Goudurix is a steel roller coaster located in Parc Astérix in France. The Vekoma-built ride jointly held the European record for the greatest number of inversions upon its opening in 1989. The record was lost in 1995 to Dragon Khan in Spain. It is one of only two coasters in the world to feature a butterfly element (the other being Blue Hawk at Six Flags Over Georgia).[1] In 2007, following the release of the animated movie Asterix and the Vikings, Viking theming was added to the station and nearby rides, in the form of a wooden Viking longboat. Goudurix is located in the back-west of the park (southeast geographically, since park entrance faces south), near the Tonnerre 2 Zeus. The ride was repainted to a yellow and red track with grey supports color scheme from its previous white and yellow track with blue supports. It is one of the park's main attractions, along with the Tonnerre 2 Zeus, OzIris, Trace du Hourra and Toutatis rollercoasters.
| Goudurix | |
|---|---|
 The ride viewed from the lake, as seen before its change in colour scheme. | |
| Parc Astérix | |
| Location | Parc Astérix |
| Coordinates | 49°7′53″N 2°34′17″E / 49.13139°N 2.57139°E |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | April 30, 1989 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Vekoma |
| Designer | Vekoma |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 36 m (118 ft) |
| Drop | 32.9 m (108 ft) |
| Length | 950 m (3,120 ft) |
| Speed | 90 km/h (56 mph) |
| Inversions | 7 |
| Duration | 1:20 |
| Max vertical angle | 64° |
| G-force | 3.9 |
| Height restriction | 140 cm (4 ft 7 in) |
| Trains | 2 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train. |
| Goudurix at RCDB | |
Previously known for its extraordinarily rough ride which was exacerbated by improperly-designed headrests and unnecessarily hard over-the-shoulder restraints, Goudurix was ranked as the worst steel roller coaster in the world in the 2012 Mitch Hawker Steel Coaster Poll.[2] In response to this, it has seen numerous modifications, including new cars/trains and a complete re-tracking to improve the smoothness of the ride. Despite these upgrades, it remains a notably rough ride experience.
Ride elements
editGoudurix has seven inversions in total:
- Batwing (2 inversions 1 element)
- Butterfly (2 inversions 1 element)
- Vertical Loop
- Double Corkscrew
History
editGoudurix has seen many changes of its track, electrical systems and theme since its creation.
- 1988 : Goudurix built by Vekoma with known problems (such as violent turns)
- 2000 : Trains are changed and a few different wheels are tested in order to improve the ride comfort
- 2007 : Total recovery of electrical device
- 2007 : Theming added to the station
- 2009 : The whole track is entirely repainted in red and yellow (instead of white and blue)
- 2010 : A part of the trains are changed, making them heavier
- 2011 : Test with new wheels to reduce vibrations
- 2013 : Retracking[3]
References
edit- ^ "Roller Coaster Search Results". www.rcdb.com.
- ^ "Detailed Steel Roller Coaster Poll Results 2012". BestRollerCoasterPoll.com. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ "potionmagix.fr". www.potionmagix.fr.