Like a Ferrari, the Audi R8 makes my mouth water.
BRITISH DRIVER BREAKS SPEEDING RECORD FOR A FRENCH MOTORWAY AFTER TRAFFIC POLICE CLOCK HIM AT MORE THAN 160MPH … SO FAST IT BROKE THE RADAR GUN
French complain British drivers treat French motorways like racing tracks after Seven Britons caught driving over 120mph on French roads at the weekend
By Matt West
Mail Online
June 26, 2013
A British man has broken the record for speeding on a French motorway hitting at least 160mph.
French transport police said the UK registered Audi R8 was travelling so fast their speed gun went off the scale and stopped working.
As a result it is impossible to know if the car was in fact being driven at a faster speed, police confirmed.
Astonished traffic officers said it took them four miles to catch up with the driver after he roared past them on the A28 motorway in Normandy on Monday.
The driver was identified only as a businessman from London in a company car. French police have so far refused to name him.
The vehicle was impounded on orders from the prosecutor at Evreux and the driver's license was confiscated. He was immediately banned from driving on all French roads.
He has also been summoned to appear in court where he faces a fine of up to £1,300.
A traffic police spokesman said: ‘This is the fastest speed we have ever recorded on the entire Normandy motorway network that we patrol.
‘In fact we couldn't get the exact speed because the radar stopped working.’
The man was one of seven UK drivers clocked at more than 120mph in on the same stretch of road over the weekend, amid police claims British motorists treat French roads like a racetrack.
Police in northern France frequently complain that British drivers ignore their speed limits because they cannot be given points on their license in France.
Thousands of British racing fans make the annual pilgrimage to the Le Mans racetrack at this time of year for the famous 24-hour endurance race.
It is not known whether any of the British drivers pulled over by the police for speeding at the weekend had attended the race. But the A28 is the main route from Calais to the Le Mans
It comes just days after Danish driver Allan Simonsen died after crashing his car during the race last weekend.
Race officials said the 34-year-old spun off after about 10 minutes of the race in his Aston Martin and hit the safety barriers at the Tertre Rouge bend.
He was taken to the medical center at the premises but later died of his injuries, the organizers said.
The speed limit on a French motorway is 81mph in the dry and 69mph in the wet unless special restrictions apply.
Calais police said in an average summer month, eight out of ten motorists pulled over for speeding on the A26 motorway between Calais and Paris are British.
Illuminated panels warning drivers to cut their speed on the 70-mile stretch of road are now flashed up in English as well as French.
A motorway police spokesman said: ‘Some British drivers are often oblivious to the speed limits, and treat the road like they are out for a day's motor racing.’
‘They seem to think that because they are in a foreign country, the rules do not apply to them.’
But Rosie Sanderson, a spokesperson for the AA, rejected the stereotype of British drivers travelling at break-neck speeds in France. However, she admitted it was easy to become complacent about speed limits when driving abroad.
‘As soon as you get in the car, you get in holiday mode, and as soon as you get on foreign soil, it can be easy to lose track of speed limits,’ she said.
Two other Britons have previously broken speed records on French motorways.
A British lawyer hit 148mph in an Aston Martin on the A4 motorway two years ago.
Another Briton, Sean Barlow from Surrey, still holds the record for the highest speed ever recorded on the A26 motorway from Calais to Paris.
He was jailed for five days in November 2003 for dangerous driving after being clocked doing 153mph.
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