Two pole positions and a world record – it’s been some rookie season for NEOM McLaren Formula E Team driver Jake Hughes, who has become a Guinness World Record holder for the fastest speed achieved by a vehicle indoors.

Jake hit 218.71km/h, more than 50km/h faster than the previous record, on a 346-metre straight section of indoor racetrack. The British racer was competing against Mahindra Racing team driver Lucas di Grassi for the record ahead of this weekend’s double-header season-finale in London.

The pair were driving Formula E’s GENBETA car, a modified version of Formula E’s current GEN3 car. The modifications included an increase in the battery power output, from 350kW to 400kW and a new, softer iON race tyre compound that has more grip and warms up faster.  

The all-wheel drive GENBETA also used enhanced aerodynamics optimised for straight-line speed. This was achieved through 3D-printed front wing endplates, wheel fins and a wind deflector with circular, more sustainable thermoplastic solutions.

 

New record: Fastest speed by an indoor vehicle - 218.71 km/h (135.58 mph) achieved by Jake Hughes (UK) @FIAFormulaE pic.twitter.com/2nxp8XzwxG

— Guinness World Records (@GWR) July 28, 2023

“Driving the GENBETA car and setting the Guinness World Records title for the fastest speed achieved by a vehicle indoors was a really special experience,” said Jake. “I feel very honoured to have been asked and to be involved in such an exciting project.

“It wasn’t something I ever imagined I’d have the opportunity to even attempt, so now to hold the record is pretty incredible, especially in a Formula E car. I didn’t realise how much I wanted this record until I saw Lucas [Di Grassi] trying to break the record after me. When I was announced I was the record holder I felt a massive sense of pride.”

The record was set on Tuesday, 25 July in front of an official Guinness World Record adjudicator. In order to meet the criteria, the drivers had to set off from a static start and come to a complete halt inside “one continuous building structure.”

The indoor straight is a part of the 2.09km circuit in the ExCeL London events arena, which will host this weekend’s London E-Prix. Both drivers set off from a standing start and navigated a 130-degree turn at around 40km/h before attempting the record along the track’s 346m straight. Their speed was measured by a sophisticated speed trap system at a fixed point just five metres before the drivers entered the braking zone.

It was the first time that either driver had driven the GENBETA and both of them beat the previous record of 165.2km/h, with Jake’s fastest time of 218.71km/h narrowly edging Di Grassa’s best attempt of 218.18km/h.

Alongside teammate René Rast, Jake is set to compete in the final two rounds of the 2022/23 Formula E season, which take place this weekend in London. In his rookie season, the 29-year-old is currently 12th in the standings, one place higher than his teammate, René, with two pole positions and seven points finishes from 12 races. The NEOM McLaren Formula E Team are seventh overall, with 86 points.

As part of our McLaren60 celebrations, the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team will run a limited-edition AI-Designed livery for the London E-Prix.