Records: British Team gets land speed record - at just under 140mph.

The history of fast steam powered travel is almost as old as the history of powered travel itself. But it was in 1938 that the culmination of a battle between two rival railway companies in the UK produced Mallard. Named after a duck, with the help of a downhill stretch and a long straight, Mallard achieved a top speed of 126mph on 3 July 1938. The Germans claim to have a more honest record - slower but on a level track. And the USA has made a number of unsubstantiated claims.

But, those speeds were not records in the sense of land speed records which must be achieved on level surfaces, within certain wind speeds, and with two runs, in opposite directions, within a short time.

The British, or more particularly the English, are obsessed with records. For them, the Olympics is about the original ideals of furthest, fastest, strongest, mountains are to climb "because they are there." Where else but at an English university would anyone have thought of forming The Dangerous Sports Club. Forget the modern appellation of "extreme" - the English invented the concept but didn't feel the need to brand it.

And so, The World Land Speed Record is held by a British car with a British driver, earned in a head to head competition with a US team with far greater funding. Thrust SSC was built where Concorde was built. And, incidentally, Thrust SSC's successor was announced recently - with the same team.

The World Water Speed Record is presently held by an Australian team despite frequent challenges from the USA. It is some 40 years since Donald Campbell, already the world record holder, was killed on the second run of his attempt to put the record out of reach. But now, in the best tradition of English sporting achievement, a boat called Quicksilver is being built in a shed. But it's a shed at an airport and the craft is jet powered using a Rolls Royce Spey engine - from a jet fighter. Oh, and it's designed by the chap who designed Thrust SSC - and the Bluebirds for Donald Campbell. And the plan is to run it on Coniston Water - where Campbell won his records.

And so back to California yesterday. Charles Burnett III who doesn't sound very British but was born in the UK, ran under FIA rules to put his steam powered car into the record books - by beating a record set more than 100 years ago .

In 1906, the then land-speed record was set by Fred Marriott in his Stanley Steamer Rocket. Thereafter, alternative fuels were used in record runs. Although a US challenger reached a speed of 145mph in the mid 1980s, the car ended its first run in flames and so a record was not awarded.

It's been hot in California this month: too hot for the car to handle predictably and for some of its tender bits to perform as required. In the best tradition of British engineering, the team has tinkered around under the car for two weeks.

Then yesterday, the sun was a little cooler; the desert winds a little less aggressive, the surface just a little more amenable to the demands of the tyres. And less than an hour later, more than ten years' dedication by the team that includes engineers from the Thrust SSC project came over all American and hi-fived. Some sat quietly with a cup of tea.

Making the tea is something that their car, Inspiration, is really rather good at. Its LPG-powered boilers produce enough steam to make 23 cups of tea per second. Just imagine that in the expresso machine in your local coffee shop.

The exhaust is pure water vapour. The project was launched and partially funded by Lord Beaulieu, one of the UK's most famous motor fanatics.

But that record speed? There's a little bit of confusion over exactly what speed will be confirmed by the FIA.

Run One: 136.06 MPH

Run Two: 151.085 MPH

Average: 143.594.

Speed claimed by team: 139.843

No doubt someone will decide but, for sure, this morning there is no doubt someone, somewhere, watching the steam pour of of the kettle spout saying "If I could just harness that........"

http://www.steamcar.co.uk/