Guy Martin does 100mph in a JCB
Latest 'Fastrac' Tractor smashes through three figures at Elvington - ball's back with you, Top Gear...
As production car speed records edge ever closer to 300mph, big strides are actually being taken in records at a third of that speed. JCB has announced a new British speed record for tractors, taking its new Fastrac model to 103.6mph - comfortably surpassing Top Gear's 'Tracl-Tor' in the process, which did 87.3mph.
The record was set Elvington Airfield, the 1,000hp, 1,844lb ft, 7.2-litre Fastrac driven by Guy Martin, who described the tractor as "a peach." This was no ordinary, peachy Fastrac, though, as Williams Advanced Engineering had been involved in the development, enhancing aerodynamics and removing weight.
The production Fastrac plan was originally that of JCB chairman Lord Bamford, the first one having rolled off the production line 28 years ago. He said of the record run: "I'm extremely proud of what they have achieved in such a short space of time. It is British engineering at its best and it really does highlight the skills and innovation we have in our engineering team."
As for Guy Martin, he reckoned the Fastrac was a "proper job", a tractor that "felt rock steady on the motorway." Certainly hunkered down this low to the ground, the Fastrac looks far more suited to the task of speed records than ploughing fields. But still, a tractor speed record is a tractor speed record, so congratulations JCB for taking the title so emphatically. If Top Gear wan the record back, it's going to take much more beating now!
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