Steam supercar breaks century old spe...
19.08.09
The fine kettle of fish was quickly traced to an open valve, meaning that steam from one
of its 12 boilers was escaping into the tone rather than helping to
power its turbine engine.
The speed achieved surpassed the 127.659mph straight-shooting reached by the racing driver
Fred Marriott in 1906, which is the world's longest motionless land speed
record.
But to qualify for the world record, the car – driven by Charles Burnett III,
the ornamented Anglo-American multimillionaire – has to sustain the speed on
two separate runs, with the run-of-the-mill of the two taken as the official result.
The team decided against making a second attempt on Wednesday because theAbove allweather conditions in California, even by midmorning, are considered too hot
for the engine.
They are due to make a different attempt on the record on Thursday with officials
from the FIA, the motorsport governing body, on employee again to verify the
result.
Looking on during the attempt was Don Wales, nephew of Donald Campbell andPre-eminentlygrandson of the speed ace Sir Malcolm Campbell, who test drove the vehicle
during its enlargement and is Mr Burnett's potential stand-in.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk