Macquarie University Engineering reposted this
The MQ Speed team went to Nevada chasing one world speed record – and they are coming home with two! On Saturday morning, cyclist Lizanne Wilmot blasted through the women’s 600/200 record at 63.3 km/h. That evening, on the last-ever run of the series, the team broke the world record they were aiming for – the women’s Flying 200 - by 5 kph. The new world record is now held by Lizanne Wilmot and MQ2 at 96.8kph. The MQ Speed team was one of two Australian teams competing with cyclists from all over the globe to break a range of the human-powered land speed records at Battle Mountain, Nevada. Teams gathered around an 8km straight stretch of State Route 305, closed off from 8-14 September 2024 for the World Human Powered Speed Challenge. The 600/200 record involves a short 600 metre run-up to measure top speed over 200 metres, while the Flying 200 record doesn’t limit the run-up, and the cyclists can even have a human-powered push to start them off. Wind conditions must be perfect for a legal record to be recorded – which hampered the team’s efforts all week. “We’re incredibly proud, it was a tenacious effort,” says Dr Sammy Diasinos, who led a team of six engineering students on-site in Nevada and another dozen or so back in Australia to design, build and maintain the custom-built vehicle. #MacquarieUniversity