The new BMW M5 recently set a Guinness World Record for performing the longest drift in eight hours continuously, covering a distance of 232.5 miles (374.1 km). The record was achieved by BMW Performance Driving School instructor Johan Schwartz, who went around the skid pad, which was kept damp to facilitate the lengthy drift, at the BMW Performance Center in South Carolina. To complete this feat the car had to be refueled five times mid-drift, which they used another M5 as a support vehicle.
BMW had to develop a complex refueling system with an exterior nozzle to allow for refueling on the go so that they never had to stop for fuel. The custom dry break fuel system, capable of refueling the M5 mid-drift, was made by North Carolina-based automotive fabricators Detroit Speed. Matt Butts, from Detroit Speed, was tasked with refueling the M5 by coming out of the rear window of the support car, while being suspended by a safety tether.
BMW completely destroyed the previous record held by the Toyota GT86, which did about 102.5 miles (165.04 km) in June 2017. To break the previous record, they had to do 549 laps around the skid pad but they ended up doing over 2,000 laps.
Breaking the record is undoubtedly impressive and must have been really difficult to achieve, despite that fact that the road surface was damp to facilitate the lengthy drift and also extend the life of the tires.
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