Lucas English, of English Racing, piloted the 2,700-plus horsepower Extreme Turbo Systems GTR this past weekend into the record books at the Revvolution Shift S3ctor Pikes Peak Airstrip Attack presented by Heuberger Subaru. The event took place at the Colorado Springs Airport in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Competitors battled the altitude and shifting winds all weekend long, but that didn’t stop English and his team from accomplishing their goals and surpassing the standing half mile world record.
During the first part of the day, English and the Extreme Turbo Systems team faced challenges due to the high altitude. “We were battling fueling issues due to the change in elevation,” said Michael Roark of Extreme Turbo Systems. “We’re used to running our car at sea level, not at 6,500-feet with a density altitude of almost 10,000. The first three passes were all aborted due to lean condition trips, but once we got the fueling figured out and ran a 178-mph test pass on low boost we knew it was on!”
With everything fixed up and ready to go, English decided to give the half mile another shot. Ob Prestige Auto had just made a 236-mph pass in their Heffner Performance-built twin-turbo Huracan, taking the lead for top speed of day one. English ripped down the tarmac, passing the finish line at a blistering 246.98 mph to capture the fastest speed of the day, just 4 mph off the half-mile world record. “Once we ran the 246-mph pass with a short-shifted 5-6 we knew we could run at least 250 mph if we could get one more pass,” said Roark.
Come to find out the right front tire separated from the wheel just after deploying the parachute, sending the car shooting to the right. Fortunately, the tire didn’t shred and English was able to correct the GTR and get it safely to the end of the runway. The team quickly changed out the damaged tire and wheel and got the car back to their pit.
Knowing that the GT-R was running the best it had been all day, English decided to get the car ready for one more pass and give it all she’s got. The team packed the parachute back up and let the car cool down for about 30 minutes. As the time was running out at the end of day one, English lined back up at the start line for one more shot at his goal of breaking the world record. Everyone was silent until English flew past the finish line; 252.38 mph lit up on the scoreboard. The whole crowd erupted in cheers. A new world record had been set, surpassing Gidi Chamdi for the fastest top speed in the standing half mile.
As English made his way back to the pits, he had everyone waiting to congratulate him on his amazing feat. The amount of joy and relief on English’s face when he hopped out of the car to greet the cheering crowd was a priceless moment. Olivier Benloulou, owner and racer of Ob Prestige Auto, walked up with a bottle of Cristal and congratulated English and the entire ETS team on the record and fastest speed overall of the day. “The best, for the best,” said Benloulou as he poured the Cristal to celebrate. This was, without a doubt, some of the most amazing sportsmanship we have witnessed in the sport of racing.
“The pass felt amazing,” said English. “The car did what it was supposed to do. It went straight and very fast; the ETS team built an amazing car that did its job.” When asked how it felt to be the new world record holder, English said, “I don’t know yet, it hasn’t quite set in. We are going to celebrate tonight and see what we can do tomorrow morning with cooler conditions.”
Fast forward to day two, English and the ETS team were first on the scene, checking over the GT-R and making sure everything was in working order for one more full shot at going faster than they did the day before. It was about 20 degrees cooler, but they had a massive headwind to battle against. As soon as the track was hot, English pulled up to the line and made a 247-mph pass. They let the car cool down and then hit the airstrip one more time. English launched with enough power to rotate the earth, sending the GT-R flying down the airstrip and passing the finish line at a blistering 255.53 mph, just about 3 mph faster than the previous record pass. “We only made changes in launch control from day one, which allowed us to build boost in first and second instead of third like the previous day. Unfortunately, we had a huge headwind, which most likely robbed us of 1-2 mph, but we still managed to raise the bar even higher.”
Once the dust settled, English knew it was a good time to park the GT-R and call it a day. The entire team had accomplished exactly what they came out to do and even put a cherry on top to finish the weekend. “It is an unbelievable feeling to break the world record, not once, but twice in a single weekend and drive the car onto the trailer,” said English.
“We want to give a huge shout-out to Jeff and Ken from Extreme Turbo Systems for putting together one hell of a motor and transmission package. We ran eight passes during the weekend without a single hiccup (besides the tuning adjustments for elevation). These guys never get any credit for all the hard work and countless hours they put into the car,”- Michael Roark and Lucas English.
It is mind-blowing to see how advanced and fast these cars have become. The top speed record has increased almost 15 miles per hour within the past year from when Chamdi breached the 240-mph mark in his Underground Racing X Version Lamborghini Gallardo. With the way technology is advancing and how these cars are performing, we don’t doubt that that the bar will be raised even higher and we will see 260-270 mph within the next year.
Here is the Video from the World Record Pass, filmed and edited by 1320Video
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