22 August 2006

WORLD'S FASTEST DIESEL - Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

Time: 15:55 (US)

Temperature: 37°C

Location: Wendover airfield, Utah

Today the JCB DIESELMAX became the ‘world’s fastest diesel’ , a fantastic and emotional day the team! The FIA timed the car at an average speed of 328.767mph subject to FIA ratification, breaking the old record of 235mph.

Before sunrise the car was already positioned at the start of the 11 mile international course on the Bonneville Salt Flats and the team radios buzzed with messages as the time to run approached.

The first run(run 54A) had been planned to warm up the engines in preparation for the pair of FIA authorised runs but Andy Green pulled to a stop after 1.5 miles when an electrical cable under the dashboard was chafed through. The car had to be recovered to the start, the engines re-heated and fresh ice added to the cooling system.

9.37am Run 54B was underway with the car running towards the massive rock on the Flats called ‘Floating Mountain’. The car went through the timed mile at 324.265mph despite the engines overheating and the power of the engines being automatically re-rated by one fifth. Following the parachute problems last week Andy Green brought the car to a halt using only the exhaust brakes and wheel brakes.

At the turnaround the race was on to complete the tyre change, re-fuelling(adding 5 litres) , fresh ice and the re-heating of the engines. With 11 minutes to spare the JCB DIESELMAX headed back along the course. Through the timed mile a fine 333.364mph speed was recorded despite Andy mistakenly braking before the end of the mile!

No matter, the record was in the bag, broken by almost 100mph. Time for a mass of media photographs and interviews before the team wheeled the car away.

Tomorrow the car will be in action again on the Salt Flats, aiming to raise the bar further! This evening there is more work to do with the aim of improving the cooling system.