Speed with Guy Martin (2013–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Britain's Fastest Cyclist - full transcript

Motorcycle racer Guy Martin
loves going fast.

And now he's pushing
his love of speed to the limit

risking everything as he attempts
to break four speed records.

He's already broken the British and Commonwealth
record for absolute top speed on a bicycle.

112.94 miles an hour.

He's ridden a modified motocross bike
63 metres across the surface of a lake

further than anyone else before.

And he's pedalled his way to the fastest
human-powered flight of 2013

at the Icarus Cup.

Well done.

Guy's final record attempt will take place here,
on a Pyrenean mountainside in Andorra.



That is steep. That is steep.

He wants to ride a snow sledge down
a ski slope faster than anyone ever before.

If it was easy, they'd be queuing up
to do this, wouldn't they?

And where's the queue?
I can't see 'em.

If he succeeds,
he'll win a world speed record

but if it all goes wrong,
he could end up paying with his life.

The world record Guy wants to beat

was set by a 43-year-old lifelong thrill-seeker
from Germany, Rolf Allerdissen.

That's not good is it?
We've gotta go beat the Germans.

GERMAN DIALOGUE

With the help of his friend, Olympic skijump
silver medal winner Martin Ho¨Ilwarth

Rolf built a basic homemade snow sledge

which consisted of little more than
a three- foot long plastic cushion

with a pair of short wax skis
bolted on the underside.



And on 10 April 2010,
steering with his feet

he rode his DlYgravity-powered snow sledge
headfirst into the record books

achieving a speed of 62.25 miles per hour;
just over 100 kilometres per hour.

GERMAN DIALOGUE

Yeah, we don't just wanna break it a bit,
do we, we wanna obliterate it.

To be honest, I don't know owt
about tobogganing, really.

You know, we were, as kids, on dustbin bags
and bin lids going down the shop hill or summat.

that's about as much as I know about it.

So to stand any chance of
breaking the Germans' record

Guy will hook up with some of the finest scientific,
sporting and engineering minds in Britain.

That's absolutely spot on.

He'll employ the skills of the sports engineering
team at Sheffield Hallam University

led by Professor Steve Haake.

I've got a team of about
30, 32 engineers and PhD students

and what we do is,
we solve people's problems in sport.

Steve and his team are world class.

They've worked on 30 Olympic projects,
across 15 different sports with Team GB.

They've developed performance
analysis software for British boxing

and aerodynamics for the skeleton bob.

The engineering problems they'll face
creating a bespoke sledge for Guy

include making it as
aerodynamic as possible.

What we can see here is
all the different swirls and turns

that are coming off you
that are creating this drag.

They must also work out how to make it slide
across the snow with the minimum of friction

and they need to find
a way to stop Guy safely.

And along the way,
he'll learn from sporting champions

how he can control and stay safe
on a machine designed to have little or no grip.

Whoa!

11 months before Guy
makes his record attempt

he's come to the Swiss Alps to take
advantage of the last of the winter snow

and get his first taste of sledging at speed,
on the legendary Cresta Run.

We've come to the home of where
sledging started, or tobogganing started

we're going to the Cresta Run
and that's where it all started

here, oh I don't know, 1864 or something.
Was it 1864?

The Cresta Run is the world's oldest
purpose-built tobogganing track.

Named after the hamlet of Cresta

where it's built just above the
exclusive ski resort of St. Moritz.

What do you think to St. Moritz?
Is it very posh? - St. Moritz? - Yeah.

For a VIP, very important person.
- Ah, yeah, only for VIPs.

Very expensive.
- Is that right?

As early as 1850, the English upper classes
began travelling to the Alps

to spend their holidays
in the fresh mountain air.

And folks as we know, they used to go Scarborough,
Llandudno and Cleethorpes, I think.

They used to go there
for their summer holidays.

But no, no, that's where
the factory workers went.

Well, the factory owners,
all the posh boys

they all used to come
to Switzerland for their holidays.

They indulged in all manner
of healthy winter sports

with much of the activity centred within
the magnificent grounds of the Kulm Hotel.

One, two, three;
third along from the left.

One, two, three; we're there, that's us.
1860 that, so it's alright yeah. Yeah.

Goods were brought
to hotels on delivery sledges

The competitive British guests
requisitioned these sledges

and started racing them around town.

The Swiss locals got fed up dodging sledges
and wanted them off the streets.

The enterprising owner of The Kulm,
Johannes Badrutt

had an idea that
would solve the problem.

Yeah this is him; he's had a
tough paper round, a'nt he?

That's Johann... Johann Badrutt.

He built the world's first purpose-built track
for tobogganing in the grounds of the hotel

and made it free for his guests to use.

Look here, they've got like
a bit of water and pail round 'em

just carrying some water,
make it icy, so it goes a bit faster

and that's where they all started, there;
you know, started there.

As people mastered the sport,
they wanted bigger and faster runs

so in 1884, work started on the Cresta Run.

The result...

... was a thrilling ten- turn course
which ran over three quarters of a mile.

The Cresta Run
was the fastest place on earth.

Four people have been killed on the Cresta Run.
Four people have been killed.

Broken every bone on the human body.

28,000 crashes.

I could nearly put money on it
that it will be 28,001

at least, because
I'm having a go tomorrow.

130 years on, this exclusive tobogganing club
has members from around the world

but still appears to be dominated
by the English upper classes.

And someone who knows
the course better than most

is Lord Clifton Hugh Lancelot
de Verdon Wrottesley

a former Winter Olympian
and the Cresta's best ever rider.

He's an international financier who splits his time
between London and St. Moritz.

He's won so many Cresta Run races

that he has a dedicated trophy room
in his St. Moritz home.

The night before Guy
hits the run himself

Lord Wrottesley invites him over
to see his trophies and talk sledging.

I shit myself every time
I go from the top.

Every time?
- Yeah, you have to.

If you don't respect her, the run...

Yeah, I understand her, yeah.

...she'll bite your arse,
I mean she really will.

I tend to try and focus my nerves into aggression
and I'll do a sort of berserker at the top.

You beat yourself around
the face or any of that stuff?

Yeah. - Do yer?
- Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Mm, I like it. - I'll smack my helmet.
- WWF style. Last of the American wrestling boys?

All of that, all of that.
- Yeah, oh, I like that.

But then, as soon as you've done the start,
you've then gotta be relaxed.

Most Cresta Run crashes and injuries
happen at the infamous Shuttlecock Corner.

Oh, yer fighter!

So that's a pretty quick fall.
You just get a little bit winded sometimes.

The worst thing that can happen to you
is 35 kilos of sled tumbling about your ears

and then if that then hits you,
that's gonna hurt.

You gonna pop down tomorrow for a look?
- I will be down there tomorrow.

That's spot on.
- I will be down there.

I shall see you down there.
- I can't wait.

Guy's joining a class of
11 novices from across Europe

who've each paid just over £400
to try their luck

and the day starts with a Cresta Run ritual,
the notorious Death Talk.

Good morning, gentlemen.
- Good morning.

Welcome to the Cresta Run.

The Death Talk, my word!

It was like a Second World War Royal Air Force
mission briefing, that's what it was like.

This skeleton is of
a few members of our committee

and shows some of the injuries
that you can expect on the Cresta Run.

Absolute poker face.

This massive pelvic injury
happened to Major Kelly

and he died on the operating table three times
before they managed to save his life.

If you are the unlucky one who falls
in Shuttlecock and breaks your neck

please don't come back whinging because
I've warned you now that this is a real risk.

There was no ifs, buts or maybe.
Everybody knew where they stood

which is good, so yeah, we got through that.
Then we got with the guru.

The guru is a senior member
of the tobogganing club

who will try and prevent Guy
and his classmates

from contributing their X-rays
to a future death talk.

You all look pretty intelligent.
Prove me right. Alright?

It's time for Guy's first run.

Right, put your hand up in the air.
Put your hand up in the air.

Now step into the run.

So assume the position; lie down,
balls on the back of the seat.

So when the bell goes, feet off the ice,
firm raking, steady raking

until you're round the
left-hand corner of Shuttlecock.

Raking is when you stick your feet
out the back to try and slow you down.

But really, I didn't wanna do
a lot of raking really.

Right, so off you go.
Rake from the bridge.

Ready? Rake!

With minimal raking, Guy only just makes it
past the dangerous Shuttlecock Corner.

Halfway down and still
keeping his feet off the ground

Guy flies past the 50 miles per hour mark

and he makes it down in just 64 seconds.

I got to the bottom, yeah,
without wrecking meself, so yeah, happy.

But Guy's quick time doesn't
go down too well with the guru.

64? You were too fast. Too fast.
So you've gotta rake more.

The fastest riders on the Cresta
reach speeds of 80 miles per hour

well in excess of the world record
Guy is trying to beat.

But that's because this is
a purpose-built ice track.

Guy will need to set his record
on a naturally- formed snow slope

and snow's much slower.

Ice is very, very smooth

so the friction between it and
a sledge sliding over it is tiny to start with

and because ice is solid, an ice sledge
can be supported on knife edge runners

keeping the area of contact and therefore
the amount of friction to an absolute minimum.

Snow is much rougher in texture,
creating much more friction

and snow isn't solid, so a snow sledge needs
much wider runners to stop it sinking in.

That means a larger area of contact
and therefore a big increase in friction.

It's gonna be very hard
for Guy to go this fast on snow.

I'm next.

Back at the start,
it's time for Guy's second run.

Okay? Feet off the ice to gain momentum;
rake firmly from the bridge.

But rather than heeding the advice to rake,
Guy tries to go even faster

with all too predictable results.

BELL RINGS
OFFICIAL: Martin in the straw.

I was raking a lot less.

OFFICIAL:
Are you alright?

From the start, raked a bit, not a lot.

OFFICIAL: Are you alright, Martin?
Martin! Are you alright?

I went into the Shuttlecock way too low,
and then, once I got into the Shuttlecock

then I felt a centrifugal force pushing me up over
the top and straight over the top into the bales.

If you ever crash at the Shuttlecock Corner,
you're allowed to buy a tie.

So I bought a tie. It's alright.

When that'll come out, I don't know,
I'm not a big tie wearer.

But it's alright,
I've got the Shuttlecock tie.

Just before Guy's final run of the day,
Lord Wrottesley arrives to watch.

I can't wait to see Guy have a go at this.
I know his background in motor racing on bikes

I also know that he's a bright guy.

He loves the technical side of things,
he loves to look at the detail of everything

and he understands the dangers
that are inherent in doing the Cresta.

It's gonna be interesting.

OFFICIAL: Martin.
BELL RINGS

This time, Guy's determined
to get to the bottom.

Raking perfectly,
he flies past Shuttlecock Corner.

And then keeps accelerating
down the straights.

Building up to his
fastest speed of the day.

I did 58.8 miles an hour

so what's that, four or five miles an hour behind
the world record that we're trying to break.

Alright, we did this on ice.

But it's given me an idea of what it's like
to be on a sledge at near-on 60 miles an hour

and it's alright really, it's alright.
Did not faze me at all.

As winter ends,
the snows melt across Europe.

Guy now has 11 months
before he and the snows return

and he can attempt
to win himself a world record.

Guy Martin is on an 11-month mission

to set a new world speed record
for a gravity-powered snow sledge.

Now, he's in Sheffield to meet up
with Professor Steve Haake.

Oh, great job, fantastic.
Thank you very much. Oh.

Look at that.
- Look at that. Pie and peas, right.

Steve's team at Sheffield Hallam University
will mastermind the design of Guy's sledge

and he's confident they can beat
the current world record of 62.25 miles per hour.

German.
- German, yeah gotta be German, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, crazy German.
Surprised he's not naked actually.

Well he's not done bad,
but looking at what he's done

I reckon we can do a lot better than that.

Yeah, there was no one
from NASA there, was there?

No.
- I didn't see that.

I'll tell you what, let's have a look on this.
We've got a board here, let's have a look.

All the lunchtime meals.
- Let's have a look.

Are we allowed to rub this off?
- Okay, she might shout at me but hey, whatever.

So the first thing is
we've gotta maximise your power.

But of course the thing
that's slowing you down is friction.

A co-efficient drag.
- Friction. Yeah, yeah.

And there's two bits of friction.
There's the aerodynamics...

Yeah.
- ...and then there's basically the sliding friction.

What's really nice actually for me is just
applying some basic physics to a problem.

For all of this, there's one equation
that you can write down

which will take everything into account.
It doesn't matter what speed you're going.

Okay, Newton's second law, F -- ma;
mass times acceleration.

Sir Isaac Newton; well you've all heard of him,
he was the apple on the head man, wasn't he?

Then we're gonna use a lot of
Newton's formulas for the record attempt.

But as the equation gets longer,
it all gets a bit too much for Guy to take in.

Bloody hell, what's that mean?

What this shows is
that Guy's friend is weight

the combination of a heavy sledge,
a steep slope and the pull of gravity.

His enemies,
what will slow him down

are the aerodynamic drag of the air
Guy's sledge is moving through

and the friction between his sledge's skis
and the snow they're running on.

So Guy and Steve need to build a heavy
but beautifully aerodynamic sledge

with the smoothest skis they can find.

And as the sledge
will be tailor made for Guy

it's important to know which way he'll lie in it;
head first or feet first.

Steve reckons it won't make
any difference to the speed

but will make a big difference
to Guy's confidence and control.

So they're going skateboarding.

Right, so what we've got...
- We're gonna use this bit of a hill.

...we've got a bit of a slope;
actually that's quite steep isn't it?

Guy starts off by going feet first.

Shall we go for it?
- Go on.

Whoa!

Well yeah, it turned out a bit of a disaster.
Chucks me straight over the top

straight into the floor.
You can see there, straight into there.

Took me side, I've got a big scab on me side there;
lost me finger. D'you see?

I was completely out of control and I thought,
my word, I'm getting too old for this, I thought that.

Only I thought, no that can't be right,
I'm doing something wrong.

Something is wrong with the skateboard.

I took it back to Nat's van,
tightened the trucks up at the bottom.

I remember that when I was a kid,
tighten the trucks up, and it ran a treat.

Oh, look at that.

That's the only way,
that's the only way, lass.

You won't break me. - No?
- You won't break me.

Alright, well we're scarring you.
- Well, maybe. You'll not break me.

Chicks like a scar. - Chicks dig scars,
that's the rules, that's the rules in't it?

Is that right, Sarah? No?

So then we started doing it properly.

Have you figured out how you're stopping?
- We'll worry about that when I get there.

It looks a bit more dangerous, yeah,
bit more dangerous.

It looks a bit more dangerous
coming down the hill going headfirst.

Yeah, it's better; so I can make
minor changes a lot easier.

Yeah, I don't mind that.
I think headfirst is the job.

I feel a little bit more
in tune with the skateboard...

Right, right. -...headfirst.
- You can feel it. - Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, 'cause if I'm laying back, I'm getting
a little bit of delay on what the board's doing.

But if I'm headfirst I'm directing contact.
- Yeah, yeah. That's great that.

Shall we try it from the top headfirst?

Yeah, go on; that's looking good.

It just looks a bit more unnerving
because you're headfirst

and if anything's gonna go wrong,
you're headfirst into it.

But I think we'll be alright.

Hey hey! Brilliant.
- Spot on.

So yeah, face first is the way forward.

Now, Guy needs something
to go face first on

so he and Steve head
to Sheffield Hallam University

to start work on a test bed prototype
of his record-breaking sledge.

Hello, hello, hello.

Right, this is Terry.
- Pleased to meet you, Terry.

Pleased to meet you.
- Right, your life is in their hands.

Dr Nick Hamilton specialises in the development
of high tech professional sports equipment

and Dr Terry Senior has been involved
in the design of skeleton bobs

for the Winter Olympic Games.

The first decision for the team
is what Guy's snow sledge will ride on.

The problem is, most type of sledges
aren't designed for high speeds on snow.

A bob sleigh is a sledge for two or four people
sitting upright with steerable front runners

a luge is a sledge on which you lie feet first
and steer by shifting your bodyweight

and a skeleton bob is similar
to the luge but riders lie headfirst.

The problem is, that all three of these
run on ice tracks and have very slim runners

which would just cut through
snow and go nowhere.

The team could go for
a classic toboggan design

the toboggan has no runners,
and rides on its underside.

But that means a massive area of contact
and friction with the snow

which would severely limit
Guy's top speed.

So they need runners,
but runners which will work on snow

and luckily the best solution
is something they can buy off the shelf.

So what we've got are
these downhill racing skis.

What we're not sure about so far is where
these skis should be in relation to your body.

So either skis there, skis here.
Obviously the wider it is the more stable we are.

Let me show what we run with.
- Go on.

What we're gonna have is just a simple H section
and we'll attach the skis to that H section

but what we're gonna have is a series of holes
which allow us to change the position of the skis.

The position of the skis is crucial.

If they're too far apart,
Guy won't be able to steer;

but if they're too close together,
the sledge will be unstable at speed.

I like that.
- Right, are we ready?

The prototype sledge will only
be used as a rough test bed

helping the team conduct real world tests
as they develop all aspects of the sledge design.

You learn so much in producing a prototype.

We've got the best possible
skis we can have

and so as soon as we can get this thing
onto a steep slope, onto snow

see how it feels at speed, we'll have a much
better idea of where we're gonna go with it.

While Terry and Nick crack on
with the prototype sledge

Guy nips next door to have
his whole body laser-scanned

by aerodynamics expert, John Hart.

What we need you to do
is get into this suit and this hat as well.

It's because the scanner doesn't like...
- You don't want me naked do you?

Not fully. I'd prefer it
if you weren't fully naked.

Right, that's alright then. Yeah, I'd prefer it
if I weren't fully naked too. Right.

John wants to incorporate Guy's
exact body profile into his computer designs

to make the final sledge with Guy on it
as aerodynamic as possible.

By heck. It's not leaving a lot
to the imagination this, is it, hey?

You look wonderful.

The scanning software records
millions of coordinates

mapping in detail
the surface of Guy's body.

This produces an extremely accurate
3D model of him on John's computer.

By heck.

So what we've got here
is just the rough outline of you

which we can build from.

So we can use this obviously
on the computers

and work out how the airflow's gonna
come over your shoulders

and over your backside
and how it might separate away.

Yeah, that's trick, in't it?
- Yeah.

John's design work
will take a few months.

Butjust four weeks later, the team are ready
for their first test of the prototype sledge.

And there's a perfect slope
just down the road in Wakefield.

The team have arranged for
an after hours testing session.

Now then, Amy.
- Hello.

Joining the team for the
night test is Amy Williams

who's popped along for the evening
to offer Guy some training advice.

At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010
Amy won gold for Britain

and became the fastest woman
ever to have ridden a skeleton bob.

I got to 92 miles per hour on the sled.
- 92?

So we still have speed camera clocks
down near the bottom of the sled.

92?

So that's the fastest that any
woman's gone on a skeleton sled.

Lovely, lovely lass, lovely lass.

She's from Barth. We don't know where that is.
Somewhere near Bath I reckon.

You're gonna be going just down
one straight hill, aren't you? No corners.

Yeah, on the snow though,
'cause you was doing it on the ice.

Mine was ice, hard ice.
- Yeah.

So that's obviously gonna be
quicker than soft slushy snow.

So I'll have to see what the snow's like.
- 'Cause we've only gotta go 62 miles an hour.

Well, it's the first time
I've met Guy. He's crazy.

The test bed sledge is pretty basic

just the speed skis mounted
on a sturdy metal frame

with a chunk of cushion on top

to give Guy a bit of suspension
against bumps and ruts in the snow.

There's a lot more padding on that than mine;
I have one tiny thin bit of camping mat.

You do, a bit of camping mat. - That looks like
a sofa compared with mine, actually.

I could be on there for the day.

The sledge does now have
a simple braking system

added in the shape of a big lever
and a row of metal teeth.

When Guy pulls the lever,
that turns a shaft underneath the sledge

and the row of ten teeth
dig into the snow like a rake.

You alright there?
- Alright, mate.

The aim for the night is to get
the sledge running dead straight

test the new brakes and go as fast
as possible down the 180 metre slope.

With the target of hitting
30 miles per hour.

Let's get your position sorted first.
- You ready?

I'm just gonna put me foot there
so you don't go off.

You don't wanna drag your knees and your feet,
'cause that's gonna brake.

Steer with the toes

and then really just keep your head and
shoulders as close to this as possible

to be aerodynamic.

I don't think we're worried
about being aerodynamic at this stage.

We just need to make sure
that it's gonna go down straight.

If you wanna slow down,
just dig your feet in.

We're all going into the unknown here.
Everyone's smiling, everyone's smiling.

We're fine, you're the guinea pig.
- I like that, come on, let's have a go then.

I genuinely thought,
well, I didn't give a monkeys really

but I thought it'd end in tears.

On the first run,
the sledge slews massively left.

If that happens at high speed
on a mountainside

that could spell disaster,
so changes are made.

We're just adjusting where my body position is
compared to where the ski position is.

So we've just gone further forward
with my body position.

On the second run,
the sledge runs perfectly straight.

Whoa. Yeah.
- Well done.

I think Guy did really well; I was quite surprised
at how quickly we started picking up speed.

100 per cent, yeah not a problem,
not a problem at all; very controllable.

Whoa, ho.

Guy now feels ready to go from the top
and attempt to reach 30 miles per hour.

Amy reckons at a push we might just
get you going a bit faster.

Just a little push at the beginning.
- I'd do it from your feet.

Feet or buttocks?

Whatever you reckon, lass.
- I've only known him for an hour or two.

You'll not offend me, lass,
you can push me wherever you want.

Go for the feet.
- You go for the feet.

Three, two, one. Go!

That's a good one, that's a good one.

The prototype runs
dead straight down the entire slope.

But did Guy reach his target
of 30 miles per hour?

Wait for the radio.
- Guy, 33.49 miles an hour.

Oh, 33. Spot on, 33.
Yeah, so we're getting there.

Oh, well done. Well done.
- Hey.

Okay, slope angle was 15 degrees,
yes, at the top?

Back in the boot room,
Steve uses the data collected from Guy's runs

to perform some calculations
on a computer programme.

This can predictjust how fast
Guy might be able to go.

The record can be attempted
on any snow slope of any steepness

but for his model,
Steve inputs a slope angle of 30 degrees

the angle of an average black ski run.

My goodness, 153 miles an hour.
- Yeah, that's more like it.

153 miles an hour on the 30 degrees.
- That's more like it. - Ok.

He knows what he's doing, don't he?
He knows what he's doing. The maths don't lie.

But the possibility of going more than
twice as fast as the current record

creates another big danger.

At very high speeds the brakes' teeth
are likely to just bounce off the snow

or even snap off
due to the massive forces involved

so Guy will need something else
to bring his speed down

before the mechanical brake
can be used.

Parachute out the back.

Yeah, parachute to start with,
get the speed down so it's reasonable.

Yeah. Sounds a good idea.

I'm more concerned
that he just needs to stop at the end.

Get up to the highest speed
and then you've gotta be able to stop.

Well you boys have got nowt to worry about;
you'll not be the one sat on a sledge, will you?

Going very fast is looking
very possible for Guy

but being able to stop safely,
without the risk of serious injury

is now a big, big problem.

Spot on!

It's midsummer and
Guy Martin is in Bedfordshire

because here in the English home counties
is the fastest drag strip outside America.

In five months he'll attempt
to ride a snow sledge down a mountain

at over 63 miles per hour
and break the world speed record.

His problem, though,
is how to slow down safely.

So he's come to meet Britain's fastest ever
drag bike racer, Ian King

who may hold the answer.

Hello, Guy.
- You're Ian. Pleased to meet you mate.

You too. - How's it going?
- Good, thank you.

Last year, Ian won his seventh
European Championship.

COMMENTATOR:
He's in dominant form once again...

Reaching a top speed
of 235 miles per hour.

Drag racing is all about covering a straight
quarter mile track as fast as possible.

At the end, drag racers face exactly
the same problem Guy will on the mountain

how to slow down safely.

So they use parachutes
and Guy wants to do the same.

The only real-world option for us to slow down,
in a half-decent space, is a parachute.

lan's top- fuelled drag bike is so powerful

it's the only one in the UK
that uses a parachute system.

And that's what Guy, Steve, Terry and Nick
have all come to see for themselves.

Alright lass,
we're all ready if you are.

At the end of his run, Ian deploys a parachute,
rapidly slowing the bike's speed by 30 per cent.

But the parachute was a lot smaller
than I thought. - Yeah, tiny isn't it?

If that small parachute can stop that thing,
well, it's easily gonna stop Guy.

Just amazing how quickly
he did slow down.

A parachute canopy is designed
to catch as much air as possible

increasing drag massively and slowing
the movement of whatever it's attached to.

And because drag increases
at double the rate of speed

a parachute has a greater effect
at higher speeds.

If Guy reaches 100 miles per hour on his sledge

a parachute the same size as lan's

should slow him down below
60 miles per hour in just five seconds

so that's how to slow down sorted.

Brilllant, right we'll take you back.
We're on the right lines.

But there's an important lesson
about steering his sledge

that Guy can also learn
while he's here.

And happily for Guy, that means having a go
on a 400 horsepower drag bike.

I'm going into the unknown.
But I like that; I think it's gonna be alright.

Come to Santa Pod, ride a drag bike,
watch a top-fuel bike. Oh.

As Ian explains, steering a drag bike
and steering Guy's sledge

employs exactly the same technique.

There's no steering, so you have
to use your body to steer the bike

to counteract the forces of wind,
for example

from the sides or wind resistance
from the front.

It's very important you keep the bike
as upright and as flat and straight as possible

which is exactly what you're gonna
experience with riding the sled.

Because, of course,
that's not going anywhere.

No, no, no, no.
- So you can't lean that either.

You lean that you'll fall off as well;

so the idea is to move your body around
and that's exactly what happens on drag bikes.

It's a steep learning curve
to come drag racing.

You know, he's been
kind enough to let me use it

and I didn't wanna go out here
on the first time and go and blow the thing up.

On his first ever go on a drag bike,
Guy hits 160 miles per hour in 9. 7 seconds

just three seconds off the current
pro stock world record.

Yeah, but no effect
on where the bike goes.

You can turn 'em left or right
and it'll go where it wants to go

I've got to put the input in off my upper body,
to get the bike to go where I want it to.

Gonna be like the sled right?
- Yeah.

This is your timing ticket;
so you ran a 9.7 quarter mile.

160 mile an hour terminal speed.

It's perfect.
- Thank you very much.

Four more runs,
you'll be World Champion.

Throughout the summer, work continues
on the final designs for Guy's sledge.

Dr Terry and Dr Nick drive out
to a glacier in the Alps with the prototype

where they make repeated runs to ensure
the sledge is stable and safe at high speeds.

Done about three or four runs so far, getting
progressively higher and higher, faster and faster.

Going really, really well;
very pleased with the day so far.

Back in the UK, John Hart's
finished his work on the aerodynamics

which he hopes will make
Guy's sledge a record breaker.

He starts by showing how un-aerodynamic
a combination of Guy and the prototype are.

So what we're actually looking at here was

if you could see all these
swirling vortices that are coming off you

so as the air flows over you,
it's going smooth, smooth, smooth

separates away
and starts to swirl and turn.

And what we can see here is, all the different
swirls and turns that are coming off you

that are creating this drag.

Now John reveals to Guy
what his final sledge will look like.

We've come up with a shape of fairings
that will hopefully smooth the flow all around you.

You can see the flow coming across
is much smoother

and off the front of the skis
it's also reduced.

And when you see the prototype
and the final design next to each other

the difference is clear.

We've managed to reduce
your drag by 34 per cent.

Right. That varies then.
Massive, massive. - That is big.

Now Guy can finally get on
with making his sledge

and for that, he's come
to EPM Technology in Derby

experts in carbon fibre construction.

Erm, yeah it's Guy Martin here, I'm after
seeing someone about building a sledge.

Their clients include four F1 teams,
Olympic rowers

canoeists and sailors from
Team GB and now Guy Martin.

The whole process of making Guy
a carbon fibre sledge takes two days.

It starts by carefully pressing three layers
of carbon fibre cloth into a mould.

Carbon fibre is being used for
Guy's sledge because it's so strong

five times stronger than steel
and twice as stiff.

Its surface is also very smooth,
which will improve the sledge's aerodynamics.

Once vacuum packed
to prevent air bubbles

it's cured overnight in a massive
pressure cooker called an autoclave.

So we'll stick it in there and it'll cure for six hours.
That's how long it'll go out for.

For six hours. Spot on.

The next morning,
Guy's carbon fibre sledge has set solid.

Go on be brave, whack it.

You don't think?
- Oh no, you won't break it.

And after some delicate work with a mallet...

...it's released from the mould.

Let's just waggle it, let's just waggle it.
Hooray.

It looked trick, it looked trick, yeah.

Where we going?
- Onto here.

Guy fits a windscreen
so he can see where he's going

and they put in a chassis
holding the braking mechanism

and topped with a foam cushion
for Guy to lie on.

Finally, the parachute unit is slotted
into an extension pole

so it sits far enough back
not to get tangled with Guy's feet.

And then we sort of dummied it up on the
workbench, see what it felt like with the brake.

That's it.
- And it just feels a treat.

Can you see where you're going? - D'you think
that's my position alright? Am I alright there?

Yeah, yeah.
- I think you're alright there.

Yeah, you can see alright.

Looks good.
- Yeah.

After eight months of research, scientific testing
and hard graft; Guy finally has a sledge.

We need to keep the stealth look;
we'll turn up with straight faces

go out there and do the business.

And we've got no excuses, if there was ever
a tool for breaking a record this is it.

All he needs now is some snow.

This is the Andorran ski resort of
Grandvalira in the Pyrenees.

Here Guy Martin will attempt to become
the fastest man ever to ride a snow sledge.

He'll make his run on the daunting
Antenes speed skiing slope

900 metres long, dead straight
and 46 degrees at its steepest point.

And it's got Guy nervous.

It's not that one is it?!
- It is, it's that one. What d'you reckon?

Bloody hell, you see that?

He did look a bit scared actually;
the bottom lip started to tremble a little bit.

What? What? You know, there was never
one stage where I was gonna wimp out.

I just thought... Bloody hell.

That is steep. That is steep.

It's notjust steep, but narrow too
and flanked by rocks

so the team have made some modifications
to the sledge to help Guy stay on course.

If you remember on the snow jump,
the sledge tended to sort slide sideways a bit. - Yes.

Now when we were testing zoomer,
we just put a little bit of camber onto the skis

and immediately it felt so much more stable.

Camber means, so the skis are looking in?

Yeah, so the inside edge is lower
than the outside edge. Couple of degrees.

The cambered skis should keep him straight

so now the team's biggest fear
is stopping him safely.

As Guy will make his
record attempt tomorrow

they have today to conduct
some lower speed practice runs.

Is that straight?
- A little, front end to the right slightly.

Yeah I think so.
- Okay we're good.

Are you ready?
- Yeah. Go!

Guy keeps the sledge dead straight.

Easily reaching 40 miles per hour.

Then he applies the brakes.

You alright?
- Bloody broke that out the bloody... Bugger.

I stayed off the brake,
'cause I wanted to go as fast as I could

and I thought, right, I'll brake at the last minute,
so I braked, well then it just got unstable.

You run out of space didn't you?
- No, it flipped it sideways.

Up at the start point, Terry and Nick
want to know what the damage is.

I tell you what, I'll let Guy explain
what happened at the end.

Right, press the button there.

Now Terry, how's it going?
- So what happened?

It was alright braking to a certain degree

and then I went for the brake
that little bit more

and that's what then just
sort of flipped it sideways

and then chucked me straight off.

Guy escaped unscathed
but the sledge didn't.

As its constructor Andy Butt discovers.

It's pulled the mounting
right through there.

Through the skin.

It's actually dislodged
the frame from the inside.

It's not really designed
to go upside down at them sort of speeds.

The body is wrecked
and cannot be fixed in the field.

There is a back- up body but if Guy damages
this one the whole project ends here.

And there's only one other way
to slow Guy down; the parachute.

This is the first time
one has ever been fitted to a sledge

so nobody can be certain
it won't lift the rear when it's deployed

flipping Guy at high speed.
But it has to be tested.

If Guy can't prove he can stop safely

he won't be allowed to make
his record attempt tomorrow.

As Guy approaches the braking area,
he triggers the parachute.

Brake, brake, brake. Brilllant.

And it works perfectly.

Oh fantastic. Woo hoo! Well done.

I felt it a treat.
- Did yer, did yer?

Yeah I felt it.
It deployed well, it was straight.

And it was straight, timing was brilllant.

Right that's the plan then, that's the plan.

I can go to sleep tonight knowing
that the parachute does have an affect.

Whether the affect is good enough
to stop me in time, I don't know.

So we'll find that out tomorrow.

After a good night's sleep,
the team reassemble.

Today Guy hopes
to break a world speed record

and the team hope
he'll walk away afterwards.

British Olympic champion
Amy Williams has flown in to support Guy.

Well I'm guessing it's a bit colder this morning,
so the snow's a bit more compact and hard.

Is it?

Which should be good, because it'll mean
you're gonna go down a bit quicker.

It looks like snow to me.
Snow's snow; to me snow's snow.

Do you not fancy a go? Go on.

This is your thing, you know.

Even with near perfect snow conditions

the team know Guy must start as high
as possible if he's to break the record.

But the previous day's testing has left them
questioning how high is safe.

It quickly became apparent that
we were running out of braking area

and yeah we're not here to kill the guy,
we're not here to injure him.

The highest the team dare to go
is two- thirds of the way up the speed ski slope

on its steepest section.

This is all or nothing, go big or go home.

We've got one shot at this and hopefully,
fingers crossed

we'll have enough space to stop.
'Cause we've got the parachute on as well.

Any nerves, any nerves?

Any nerves? Any nerves?

Not yet, no.

Cheers mate. Cheers.
- Okay.

I know I'm kind of like a bit nervous and
is this gonna happen, is he gonna do it?

The build-up is excruciating;
because to get up that slope is quite hard

so it takes quite a long time to do

so you're just standing down there
waiting and waiting and waiting.

Come on, come on, this is it.

God it gets your eyes
after a while doesn't it?

The slope is so steep
at the new start position

that Guy needs a ski guide
to help him across to his sledge.

Muchas gracias.

We knew where we were at that point,
we knew what we could achieve

we knew there was a
little bit more speed to be had.

Okay. Yeah.

This is it; the culmination
of 11 months of work.

Guy's attempt to break the world speed record
for a gravity-powered snow sledge

which stands at 62.25 miles per hour.

The most nerve-racking bit
is being held at the top.

The blood was going
to me head rather quick.

The lads are holding us
at the top on the ropes

and one's got like the trigger
to pull the tag out

and he's counting down for five, four, three,
and that's the most nerve-racking bit

that's the most nerve-racking bit.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Guy flies through the speed trap.

He fires his parachute...

...and the speed is...

Woo hoo!

...83.49 miles per hour.

Oh what a star!
- Well done!

That's 134.36 kilometres per hour.

Top job. - That was brilllant.
- 134! - 134.

Well done.
You had fantastic braking.

He smashed the German world record
by over 30 kilometres per hour.

You did it.
- Thank you very much.

Perfect boys, perfect.
I was hardly touching.

It was straight line.
- Yeah. I put a couple of inputs in.

And then you were done. Yeah.

Good luck, Guy.

Guy just laid on it really calmly.

I made a few corrections on the first,
I don't know, 100 metres.

And then that was it, he just let the sled run

and that was the main thing,
I reckon, in getting the speed.

And then, yeah, got me peripheral vision,
just looking out for the braking marker.

Pulled the trigger,
bring the brake in gradually.

He just let it flow as much as possible
and, yeah, he did it.

Bob's your uncle.

It felt flawless, it felt brilllant.
It was really good.

It was mint, absolutely mint.

Hey, we've walked away
with a really good world record

and someone's gonna have to do something
pretty special to be able to break that.

Yeah I've got a long drive home, so yeah,
it's nice driving home with...

...yeah, yeah, knowing that we've achieved that.

World record holder. Yeah.
Yeah check me out, check me out.