Heide-Park Soltau: „Desert Race“

An “infernal ride through the desert” will soon be possible at Heide Park Soltau. Together with park director Hannes W. Mairinger, Lower Saxony’s Minister President Christian Wulf laid the foundation for the new attraction in August. Germany’s one-of-a-kind major attraction is to be constructed right next to the wooden roller coaster “Colossos”. According to details announced by the park, around 15 million euros will be invested in the high-speed ride “Desert Race”, which is to go into operation in April 2007. The ride is “only” 19 metres high, but passengers will get up there “as fast as an arrow flies” over the 640-metre long track. Experts are speaking of up to 4.7G! “Desert Race” is the first roller coaster in Germany ever to be equipped with a catapult launch. The ride offers a colossal 49-second experience in which the train is catapulted from a standing position in the Valley Station, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h within 2.4 seconds. Around 1,070 passengers can experience this “infernal ride” each hour. “Desert Race” will be integrated in a newly themed landscape, in a desert area that will be created around “Colossos”. The coaster type is called “Accelerator” and is manufactured by the Swiss corporation Intamin. (eap)