When we thought we had already seen it all, reality comes back to us. Günter Schachermayr continues to invent and perform crazy feats on a Vespa, and break records. And it's even nicer, but useless, when these records are totally absurd. This time, the goal was to break the world record for the longest time riding a motorized two-wheeler on rails without stopping. The difficulty lay mainly in finding a section long enough to be able to reach the record without hindering rail traffic or the risk of getting caught by a train.
To tell the truth, the story comes from a long way away. Stuntman Günter Schachermayr compiles a series of records to enter the Guinness Book as one of the people with the craziest records to his name involving a Vespa. Because when it comes to offbeat performances, the 44-year-old driver knows a thing or two about it. For several years now, this Austrian has multiplied the eccentricities behind the handlebars of his Vespa: towing a plane while wheeling, go down a vertical tower on your scooter, go zip-lining while making a Rubik's cube or go down a hill, on the back wheel, holding a spoon holding an egg in his mouth, nothing can stop him!
Interestingly, someone had already thought about executing this ingenious idea in the past, so Günter had his work cut out for him. He is expected to shatter the existing record by 10 minutes and 20 seconds. Now, to achieve this record, this wacky German had to make major modifications to his Vespa. The scooter now runs only on its rims, without tires. Additionally, a stabilizer on the right side of the scooter practically turns it into a tricycle, eliminating the need to actually balance the scooter.
The resulting contraption was so stable that Günter didn't even need to wear a helmet for the duration of the stunt. However, he decided to wear a leather racing suit. As for the record itself, it was finally in Vienna on the Liliputbahn that he succeeded in his challenge by covering the 3,9 km of rails in 10 minutes and 25 seconds, on a set of abandoned railway tracks.
Interestingly, his team had to carefully choose a set of tracks for the stunt, as using operational railway tracks and delaying trains in the process carries a hefty fine of 70 euros per minute.
