NOT everyone can boast being a Guinness World Record holder, but Nowra mechanic Paul Speer can.
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Speer and his 2002 Holden Monaro were part of the successful world record burnout attempt at this year’s Street Machine Summernats, where 103 cars performed a simultaneous burnout for 30 seconds.
“It was an extra event put into the program and I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in the record attempt,” he said.
“For it to all come together and break the world record was pretty cool.”
Each of the cars performed a stationary burnout in front of an appreciative crowd, mind you, after a couple of seconds the cars were engulfed in a sea of different colour smoke.
Mr Speer was recently sent his Guinness World Record certificate which stated he was part of ‘103 beasts that ripped out a combined 772,500 rpm as 206 tyres spun in the sun.’
“You sacrificed revs and rubber to create a colossal plume of horsepower, the greatest mankind has ever seen. You have made burnout history” the certificate states.
“You sacrificed revs and rubber to create a colossal plume of horsepower, the greatest mankind has ever seen. You have made burnout history.”
- Guinness World Record
A self confessed revhead, who performed his first Summernats burnout nearly 23 years ago, he said the achievement was special.
“This year will be Summernats 29. I went down for one of the early events and was hooked,” he said.
“I competed a few years later at Summernats 6 in a Torana LH SLR 5000.
“As a sport it gets hold if you.”
Over the years he has competed with various vehicles but says he definitely has a soft spot for his current V8, 6litre, V2 Monaro that produces approximately 500 horsepower at the rear wheels.
“The goal is to now make it even more powerful,” he said.
“That will mean making everything bigger. We have already hand built a lot of the engine components.
“I guess it is an advantage I’m a mechanic and have a workshop available.”
While he is keen to keep developing the Monaro, which placed third at the recent Dubbo Get Em Off Burnout Comp, he has plans to develop a purpose built burnout car.
He will be back at the Summernats this year and for the first time he has been invited to take part in the prestigious Northbourne Avenue Supercruise.
Mr Speer, who runs Horsepower Garage, stresses the sport should only be undertaken in a supervised, controlled, competition environment.
“Burnouts should not be performed on public streets,” he said.
“Guys who do that give the sport and the genuine competitors a bad rap.”