Matt Weidinger of Toronto, Ontario, has set an unofficial, new world record for distance covered on a snowmobile over a 24-hour period. That snowmobile was the all-new, power steering-equipped 2011 Yamaha Apex.
In order to qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records, Matt ensured all criteria were met, including a professionally measured course from the Ministry of Transportation, full digital and manual lap tracking, and witnesses that include town councilors, police and firefighters. He is now going through the submission and evaluation process with Guinness to be officially recognized.
At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, February 17, Matt embarked on the first lap of the 10.4-kilometre loop that he would encircle 279 times on route to the new record for a single rider. Matt blew past the previous record of 2,372 kilometres, set only a couple weeks earlier. He had covered a record-smashing 2,904.6 kilometres, all on the same 2011 Apex, when he crossed the finish line.
When asked by Chris Reid, Yamaha’s National Manager of Product Planning and Research, about the power steering on the 2011 Apex and the role it played in his record breaking performance, Matt commented, “Now that I’ve done it on this new Apex with power steering, I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like on just a regular sled.”
In a true testament to the quality and reliability of Yamaha snowmobiles, the only parts replaced during the Apex’s arduous journey was a fresh set of carbides on Thursday morning during a routine fuel stop.
