Ever since the dawn of modern history, man has always strived to be the best at everything. And thankfully, we have the Guinness World Records keeping track of them all. Every conceivable feat apparently has a record, even the “world’s fastest elbow drag”.
Recently, that record has just been shattered with a motorcycle racer from California, USA, recently setting a new Guinness record.
Josh Herrin, who’s also been a pro racer since 2006, broke the record on one of the corners of Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California, clocking at 162.4 kilometers per hour (more than 101 mph).
“Normally, when I’m riding, I touch [my elbow], and it just skims [the ground] and I lift it back up. Almost like a feeler for me, to let me know what my lean angle is,” said Herrin.
An average rider with track day experience can do the knee-dragging at a corner of a racetrack with speeds not more than a hundred kilometers per hour. Professional racers, on the other hand, can skillfully attack a corner at very high speeds, which usually requires them to lean the bike to its absolute limits. Some of them take it even further by touching the tarmac with their elbow.
While the skill is impressive, it is also borderline dangerous, as Herrin explains.
“So now when I’m having to push-off on it, it’s kind of making the bike get light because I’m putting all of my weight on my elbow, so the front wheel was getting light - it was actually kind of scary! But it ended up working out good.”
For this feat, Herrin used a Yamaha R6 and managed to drag his elbow at 162 kph for a distance of 30 meters (100 feet). He just barely beat the previous record set at 161 kph (100 mph).
