JCB breaks world’s fastest tractor record...again

It was a mere five months ago that speed demon Guy Martin and JCB teamed up to smash the world’s fastest tractor record at a mind-bending speed of 103mph.

Not quite content with that, Martin and JCB went back to the drawing board to try and top that attempt. On October 23, 2019, Martin and his team successfully blew their old record out of the water by achieving a mind-blowing average speed of 135mph, at one point hitting a top speed of 153.7mph.

The attempt was made at the Elvington Airfield, a former RAF station in North Yorkshire (UK) with a 3km runway, which was also the location used for the first attempt. The achievement was officially ratified by Guinness World Records who presented JCB with a special framed certificate minutes after the achievement.

Guinness World Records confirmed that the JCB Fastrac completed two runs, in either direction through a speed trap set 1km apart, within the allotted time, to set the 135mph record.

Understandably, the tractor used in the record breaking feat was no ordinary tractor. Named the Fastrac Two, it was made to be 10 per cent lighter than the Fastrac One that was used in the previous attempt. Both tractors are based on a standard, commercially available JCB Fastrac, which is sold around the world.

“Fastrac One really proved to us that there are no limits to what a young and dynamic engineering team can achieve,” said JCB Chief Innovation and Growth Officer, Tim Burnhope.

“So we pushed boundaries and ideas, and looked at all aspects of the project to find solutions and make improvements.

“The biggest challenges have included aerodynamics, reducing weight and improving performance – getting a five-tonne tractor to safely reach 150mph, and stop again, is not an easy task, but we’re all so proud to have not only reached these goals, but to have exceeded them.”

The Fastrac Two was powered by JCB’s 7.2 litre, 6-cylinder Dieselmax engine produced at JCB Power Systems factory in Derbyshire. Despite the tractor developing 1016hp, it achieved over 5mpg and needed only a 20-litre fuel tank to make its high-speed runs. And while it has the capability to run on vegetable oil, a special formulation of high-performance racing diesel was used.

That, combined with a lightweight design, took the Fastrac Two and Guy Martin straight into the history books.

Martin was no stranger to record breaking feats. In fact, he has two other world records under his belt, namely fastest speed on a gravity-powered snow sled and highest speed on a Wall of Death.

“This has been a massive undertaking, and I was a very small cog in the machine,” Martin said.

“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.”

The story of the tractor’s development and record breaking attempts were told in a TV documentary on Channel 4 in the UK on November 17, titled “The World’s Fastest Tractor.”