Emirates Team New Zealand sets a new wind powered land speed record
Two months after Emirates Team NZ first broke the world wind powered speed record, the team has returned to Lake Gairdner and broke the existing mark, which has now been ratified.
The official Wind-Powered Land Speed World Record now stands at 225.58km/h (140.17mph). Set in just 23 knots (42km/h) of wind.
The previous mark, set by Emirates Team NZ’s Horonuku piloted by Glenn Ashby was 222.4km/h, with the previous mark set by Richard Jenkin was 202.9 km/h.
Jenkin’s mark had been unbroken for over 13 years. But, as revealed in ‘Land of Speed’ the documentary covering the Emirates Team New Zealand land speed campaign, the new world record was relatively short lived.
Pilot Glenn Ashby explains of the opportunistic window presented to the team. “In February we were really coming back to the lake pack up the craft. We had to get Horonuku and the containers back to New Zealand. But a few days out, Clouds our Meteorologist indicated there was a possible weather opportunity, so we rattled our daggs and got to the lake.”
