Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday presents Billy Karam with his certificate for the largest collection of stamps featuring automobiles

The celebrations for Guinness World Records Day 2018 have extended into the Middle East courtesy of Lebanon's most celebrated record holder, Nabil “Billy” Karam.

A self-confessed petrolhead, Billy has received his sixth Guinness World Records title, this time for the Largest collection of stamps featuring automobiles.

Billy Karam found fame as a rally driver, winning trophies in a number of championships - including ice driving. But it was his other passion - model cars - that earned him his first Guinness World Records certificate. Back in 2009 he entered the record books for the Largest collection of model cars, with 22,222, a number which has since grown to 37,777 (as of June 2016).

Taking his love for rally driving and collecting further, Billy next embarked on a new Guinness World Records title, for the Largest collection of dioramas

In order to preserve his precious memories of winning various rally championships, he began to recreate his wins in 3D, crafting key moments in his races using model cars, figurines and miniature landscape features such as trees, bridges and houses. He would typically take a photograph from his race and copy it exactly in 3D. But he didn't stop there…

Billy Karam with car, models and stamps

He next turned his artistic talents to his favourite movies, then key battles in history, producing ever-more intricate and ambitious miniature scenes. By the time he contacted Guinness World Records in 2011, his collection had reached 333, which has since risen to 577.

There is a serious side to Billy’s collecting. When he's not traveling the world in search of new items, or running his paper-making business, Billy invites young people to view his collections at his private museum in the Zouk Mosbeh district of Beirut. At the end of the tour, he talks passionately about the importance of road safety, using his high-profile position as a rally driver to drive home the need for responsibility behind the wheel.

"I want to spread the word that drivers should always wear a seatbelt, respect the rules of the road, avoid alcohol before driving, and not use a mobile phone while driving," he explained.

For his efforts, the United Nations last year awarded Billy the 2017 Humanitarian Sports Icon of the Year.

Billy Karam diorama

For his sixth record, Billy looked to his other passion, stamp collecting, and in particular stamps featuring automobiles. His target was to exceed the 1,437 car-related stamps amassed by Chinese collector Siu Leunghing, whose catalogue was counted in Hong Kong on 30 December 2015.

The count was begun under the watchful eye of adjudicators despatched from Guinness World Records’ Middle East office in Dubai and a philately expert from the region. Despite some of Billy's stamps being disqualified (he was disappointed that his stamps featuring lunar rovers were discounted by the expert!) he had more than enough to break the record, finally totaling 3,333 unique items.

Billy Karam stamps

As ever, Billy strived to ensure that his record count resonated with one of his lucky numbers - 3, 5 and 7. "I must have my records feature any of these numbers," he said. "It's the secret of my success!"

Given his love for the number seven, it surely won't be long until Billy adds a seventh Guinness World Records certificate to his trophy cabinet. Until then, you can view his six-time record-breaking collections at his private museum in Beirut.

"I want my collections to inspire the young people of Lebanon - to demonstrate to them that you can achieve all that you want to if you're determined and passionate enough. It's rewarding to know that a new generation will see Lebanon in the record books for something positive - not just a country troubled by civil war."

Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday paid a visit to Billy's museum to hand over the official certificate. 

"I'm totally blown away by these awe-inspiring collections,” said Craig at the awards ceremony. 

"You could spend literally hours getting lost in the endless cabinets of cars and dioramas. His largest single diorama is a 4-m-wide reconstruction of a typical German town, and this alone could keep you occupied for hours! The fact that Billy shares an important and positive message at the end of the tour only adds to the impressiveness of what he's done. Here's to his next record!"