The guys from BMW USA did it again. This time the new BMW M5 was the king. On 11 December 2017, instructor Johan Schwartz performed a sustained drift at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, South Carolina, in the new BMW M5, covering exactly 232.5 miles (374.2 kilometres) on a so-called skid pad.
As a result, he set a new Guinness World Record for the longest drift in eight hours. Because they wanted to make this more interesting, the car hasn’t stoped for refueling. BMW developed a custom-built refuelling system which was used during the drift in the same way that fighter jets can refuel in mid-flight.
As a result of this operation, BMW needed a second BMW M5. It was driven by he Chief Driving Instructor of the BMW Performance Center, Matt Mullins. Mullins adapted to Schwartz’s drifting speed, allowing Matt Butts of Detroit Speed to carrying out the refuelling operation, secured by a safety tether that permitted him to straddle the space between the two moving vehicles by leaning out of the rear window of the second car.
The second Guninness World Record as awarded for the longest twin vehicle water-assisted drift: Schwartz and Mullins drifted together for one hour, covering a total of 49.25 miles (79.3 kilometres).
