“I didn’t look down at my speed, so it was a surprise and a relief to break the record, and by that margin. It was a rush! I thank Porsche for trusting my skills and for its preparations and encouragement – 102 mph inside of a building. What was I thinking? “Leh said.
The indoor land speed record was not set since 2013, so it may seem that breaking it would be easy. But the strict guidelines set by Guinness added an extra little challenge.
It was a record for an acrobatic driver, according to Porsche. Leh had to start and end his stoppage attempt, all within the building’s space. He was not allowed to have a safety net or any open door in case he needed an escape route.
Based on these parameters, Leh chose the Porsche Taycan Turbo S. The Tycan has a maximum of 750 horsepower, with four-wheel drive to maximize grip, carbon ceramic brakes and the ability to accelerate to 60 mph from a standstill in 2.6 seconds.
The next task was to select the building, and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center fitted into the project with just over 1 million square feet. The convention center has the largest contiguous exhibition hall in the United States, ideal for the distance it provided, but it also brought the challenge of its polished concrete surface.
“I didn’t really appreciate the scale of the record attempt until my first exploratory race,” said Leh after setting the record. “The surface is so unpredictable, so smooth, you need to have complete confidence in your car. It was really like ice – and you’re accelerating at full speed, facing a really hard wall in the end.”