The world record for the fastest two-wheeled side wheelie in a car has been broken by Finnish stunt driver Vesa Kivimaki.

Imagine how difficult it must be to maintain control of a car that’s going full tilt down a runway on only two wheels. Finnish stunt driver, Vesa Kivimaki, managed to break the world record for the fastest two-wheeled side wheelie in August 2016, achieving an average speed of 186.269 kph in his BMW 335i Coupe. The footage of his succesful attempt has only been released now. The previous record was held by Swedish driver, Goran Eliason, who achieved 181.25 kph in 1997.

According to Kivimaki however, the feat is incredibly difficult to achieve due to rapid wear on the tyre sidewalls, which ultimately leads to tyre failure. “I have made earlier attempts to break the record for the fastest car on two wheels, but have not been successful. At some point, I realised that the key to record-breaking is to have tyres that are exceptionally durable” said Kivimaki.

To achieve the result, Kivimaki partnered with Finnish winter tyre specialist, Nokian, who specifically developed a tyre for the world record attempt. The tyres were constructed using a synthetic fibre called Aramid, which is exceptionally strong and heat-resistant and the tyres were fitted to rally-spec rims for added strength.

Kivimaki was required to do two runs within one hour on a 100-metre section of tar.

Take a look at the record-breaking two-wheel side wheelie in the video below.

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