Cannonball Record Reportedly Broken Amid The USA's Covid-19 Lockdown
The Cannonball record is not broken all that often. The recent 103mph average speed effort set with a modified Mercedes E63 was the fastest the New York to Los Angeles coast-to-coast trip had been undertaken since Ed Bolian and Dave Maher’s run in 2013, which itself beat a record set by Alex Roy and Maher way back in 2006.
However, Arne Toman and Doug Tabbutt’s 27-hour and 25-minute blast from last November has already fallen. And it’s been done amidst even more controversial circumstances than usual, with the drivers taking advantage of the quiet roads caused by the USA’s partial Coronavirus lockdown.
Around 4 April an unknown team of drivers in an Audi A8L - fitted with additional fuel tanks in the boot - completed the 2826-mile dash in 26 hours and 38 minutes. This took 45 minutes out of Toman and Tabbutt’s time while increasing the average speed from 103 to 106mph. Ed Bolian and Alex Roy say they have seen footage of the endeavour and can confirm the so far anonymous claim is genuine.
However many precautions are taken, driving at the sustained high speeds necessary to challenge the record inherently involves risk. The drastic reduction in traffic this time could have - in theory - made the run safer, but at a time when the emergency services are already stretched dealing with a pandemic, this record brings with it a whole new set of moral questions.
“Most of us [Cannonballers] have decided that this was not the time to pursue something like that,” Ed Bolian said, albeit admitting, “Of course, that doesn’t give me the grounds to condemn a drive like that - I get the hypocrisy…just because their brand of law-breaking is different than mine”. Bolian also raised a point about fairness for previous record-holders and those who may attempt to break it in the future, suggesting the environment used for this run could be compared to doping in sports.
Meanwhile, NBC News quotes Alex Roy as saying, “A run now brings with it the unknown…Did I touch a fuel pump, did I transmit the virus, did I contribute to the problem in an immeasurable way? Once you enter into the zone of doing such a thing today, one can never know if you can say no harm, no foul.”
The high-speed tradition of the Cannonball run has its roots in an 11-day coast-to-coast motorbike road trip by Erwin Baker in 1915. He trimmed that down on four wheels in 1933 to 53 and a half hours, setting a record that remained unbroken for 40 years.
The 1970s was the decade the idea was cemented into car culture, with motoring journalist Brock Yates founding the ‘Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash’ as a protest against the strict speed limits being introduced at the time. It inspired a film and multiple generations of drivers who sought to hold the record themselves.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Breaking the law while breaking the law, its breaking the law-ception!
improvise
adapt
overcome
I agree with Ed on this one. It is a record, but should be treated separately and not compared to the other Cannonball times. The circumstances are so very different and probably will never be similar again that this run seems uncomparable to the previous times for me.
Yeah I agree whats the point in breaking this record and it should be treated as an outlier record that was done but shouldnt be done in the current climate of Covid 19
Winning’s Winning. Doesn’t matter if it’s by an Inch or a Mile.
Aside from the legal concerns (speed limits, etc.), i dont get why people are complaining about this record.
By that logic lap records that were done with absolutely perfect conditions must be condoned as well.
If everything is perfect to do really well at something everyone in a competetive envoirment will gladly take advantage of that.
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I don’t think it’s fair, they had an advantage of roads being much quieter
But the roads were quiet when the first record has been made so should we disregard them as well? Because i doubt the roads now are quieter than they were in the 60s and 70s
Car advantage? In future will be easier. Is it also cheating? Cruise control, lane assist? There was no such ads in 60’s. So we are cheating?
People acting like this is worse than usual are off their rockers.
If there ever was an acceptable time to attempt this (admittedly very stupid) record it is now. There has never been so little traffic on the roads for many years, and I dont think there ever will be less except if there is a similar virus outbreak in the future.
The Cannonball run is illegal. It doesn’t matter when, or how it is done.
Its like thief 1 calling thief 2 a cheat because the safe robbed by thief 2 was left unlocked by the owner, while the safe robbed by thief 1 had to be forced open.
the cannonbal doesnt recognize the record
Good
Meanwhile in Germany: “Pfft my VW Golf 1.6 TDI does an average of 106mph from Hamburg to Munich at Sunday nights…don’t see anything special here.”
I don’t see why everyone is making a fuss about it. A record is a record is a record. The state of the world doesn’t make it “cheating”, it’s taking advantage of the times. Just the same how some groups run during mother’s day weekend. Nothing makes it inherently riskier, it’s actually more safe because there’s less people on the roads. The last team used a freaking plane. There’s no cheating or not in an illegal game. Grow up and accept a fair and square win.