Pro racer Paul Swift smashes nail-biting car stunt record at the British Motor Show

Motorsports superstar Paul Swift went full throttle as he broke a new nail-biting record at the British Motor Show 2023. 

The stunt pro successfully performed a series of incredible stunts in an car, breaking the record for the fastest time to complete five car stunts at the 2023 edition of the annual event in Farnborough, UK, on 20 August.

The stomach-twisting show took place in the arena of Farnborough Airfield in front of an awed crowd, and under the eye of official Guinness World Records Adjudicators Jack Brockbank and Craig Glenday. 

 As per the guidelines, Paul had to keep steady nerves and complete the following tricks in any order he liked:

1. Two-wheel drive (for a minimum of 50m).
2. J-turn (through a gap 1.5m longer than the car) - a reversing vehicle is spun 180 degrees and continues, facing forward, without changing the direction of travel.
3. Ramp jump (all wheels leaving the ground for at least the length of the car).
4. Parallel park (in a space 1 metre longer than the car used, and stopping within 75 cm from the kerb).
5. Three consecutive doughnuts (inside a circle with a radius twice that of the vehicle).

Overall, Paul had four days (from 17 August, the first day of the show, until the closing day on Sunday) to attempt his record – or shave off time from the original result and improve his previous time.

His first attempt took place on Thursday, with a minimum to beat of 90 seconds. 

Paul completed four out of the five stunts but unexpectedly ran into trouble with the doughnuts when his Mustang malfunctioned, due to the traction control not being properly turned off.

Traction control automatically brakes when the car detects wheel spin, so has to be off in order to keep the wheels spinning as required for doughnuts. 

Although he managed to complete the required three doughnuts, the unexpected bump in the road stole precious seconds, resulting in an incredible and frustrating 90.6 seconds. 

Fired up and ready to grasp a record that was just barely out of his reach, Paul decided to give it another go immediately. 

After a rocky start, he didn't encounter any more technical setbacks and successfully completed all the stunts in 1 minute and 15.72 seconds, setting the third world record of his racing career so far.

However, that was far from the end: the stunt star was going to re-attempt the record for the crowds visiting the fair throughout all four days of the British Motor Show. 

Constantly cheered on by the crowd, during the following three days Paul tried to improve his previous result. 

Perhaps due to the wind and the unfavourable weather conditions and exacerbated by a growing tension with every missed attempt, he failed the challenge for a few times in a row – either not achieving the necessary time or clipping the nearby cars during the parallel parking stunt. 

He also chose to decrease the parallel parking space to just 50 cm shorter than the length of the car, rather than the 1m written in the guidelines, to amp up the difficulty of the attempt.

Eventually, after many failed attempts, the expert racer achieved an outstanding time of only 57.21 seconds during his second (and final) attempt on Sunday.

Paul also had to test his fitness skills during the attempt. 

After the parallel park, he had to dash out of the Ford (necessary for the first four stunts) and run to a black Mustang, thanks to which he would complete the three doughnuts, the last leg of the record-breaking pentathlon. 

Despite his years of preparation and usual cool-headed approach to racing, Paul was rightfully quite stressed before the attempt. 

His family being present at the event, ready to cheer for him, also played a part in his uncharacteristic tension. 

“My family is watching, I can’t let them down,” he said. 

As he confessed just before the attempt, the racing champion never tried all the stunts in a row, only having rehearsed each trick on its own. 

“What's next for the future? I have a project,” Paul revealed to the GWR microphones, although he refused to spoil his idea for the next world record. 

However, it seems safe to say that attempting a new record is very much on the stunt superstar's radar.

A seasoned pro and coming from a family of racers, Paul already holds many world titles, is a seven-time British Motorsport Champion and has collaborated in several adverts and movie sets.

His latest incredible achievement adds a new record under Paul’s belt, who set two records during the 2022 British Motor Show:

•  Tightest parallel park by electric car 
• Most doughnuts (spins) around a motorcycle performing a wheelie in one minute

As we look at the future and hold our breath in front of Paul’s amazing stunts, we eagerly wait for the new records that he has in store.

Taking place every year, the British Motor Show is an event buzzing with motorsports enthusiasts, revving engines and world records. 

The 2023 edition spanned from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 August, and it also featured some record-breaking inventions. 

Record holder Kevin Nicks (UK) showcased some of his eclectic and genius creations during the exhibition, such as the fastest shed and the longest mobility scooter ever (measuring a whopping 7.04 m (22 ft 3 in) total). 

He also presented a unique wheelbarrow that he designed and built entirely from scratch with salvaged materials: a motorized tool that, reaching an average speed of 74.335kph (46.190 mph), has been officially recognized as the fastest motorized wheelbarrow in the world.

During an exclusive Q&A, Nicks chatted about his inventions and was awarded official Guinness World Records certificates for his creations.

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