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With motorcycle gear and helmet on a tuned mini-bolide: Marcel Paul in a record attempt in 2022
Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst / dpa
Marcel Paul set a world speed record for bobby cars with electric drive at the Hockenheimring. It reached a top speed of 148.45 kilometers per hour on Thursday evening, a spokeswoman for the Record Institute for Germany (RID) said.
In doing so, Paul clearly exceeded the specifications of the Guinness Book of Records and the RID of at least 70 kilometers per hour. According to the institute, this mark was based on an unofficial world record of this magnitude published on YouTube, but it had not been confirmed by a dependent party.
The record was broken in the first attempt, the spokeswoman said. The 31-year-old student from Hesse had three attempts with the tuned mini-vehicle. During the second round, however, there were problems with a measuring device. On the third attempt, Paul was slightly below his best time, according to the spokeswoman.
With metal floor, engine and special tires
What was originally intended for the slow locomotion of small children raced over the flat test track in the record attempt as a 70-centimeter-long and 30-kilogram bolide with a metal floor, engine and special tires.
Paul is studying electrical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda. According to him, he reaches maximum acceleration with his model over a distance of a good kilometer after 600 meters and then brakes.
For Paul, top values are nothing new: With a classic bobby car, he reached a good 2022 kilometers per hour on a sloping track in 106 and even almost 133 kilometers with a bobby car specially converted for racing.
SAK/DPA