A lawn mower from Viking, recently set a new World Record for the fastest lawn mower land speed.



On 5 November 2015, Finnish driver Pekka Lundefaret used a converted Viking  T6 Series lawn tractor to achieve a speed of 215 km/h (133.6 mph) on the runway at Norway's Torp-Sandefjord Airport.

The average speed of 215 km/h was achieved over the regulation distance of one English mile (approx.1.6 km). Although the first attempt failed and it looked like the event would have to be called off due to rain and fog at the airport, which is located south of Oslo, the record was finally broken. The airport safety personnel provided the perfect backup, coordinating the attempt between the scheduled take-offs and landings.

The project took several months of preparation between Viking, its Scandinavian distributors STIHL and the Norwegian Motorsports Association and was headed by Marius Gjevik from the "Norwegian Speed Factory", who contributed valuable advice from professional motorsport.

The World Record rules require that the lawn mower should have a mowing deck and a grass catcher box. With 408 HP under the bonnet, a Formula 1 paddle shift and Formula 3 tyres, the Scandinavian team was extremely well equipped and driver Pekka Lundefaret had reason to celebrate in the end: "I can't believe that we managed to set this world record despite less-than-ideal weather conditions. I would like to thank everyone who supported this crazy idea."

After the world record, the mood among the members of the racing team around driver Pekka Lundefaret (3rd from left) was jubilant