tunnel testing, the aerodynamics were set to include two sweeping arcs on the underside of the vehicle. These symmetric channels were designed to funnel air squeezed underneath the vehicle to sweep behind the front wheels and so jet away any salt displaced by the vehicle's traction across the ground. Indeed, it is this traction which sets the diesel attempt apart from other land based speed records which use turbines and therefore thrust, rather than drive, to propel the vehicle. In actuality, it is the true driving experience at the heart of the Dieselmax.com project that sets it apart. This is about driving the wheel at the surface and controlling the interface between man and his environment directly. Traction was an imperative driver of the project, which ruled out the easy choice of solid wheels in favour of pneumatic tyres to ensure good traction across the surface of the salt bed. Rigid tyres only work on thrust powered cars not on attempts like the Dieselmax which demands traction between the vehicle and the ground surface. Traction, from the Greek word decahere means to draw across a surface, results in the displacement of salt which can accumulate in the build up of salt deposits on the car's underside. Therefore, the jet streams contoured into the underside will have funneled air at massive pressures like a jet stream behind the front tyres to remove the residue. There was also a displacement air stream at the rear for the same purpose, making the underside of the vehicle more interesting than the contours of the vehicle over which SAE-UK's Nicole is pictured opposite.

Bear in mind the dangers of such a project, the salt on the plains was only 6 inches thick and the water laden mud underneath would evaporate water during the sunlight hours, rendering the ground underfoot softer as each hour passed. Logic then dictates that record attempts must commence at day break where the ground was stable and there was light to steer. The salt surface, brilliant white, has been mistaken in photos for ice by some in the Southern Hemisphere, instead it’s a reflective surface that beams the sun's rays back up at the human body. For those working on the Dieselmax, there was an

addictive but perilous relationship between the engineers and their record attempt environment.

The configuration of the vehicle was also discussed; the pilot position at the centre of the vehicle was designed around safety concerns as high speed wipe outs tend to result in head over tail spins. With controlled deformation at either end of the vehicle it made sense to position the pilot in the middle so as to maximise safety. Indeed, the site of the record attempt itself was a subject of interest having being conducted at Wendover Airport in the USA home to 17,000 service men during WWII, a number twice as great as the present inhabitants of that town.

the challenge attempt. Only on the last attempts were the speeds achieved on a race track 11.5 miles long, half of which constituted the braking cycle.

Videos were played, albeit censored for more colourful cockpit updates to the ground crew which showed exactly how the boosting challenges affected the attempt and how the skill of the piloting and engineering team were successful in beating the problems. The Q & A session that followed was exceptional, with the estimate of JCB's investment being leveraged by a factor of 5 in terms of marketing exposure. Surely, with such a reward the situation is favourable for further record attempt successes by European Businesses like JCB. Readers of our magazine Vehicle Technology will have witnessed our devotion to the coverage we provide on the pursuit of world record attempts.

So far, we have covered the waterspeed record attempt, diesel record attempt, and the electric speed record attempt - which bizarrely is alleged to have cost £1.50 in fuel costs over the record attempt weekend.

Any guesses on which technology will win out in the end?

Until the next Chapter of our Record Breaking Reports,