I set the world’s fastest speed record in a Chrysler Voyager

When you hear it was Nardo, a proper 24-hour trial, backed by crack racing team Oreca, you might wonder why I’ve failed to mention it in the 24 years since it took place. The truth is, I’ve been trying to forget it, not because something went wrong, but because it’s probably the single most boring thing I’ve ever done with the wheel in my hand. And if you’re furrowing your eyebrows now, maybe it’s time to tell you what I had: a small diesel-powered Chrysler.

The idea was actually quite good. Chrysler had this new Voyager MPV with a new 2.5-litre diesel engine and it needed to be stunted to show the breadth of its performance. So first they hired a husband and wife to see how far you could travel in a tank of fuel. And the answer was 1,077 miles; they must have had a better marriage. The car would then be driven for 24 hours near Nardo to show how fast it could go. And of course they needed a world-class driver team for this feature, so they asked… well not me, but their three contracted GT1 Viper drivers, Marc Duez, Ni Amorin and Jean-Phillipe Belloc. But they were smart enough to realize that sometimes things might not be like that, so they needed a car park just in case. And for that they called me true.