Guy Martin has smashed the world record…. for the fastest tractor after reaching a top speed of 153mph in a five-tonne JCB.
The lorry mechanic turned motorbike racer adapted a Fastrac 4000 to beat the existing world record set by Top Gear’s The Stig of 87.2mph last year.
JCB partnered with Channel 4 to follow his journey on Guy Martin:The world’s Fastest Tractor on Channel 4.
The 38-year-old, is used to racing motorbikes around the TT track in the Isle of Man.
Guy visits Ricardo Engineering to help convert a basic 220bhp JCB Fastrac engine into a 1000bhp monster, as well as using cutting-edge VR technology to improve the machine’s aerodynamic profile.
The JCB Fastrac 4000 was specially modified with help from Formula 1 designers Williams Engineering.
Usually it has a top speed of 44mph from its 350bhp engine.
On the show, he takes it to one of the longest runways in Britain, Elvington Airfield near York, and attempts to enter the record books as the first person to ever drive a tractor at over 100mph.
Driving the Fastrac Two, Guy hit an astonishing peak speed of 153.771mph, recording an average of 135.191mph.
He said: “This has been a massive undertaking, and I was a very small cog in the machine.
"It was a proper privilege to be involved, so thank you very much to JCB and its engineering team, who got this tractor absolutely spot-on.
"Just look at it, they get stuff done, it’s brilliant, and it is still a working tractor, so could have gone straight into the nearest field to put in a shift."
This isn’t the first of Guy’s challenges - in November 2018, Channel 4 screened Guy Martin: The World’s Fastest Van? where he rebuilt his beloved transit van and tried to break the van lap record at Nürburgring in Germany.
