Northcliff resident hopes to slide into the record books

Jesse Adams completed the longest car drift at the Gerotek Testing Facilities. The Northcliff resident fulfilled one of his greatest goals on 12 June in the time of 05:47:00 after he accomplished 1 000 laps, in his 2017 Toyota GT86.

Adams was inspired to do this by the record set by Harald Muller in 2014 after he covered 144.126km over a duration of 02:25:18. He later set the wheels in motion to challenge this record on local soil. He would spend the next two years gathering information needed to challenge this record to a standard that would be accepted by Guinness. Rules state that in order for the attempt to qualify, the rear wheel speed must remain higher than the ground speed of the vehicle at all times and that the surface that is used must be level to within 1:1000.

Preliminary tests done on the day showed a 50-litre fuel tank would not last the duration so an additional fuel tank was made to fit in the spare wheel well of the car, giving Adams an additional 40 litres of fuel. Along with this challenge he also had mental and physical fatigue to face over the estimated five hours it would take to complete the attempt as no breaks are allowed.

With four independent witnesses, two timekeepers and a slew of video cameras and telemetry devices, Adams slid the Toyota GT86 non-stop for over five and a half hours. Two hours into it, the car began to show some strain. Adams explained he started to feel fatigue get the better of him and as the mental exhaustion crept in so did the reasons to back out of the attempt.

What kept him motivated was he had managed to get this far, he may as well go the distance. GPS data would later confirm that Adams had completed 1 005 laps for a total GPS distance of 176.675km. This information, along with witness statements, timekeeper records and video footage is being sent to London for approval by the Guinness World Records with a confirmation expected early next week.