"I have done top speed tests earlier with several cars. This was the first time with a tractor, and we immediately got a world record! The tyres and tractor worked really well, even though the weather was challenging."
Nokian Tyres expanded its versatile winter tyre selection to tractors when the Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI was launched in the spring of 2014. The Hakkapeliitta TRI’s unique tread pattern, winter rubber compound and siping maximise grip and traction. The diagonal siping creates grooves on the tread blocks, increasing the number of edges that grip the driving surface and improving longitudinal and lateral grip. The world’s northernmost tyre manufacturer was the first to introduce block pattern tyres for tractors over 10 years ago.
- Testing at the extremes is at the core of activities and it requires unique skill. We wanted to show the true performance of the new Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI. It is quite a remarkable sight when you see a 7.7-ton machine flying past at over 130 km/h with a quadruple World Rally Champion behind the wheel! When a tractor is driven that fast on a winter road, it requires great grip, stability and handling properties. These have been our targets during the development of the Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI, says Tero Saari, Project Manager, R&D for Nokian Tyres.
The record took place on 19 February 2015 on the emergency airfield of Vuojärvi, Finland, approximately 20 kilometres from the city of Sodankylä towards Rovaniemi. The total length of the packed snow strip was approx. 2,300 metres, and a 50-metre speed trap was set at the middle of the strip.
The Guinness World Records organisation defines specific rules for the world record for fastest tractor. The time for the tractor to travel through the 50-metre speed trap is measured in both directions. The world record is an average of these two measurements. The tractor took a flying start.