Burnett piloted the Goodyear-shod car for both runs reaching a peak speed of 136.103 mph (219.04 kph) on the first run and 151.085 mph (243.15 kph) on the second. The new international record breaks the previous benchmark of 127 mph (204.39 kph) set in 1906 by American Fred Marriott driving a Stanley steamer at Daytona Beach.

This is yet another Land Speed Record for Goodyear, who set a record in 1963 to have the first tyre to exceed 400 mph (643.73 kph) (Craig Breedlove driving Spirit of America). Since then, Goodyear tyres have also been chosen for the British-made JCB DieselMax car, which set a 328 mph (527.87 kph) record for Diesel powered vehicles in 2006.

Project Manager Matt Candy said: “The first run took place at 7:27 a.m. when the air temperature was a cool 63 degrees Fahrenheit. The team turned around the car in 52 minutes (with just eight minutes to spare) in preparation for its return run. The British Steam Car takes 2.5 miles (4.03 km) to accelerate and after the measured mile, a further 2.5 miles (4.03 km) to decelerate – so each run was over 6.5 miles (10.46 km). The FIA requires that the return run takes place within 60 minutes. The times of the two runs are then averaged to obtain the official recorded speed.”

Compared to the testing we did in Britain, the British Steam Car ran 12 times the distance and twice the maximum speed ¬– all within one hour. It’s been a huge challenge for all.”

Weighing three tons, the sleek 25-ft British Steam Car is made from a mixture of lightweight carbon-fibre composite and aluminium wrapped around a steel space frame chassis. It is fitted with 12 boilers containing nearly two miles of tubing.

Demineralised water is pumped into the boilers at up to 50 litres a minute and the burners produce three megawatts of heat. Steam is superheated to 400 degrees Celsius which is injected into the turbine at more than twice the speed of sound.

The car set the record on 23.0 X 5.0 – 15 front and 28.0 X 4.5 – 15 rear GoodyearLand Speed Record tyres.

Hunter Racing’s V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee competes in ‘Extreme 4WD’, which is open to highly modified 4WD vehicles with engines not exceeding 6000cc.

“The Goodyear tyres made a huge contribution to the win, no doubt. They definitely helped us jump up a couple of spots in the overall standings as well,” said Hunter Racing Team Manager, Stewart Knowles.

“We couldn’t be happier with the performance of the MT/R with Kevlars. They’re perfectly suited to this kind of racing and hard use, and they provide excellent all round grip.”

The Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar, released earlier this year, is Goodyear’s first off-road tyre built with the rugged toughness of DuPont™ Kevlar® for enhanced sidewall puncture resistance. They replaced the existing Wrangler MT/R as the tyre of choice for the Hunter Racing team.

The use of Kevlar® in the tyre, an innovative material that also has applications by police and the military in personal body armour, brings superb sidewall cut and puncture resistance to an area of the tyre that demands extra toughness when driving off-road.

“The new tyres allowed us to really play around with the set up of the car and our approach to the race. These tyres provided so much more side grip, which allowed them to stay straight coming in and out of the tight corners, and that’s of huge benefit.

“It was a great year for us and we thank Goodyear for their wonderful support and look forward to continuing our fantastic relationship with them next year and into the future,” Stewart said.

The Goodyear sponsored team of Colin Hunter (driver) and Margot Knowles (navigator) finished first in their class, 16th outright, and was the first ‘car’ home in the 2009 Albins Off Road Gear Goondiwindi 400.

The class victory at Goondiwindi also handed them the ‘Extreme 4WD’ National Championship, which they have held continuously since 2004.

Goodyear Brand Manager for Australia, Melissa Tilley, said as the name implies, the tyre’s sidewalls are reinforced with DuPont Kevlar®, providing market-leading cut and puncture resistance off-road in harsh terrain and stability on the road.

“The new Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar updates the legendary off-road performing namesake, which has had an explicit reputation among serious off-roaders,” Ms Tilley said.

“The three-ply, Kevlar reinforced sidewalls of this revolutionary new tyre are 35 per cent more puncture resistant than the tyre’s predecessor, the original Wrangler MT/R.

“This provides superb cut and puncture resistance to an area of the tyre that demands extra toughness when driving off-road, as well as helping to reinforce the sidewall for when drivers return to the pavement for the drive home,” she said.

However, sidewall toughness is not the only feature of the Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar.

It also includes a “wraparound” tread for enhanced sidewall traction in deep mud, sand and rocks; an innovative asymmetric tread design that offers aggressive off-road traction while maintaining handling on the road; and advanced rubber silica in the tread for superb off-road and wet traction.

Further, the Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar offers these features:

• Tread Guards, to help resist cuts from stones.
• Advanced Mud-Flow Geometry, to help provide self-cleaning and traction in mud.
• Traction Blocks, to help provide additional biting edges on rocks, mud, dirt and sand.
• A Three-Ply Sidewall, with opposing cord angles for enhanced side wall cut and puncture resistance.
• Ramped Tread Blocks, for toughness in off-road driving.
• Staggered Sidewall Shoulder Blocks, to help provide enhanced traction on rocks and in deep mud.
• Durawall Rubber, a Goodyear exclusive, which offers rugged toughness and helps resist cuts and punctures in the sidewall.
• Rim Protector, to help protect wheels from accidental curb-like damage.
• Rim Lock, to help prevent wheel slip for minimal balancing throughout the life of the tyre.

Each shoulder block of the Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar is stepped “in” and “out” to help give the tyre continuous biting edges as it turns through thick mud. Its self-cleaning asymmetric tread design also adds to the performance capability in mud.

Hunter Racing driver, Colin Hunter, six-time winner of the Finke Desert Race, praised the performance of the MT/R with Kevlar at this year’s Finke.

“Finke is a 460km multi-terrain desert race through dirt, sand, rocks and mud,” Colin said.

“We’ve won Finke three times on the Wrangler MT/R, however, the new MT/R Kevlars with superior grip and reinforced sidewalls gave us the extra confidence to push that little bit harder, without the risk of punctures,” he said.

Phil Poulter, Director of Training at 4WD Off Road Driver Training, offering driver training programmes and off-road tours, said that he’s been happy with initial testing.

“The extra grip that the new MT/R’s give our vehicle reduces the intrusion of the factory fitted traction aid, Active Traction Control, where good grip is required,” said Phil.

“I’m looking forward to using these tyres on one of our tours through the Kimberley, Simpson Desert or even Cape York where traction and reliability is the most important part of tyre selection.”

The addition of the Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar adds to Goodyear’s strong Wrangler family of tyres, which also includes the Wrangler DuraTrac and Wrangler SilentArmor.