Readers of the slalom forums at the 'Fish know that Martin Drayton recently set a World Record for 50-cone courses in skateboard slalom.   What you may not know is that he'll be a household name in China for this one or that he did this on wet asphalt.  Here's the full story...

Drayton Earns Guinness World Record for Slalom!

Recently, China's largest television company (there are only 15 stations for 1 billion viewers in Asia!) wanted to film a new “skateboard record” for a show they call “Record Breakers”.  They did the logical thing, and contacted the Guinness World Records organisation for ideas.  After discussions with British slalom racer Paul Price, they came up with an idea:  a 50 cone slalom record could be perfect for television!  Working with Price, the Guinness officials and television producers arrived at a standard, found a place and set the date for October 2, 2007.

In fact, the location chosen in Hyde Park was downright treacherous, with standing puddles of water on the “course”.  It looked like it would be a bust, but the crew and Drayton were eager to make it happen, somehow.  The pathways alongside Serpentine Lake turned out to offer a solution.  The mile-long pathway is perfectly flat, was “barely wet” and very picturesque.  The TV crew weren’t afraid of electrocution, the Guinness officials were willing to stay and it was up to Martin Drayton to decide whether to go for it, or hope for a chance to reschedule the whole thing.   Riding fast through a course requires a certain type of concentration, but going through a 50 cone course with the sole intention of running clean, fast and without sliding out on wet pavement was a challenge worth taking, so Drayton stepped on his board and sought a Guinness World Record.

Martin opted for a mix of wheels to give him speed at the front and some grip on the back: Seismic Wheels in 86/84a. His board was a superlight foamcore kicktail board made by Cornish (SW. England) manufacturer Gecko.  These guys are experts in making lightweight helmets for the British equivalent of the Coast Guard. Drayton ran GOG trucks, front and rear, with a combination of Khiro bushings and Tracker Stimulators for tight, yet predictable steering and Nitro bearings for speed and smoothness.

Luckily Curt Halliday, one of the Brighton skaters, found a spot along the pathway that ran under some trees and had almost enough room for all 50 cones.  It meant a run-in with wet wheels and a very wet first 6 cones, then a dryer section with a couple of wet slippery sections before a wet run-out. On the first run, Martin's wheels were sliding on those first few cones, but it was as the wet wheels hit the dryer tarmac that the change caused him to hit a cone – Strike 1 and a time of around 12.15sec.

His 2^nd run was taken at around 12.40 pace and, with victory in sight, he hit the penultimate cone. It is super hard to concentrate as you get near to the end of what feels like a clean run and you subconsciously 'start to celebrate' and relax before there is any hint of an overweight female opera singer! - Strike 2!

As it was a case of either making a 3rd timed attempt in these treacherous conditions or not setting the record, Martin gave it another shot. The end result? 12.83sec clean and a cheer from the crowd. Everyone gathered around the GWR Team as they conferred over the timing and then gave their confirmation, and a world record was announced!

Trinidad & Tobago's top skater was actually a little disappointed, as he had logged 11.22sec clean in the dry the previous week off a shorter run-in.  He’d been planning to shoot for a sub 11sec on the day after a 'banker' run. After the clean run on his 3rd attempt, however, the event was over as far as the Officials and the TV company were concerned.  Any plan of a conservative run followed by a few balls-out runs never materialised!

For their support, Martin would like to thank his sponsors:

Gecko Decks.
Seismic Wheels.
Vans/Protec.
Skullcandy headphones.
NITRO Bearings,
Decent Hardware Bags.
Bolle eyewear.

and also his support team, Curt Halliday, Steve 'Munchh' Rhodes, Mark Roberts, Frank Nelson, Niall Horton-Stephens, Ellis Lamb and Kane.

All photographs herein are by Niall Horton-Stephens,  and edited by the wage slaves in the 'fish dungeons.

Check out:  MartinDrayton.com , too! 

On behalf of the entire community at Silverfish Longboarding.com, we congratulate Martin Drayton, Paul Price and the Guinness officials for a job well done!  We haven't seen the show yet (and we're not sure our cable package even covers that channel), but we salute you for having the drive, stoke and presence to put slalom skateboarding on television and to lay down a standard for others to beat.  The record is yours, for now...