Land Speed Record: 763 MPH!

Did you know the current Land Speed Record was achieved in the Black Rock Desert? The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land, and the current LSR is held by ThrustSSC, with its driver, Andy Green. The project succeeded in establishing the LSR in 1997, and Gerlach celebrated its 20th Anniversary with Gerlach Race Days in 2017.

In addition to setting the LSR, Thrust SSC also is the first car to generate a sonic boom (which happened on Oct 7th, 1997). An official attempt on the record a few days later failed due to the car not being turned around within the statutory one hour allowed. However, on 15th October, Andy Green made the two runs through the measured mile, each time generating a perfect shockwave in front of the car and a huge sonic boom. The Land Speed Record is now faster than sound.

How to set a Land Speed Record

The land speed record is a mean of the recorded speed over a fixed distance, averaged over two passes. Two runs have to run in opposite directions and be taken within an hours time of one another!