A daredevil is over the moon after setting a new tuk tuk land speed record... having bought the three-wheeled Thai vehicle during a “boozy night on eBay”.
Over the course of two laps, Matt Everard set a speed of 74.3mph – 119.583kmh – against a Guinness World Record target of 68.35mph (110 kmh).
Matt, 46, a freight firm boss from Billericay, drove the 1971 Bangkok taxi at Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire, with cousin Russell Shearman, 49, from Tiptree, as his back-seat passenger.
The dad-of-two has spent more than £20,000 improving the vehicle after buying it in 2017, saying he has worked on “every nut, bolt and bearing”.
He said he bought it after visiting Thailand for a friend’s wedding, because he thought it would be “a fun vehicle to ride around town”.
But after spending so much money on it, he decided he would have a stab at setting a world record in a bid to justify the vast expense.
Speaking about the Thai holiday which led to him making the purchase, he said: “We did a few tuk tuk rides and I just loved the fun of it – it made me smile.
“When we got back, I was watching a tuk tuk on eBay and I’d had a beer or two.
“My wife went to bed, and I thought: ‘Well, why not? Let’s have a tuk tuk’.”
He added: “I needed some way of justifying the amount of money that I’d spent on it, and obviously the pinnacle of achievement in a lot of people’s eyes is the Guinness World Record.
“I’m over the moon. I feel brilliant.
"Obviously we were excited beforehand.
"It was the build-up to it which was the exciting bit, and now we just want to come back all over again and do it faster.”
When asked about Matt’s driving, Russell said: “As a passenger, I would employ him as a taxi driver!”
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