you you can't do this or you can't do that...BULLSHIT! You can do whatever you want so long as you keep trying...and I mean that! You have to be relentless and fully 100% determined... Often you'll feel like giving up, DON'T!! You owe it to yourself... Of course, it helps if you live for your dreams and for me, this is what keeps me going!

What possessed you as a blind person to wake up one morning and go 'I want to drive a car really fast?'

When you drive alone how do you know where and how much to steer? I guess you could have some sort of laser guidance contraption that beeps one tone for left and another tone for right and the faster it beeps the harder you need to turn.

We've tried the high tech approach (believe it or not, pretty much how you described it. With lasers and stuff) but we found...rather I, found that I still prefer to have a human shouting at me down the other end of the intercom... It gives me a bit more piece of mind I guess.

It's amazing to actually see someone posting an AMA on here who I've met personally (I worked at tesco in Ashton :P) I think it's amazing what you've achieved! Do you have any future plans to set any other world records? If so what records do you plan to set?

Awesome! Thank you for your support! After the 200MPH in the GTR and 100MPH in a Power boat...Honestly, I'd love to do a solo Atlantic crossing, in a sail boat to raise profile and funds for our charity...

Hi there!

Do you know what the car's you race look like? I hope you can picture how bad ass you must look!

I don't know what they look like.... However I have a tactile image in my head and as they say "feeling is believing"... do they say that?!? I don't know... But anyway, put it this way I've "felt" a few Maclarens and I've also "felt" a Toyota Yaris for example without knowing what cars they were and I can kind of feel what people "see" in those cars if that makes any sense... PS: Thank you! Unfortunately I can't picture it, but I take your word for it. From now on I'll always feel badass every time someone asks me to pose next to the race cars!

Is this tactile image based on life-sized vehicles, or die cast replicas? I can't imagine getting much of a feel on a full size car, but with a decent quality die cast, I could probably "feel" which one would be a fast car.

Aaaaand now I am trying to think of cars which wouldn't feel fast on a normal scale but would be on a miniature scale. R8? SLS AMG? The Juke R would totally throw anyone off. Even people with sight write that thing off...

On the other hand, some cars would be deceiving, like my 2014 Mazda 3, certainly has bodywork more aggressive than it actually is.

Very pertinent question! To be honest I know what you mean about the die cast replicas, they do give me an idea but I do like the full size cars because I can walk around them 2, 3, 4 times and really form an image in my head... and I can really tell, in terms of aerodynamics, what is a fast car and what isn't. The SLS AMG you mentioned i could actually tell just from the sound haha but yeah the Juke is said to be one of the ugliest cars, yet the Juke R is rapid! So it's tricky...I do rely a bit on what other people tell me... in fact I heard the new Mazda 3 is not so bad actually!

Do all of your friends and family support you? Are they ever worried about you getting hurt? Blind or not, I imagine the risks are huge driving a racecar.

Edit: Also, do you feel like a badass every day of your life? Because I would...

Yes, yes and YES! My family and friends most definitely support everything I do! Without them I would have never have achieved what I have achieved so far. And do they worry about me getting hurt? Absolutely...all the time! Which is fair because you're right...the risks are huge, but I always do my best to put them at ease and keep my cool...for their sake and my sake! Also, I din't really feel like a badass until now, but you're already the second person saying that so yes absolutely...I now feel totally badass! And I like it...

When were you first told that you were a black man? Did this surprise you?

Well kinda yeah... First thing I did was divorce my wife of course...

Love the Caterham in the picture.

Thank you! It's actually sort of a Caterham replica with a BMW engine in it! It wasn't stickered up yet on that photo which is a shame cause it looks even better now! Or so they tell me...ha!

What does it have Miata wheels? Not that they're bad wheels, but they aren't particularly light.

The car in that photo is our number 2 so to speak, and the wheels are from a Miata because that's that was the donor car so we just thought we'd make the most of it. It's got an MX5 engine and an adapted automatic gearbox for people with certain kinds of disabilities that maybe would make gear changing a difficult task... It's not as quick as our number 1 car that you see in the film which has a BMW 318is engine but to be honest we find it's quick enough for most people!

Who would you most like to race against? Even though you're blind?

Not against but more like...with! I'd love to get Tommy Edison (the blind film critic guy) in my race car and see what would happen. He's such a cool dude and an inspiration and always seems up for a challenge so that would be pretty cool!

Ten years ago you were breaking your first records. Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

nowhere, he is blind. (bad joke but had to say)

Beat me to it!

First off Mike kudos on grabbing bull by the horns and making your dreams come true. My question as someone who has been battling vision problems for the last 7 years and not winning currently, which phone applications do you use that are user friendly and don't drain the phone battery in 2 hours time? I don't want to be tied to a charging doc every few hours especially when I'm just starting to have fun

I'm sorry to hear about your struggle. Personally, not that I'm endorsing it, but I use an iphone and it's accessibility features work for me. But I've had an android in the past that has worked just as well so... I've been told "Tap tap see" is a good app but not tried it yet. Tricky question, sorry I can't help you much more! Good luck!

Hi Mike,

My cousin is blind waterski champion and advocate for disability sports in Northern Ireland Janet Gray.

No question just wanted to say that you are just as awesome to me as she was when I was a child who then, and now, still can't truly fathom how amazingly talented or skilful you are too!

Waterski?! Holy shit that is friggin awesome! Thank you for your comment!

So this might be ironic (maybe insensitive?) considering that it's a documentary on a blind racer, but please consider adding subtitles to your documentary. I, and I'm sure many others, hearing impaired and not, would be appreciative.

Jorge here: Not insensitive at all! Of course. In fact I'm editing a subtitled version as we speak. It was just a time issue (It's taking a lot longer than I expected). But thank you for your contribution!

Is there any car you haven't driven yet but want to? I'm guessing that the feel of the drive and the sound of the engine are what you base your experience on?

I could stand here and say Bugatti Veyrons, Maclaren P1s etc but in my opinion there's nothing quite like the sound of a thorough bread V8 and I was lucky enough to have driven a few in my time, but... the new Jaguar F-Type R would really, REALLY float my boat! Mainly because, yes you're absolutely right I get my kick out of the sound and the acceleration/vibrations of a car so that's what I'm basing my decision on. Of course there are a million others...

Do you have 0 vision or just medically blind?

Put it this way... Close your eyes and raise your hand... How much can you see out of your hand? That's how much I can see. I have no eyes! :)

In an earlier comment you said that you "get your kick out of the sound and acceleration / vibration of a car," and I completely get that. Even though I have sight, the greatest aspect of attending the Indianapolis 500 every year is hearing the pulse-pounding roar of the cars as they fly past you at 230 mph, and the goosebumps-inducing vibrations that they make.

Have you ever attended the Indy 500 or driven an open wheel car?

Not been to the Indy 500 but it's definitely on my bucket list! And I guess if you could call a Caterham type car an open wheel (the front ones are I guess?!) then yeah...but if you mean a single seater, no unfortunately never had the chance...would love to though!

I'm hoping you get his question still... My son is 6 and legally blind, he loves cars, wants to be a policeman someday and his favorite movie is turbo (the racing snail)... He doesn't let it stop him in any way, but I think he would find your story very inspiring, do you have anything I could pass on to him? Or a preferred video, website we could "show" him? Thanks so much!

Jorge here. I'm not with Mike anymore at the moment but I will show him this and relay his answer back to you I promise :) keep checking back!

Awesome thank you so much!! This will just make my sons day!! :)

Hello! Back to deliver on my promise :) Sorry about the delayed response... Mike's response:

"Turbo is absolutely awesome!! Ok my favourite book and one that really inspired me is called "Racing in the rain" by Garth Stein. Roughly, it's about a racing driver, but the story is told from his dog's point of view. As someone who somewhat depends on a guide dog this really hit home for me. I don't know if your son has a guide dog and I do understand he's only 6 but thought I'd suggest it anyway... maybe show it to him in a few years! Other than that I'd suggest you just treat him as a "normal" sighted kid within reason... it may sometimes be difficult but it will really help him prepare for the real world so he can live an independent life as much as possible! I can't stress this enough. Thank you for your interest and support. I wish you and him and all your family all the best! PS: We are actually working on some children's books but in all honesty there isn't a set release date yet."

So... How are you doing this AMA? Do you have some special assistive tech and gadgets or a guy reading out questions for you and typing what you dictate?

A bit of both. I use JAWS which produces a voice and braille output of what is on my screen, as well as that, Jorge our racing instructor is giving me a hand with reading and answering all the questions...

How do you know for sure you're the fastest blind person on the planet? Like really for sure.

BOOM! http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/Search.aspx?q=blind+speed ;)

Do you contest the concept that there are blind people on Bullet Trains that might be faster than you?

Very, very good question! If they were in control of the Bullet Trains, and those trains weren't on tracks...Yes!

Are you famililiar with Metin Senturk that used to have the record before you broke it? Do you know him and do you think that he'll attempt to break your record?

I have spoken to him yes and he seems like a thoroughly nice fellow. He actually rang me up to wish me all the best for my land speed record attempt a while ago, so we enjoy a friendly rivalry from both sides for sure. And I say rivalry in the lightest way possible, simply because I already had the record before he took it from me, and I'm not gonna lie, I was very happy when I regained it last year and I hope when I do the 200mph that that will be it and it will at least stand for a long time but...if anyone contests it, I'm not afraid to go faster!!

Very interesting to see you driving in action! As someone who can see, it's amazing to me to see how you build your memory of the track based on what you're being told / what you're feeling.

It just seems to me like sight helps so much with the memory of the track, which is something I didn't really consider before.

My question: Do you think you could possible learn a track so well that you don't require a person with you?

if not: Do you think a technological solution to tell you when you're entering / leaving a corner (and possibly applying the brakes if you put yourself in danger) could possibly replace your human counterpart?

A GPS system would apply the brakes for me if I left the circuit, but I don't know quite how effective any technology solution would be at building up my confidence and encouraging me to push and go faster as Jorge or another instructor would do... But I'm with you, I'd like to see something like that developed and would definitely give it a go!