New World Record for tractors: 80.88 mph!

The new world record for fastest tractor was achieved when Nokian Tyres and Valtra combined their northern expertise. The new amazing record was set on a snowy and icy road in Finnish Lapland. Multiple World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen kept his head cool and drove the machine at a speed of 130.165 km/h (80.88mph). Breaking the record was made possible by the world’s first winter tire for tractors, the Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta TRI (440/80R28 151D & 540/80R38 167D) and the Valtra T234.

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"I have done top speed tests earlier with several cars. This was the first time with a tractor, and we immediately got a world record! The tires and tractor worked really well, even though the weather was challenging."
Juha Kankkunen, Multiple World Rally Champion

Nokian Tyres expanded its versatile winter tire selection to tractors when the Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta TRI was launched in the spring of 2014. The Hakkapeliitta TRI’s unique tread pattern, winter rubber compound and siping maximise grip and traction. The diagonal siping creates grooves on the tread blocks, increasing the number of edges that grip the driving surface and improving longitudinal and lateral grip. The world’s northernmost tire manufacturer was the first to introduce block pattern tires for tractors over 10 years ago.

- Testing at the extremes is at the core of activities and it requires unique skill. We wanted to show the true performance of the new Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta TRI. It is quite a remarkable sight when you see a 7.7-ton machine flying past at over 130 km/h with a quadruple World Rally Champion behind the wheel! When a tractor is driven that fast on a winter road, it requires great grip, stability and handling properties. These have been our targets during the development of the Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta TRI, says Tero Saari, Project Manager, R&D for Nokian Tyres.

The record took place on 19 February 2015 on the emergency airfield of Vuojärvi, Finland, approximately 20 kilometres from the city of Sodankylä towards Rovaniemi. The total length of the packed snow strip was approx. 2,300 metres, and a 50-metre speed trap was set at the middle of the strip.

The Guinness World Records organisation defines specific rules for the world record for fastest tractor. The time for the tractor to travel through the 50-metre speed trap is measured in both directions. The world record is an average of these two measurements. The tractor took a flying start.