Booked for speeding

Colin Goodwin

‘There I was, sitting comfortably in an armchair, thumbing through the 1994 Guinness Book of Records to check up on vital facts like who has the world’s longest toenails when I hit upon the transport section. Aaaagh! What is this? The record for the fastest lap of a UK circuit is held by Andrew Frankel of Autocar & Motor, at Millbrook Proving Ground in a Ferrari 512 TR at 175.4mph? We can’t have this; personal and professional pride is at stake.’

What I didn’t know when I wrote that intro paragraph to the story of how I beat Frankel’s record using a Jaguar XJ220S in the February 1996 issue of Car magazine, was that I was attempting to beat a record that he had himself invented. While I nip off and make a coffee, I’ll leave you with Andrew’s account of how this mad challenge came about. When I’m back I’ll tell you my side of the story and also defend myself against the outrageous accusation that I cheated to beat his record. And also, how my record was smashed only three years later by Mr Tiff Needell.