JCB FASTRAC SPEED RECORD
wasn’t an area of expertise for the
more experienced JCB engineers.
As a result, they turned to Williams
Advanced Engineering for advice
and learned a great deal. Body
weight and shape have a big effect
on aerodynamics so the JCB team
slimmed down the cab at the front,
decreasing the drag resistance at
high speeds, and they took weight
out of the chassis. The team also
learned about how air-flow
management could ramp up the
speeds. As a result, the modified
Fastrac has no radiator at the front,
but there are three air ducts
connected to the turbo charger, the
super charger and the damper on the
crankshaft. Meanwhile, the cooling
pads are on the side of the vehicle.
“That aspect is more like a Formula 1
racing car with water cooling, charge
cooling and oil cooling on the side
pack,” says Tully.
Although the engine is a standard
JCB DieselMax, the team consulted
with Ricardo Engineering to boost it
to 1,000 horsepower and give it
2,500Nm of torque. They also
worked with Delphi to develop
a larger fuel system, although the
cylinder head, block and crankshaft
“WE’LL BE ANALYZING
THE DATA FROM THE
BRITISH RECORD AT
ELVINGTON, AND
THERE ARE DEFINITE
IMPROVEMENTS WE
were all standard production parts
with only slight modifications. The
brakes were standard Fastrac ones
and the speedster has off-the-shelf
BKT tires containing special
compounds designed for high
velocity. “That’s a good example of
how we wanted to use
authentic parts. We
could have used
tires made for
Boeing747s but
that’s not the
goal. We
wanted to use
agricultural
designs
wherever
possible,” says
Burnhope.
32 iVTInternational.com September 2019
CAN MAKE”
Alan Tolley, JCB group director of engineering
An historic day
The date chosen for the record
attempt of June 20 was 28 years to
the day since the first Fastrac rolled
off the production line. It began with
heavy showers that delayed the
attempt, but the skies cleared in the
afternoon and Guy Martin climbed
behind the wheel. Channel 4 camera
operators were there to film his
attempt for a UK TV documentary.
Elvington Airfield is 10,000 feet long
(3,048m) and the measurements
were made over a 1km length in the
middle. Martin had to drive the
tractor in both directions and an
average was taken. A 15mph wind
meant that one direction was quite
a bit faster, but the effects evened out.
The UK Timing Association
measured the speeds
and confirmed a
new record.
The Fastrac’s
speed of
103.6mph was
around a third
faster than Ab
Jenkins’ 1935
record, but
technology has
moved on. Jenkins
80
Years the original
tractor world speed
record lasted for
ABOVE: British motorcycle
racer, author and
television presenter
Guy Martin drove the
JCB Fastrac on its
record-breaking run
/iVTInternational.com
