The last of the five episodes of the BKT Network has been broadcast. They tell the story of the spectacular records set by the Monster Jam champions during an adrenalin-packed show, held last July at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida.
Five episodes of record-breaking performances, with the first-hand experiences of the stuntmen and women who, with their spectacular routines, joined the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS®.
These records have been made possible thanks to BKT tires, specifically designed to equal and beat every possible and imaginable record, while guaranteeing the utmost safety for the drivers. BKT has been the official and exclusive tire manufacturer of Monster Jam since 2014 thanks to an agreement with Feld Motor Sports® - organizer of the acrobatic display.
Since then BKT has been the exclusive supplier for all the Monster Trucks in all the events around the world with the BKT MONSTER JAM TIRE – the third generation of the Monster Jam-dedicated product in sizes of over 1 meter 67 centimeters. Like its predecessors, this tire is not on general sale, but inspires the production of all the large size tires that BKT offers for use in specialist environments.
“Our BKT MONSTER JAM TIRE is developed to meet the highest safety standards, at the same time guaranteeing outstanding performance and coping with the mechanical stress caused by the trucks' breathtaking feats during competitions – says Dilip Vaidya, President and Director of Technology at BKT – Monster Jam is a genuine challenge for our products: if BKT tires can resist these extreme conditions, we can really win in every field and application”.
BKT MONSTER JAM TIRE was designed to achieve all six records. Let's now have a closer look and discover how the tire made it possible to reach that goal.
Record for the highest jump
Krysten Anderson – the first and only woman to drive the Grave Digger® Monster Truck - won the title for the highest jump from the ramp, reaching a height of over 10 meters.
One of the key elements for this type of performance is certainly the weight of the vehicle. BKT helped set the record by further reducing the weight of the BKT MONSTER JAM TIRE, at the same time improving its performance.
During the product development stage, particular care was paid to the design of the tread to guarantee as much traction as possible during the jump.
Another feature of this tire is the rounded shoulder to offer excellent stability, even after landing from a height of ten meters.
Speed record
161.433 km/h is the record speed reached by Bryce Kenny driving the Great Clips Mohawk Warrior® Monster Truck.
To reach this speed, tires must offer outstanding and extremely high-quality performance, but being above all well balanced. In this case too the design of the tread is key in achieving the best possible traction as quickly as possible. The tire's resistance is also essential in making the show a complete success: on accelerating, the vehicle is subject to significant mechanical stress, therefore an optimized tire structure is needed to guarantee uniform performance as the speed increases, also taking account of the overheating and stress to which the tire is subject.
Two donut records in one go
Bari Mussawir with the Zombie™ performed the most consecutive “donut revolutions”, achieving the first record of a total of 58 donuts and the second one of 44 in just a minute.
These are acrobatic tricks which subject the tires to notable mechanical stress, thus quickly increasing their wear and tear and causing a significant rise in temperature.
For this reason, the BKT MONSTER JAM TIRE has lugs of a specific length and depth which can thus withstand the continuous stress during the rotations. The rounded shoulder facilitates the so-called “drifting” maneuvers which this trick entails.
Nose wheelie record
The award-winning Tom Meents achieved the record for the longest nose wheelie with the Max-D™ travelling over 63 meters on two wheels.
This is a display which puts a particular strain on the vehicle's front tires which bear the entire weight of the Monster Truck during the wheelie.
The BKT MONSTER JAM TIRE has been developed to ensure resistance and exceptional traction even when driving on one axis alone.
Thanks to the tireprint on the flat, this tire guarantees the vehicle is as stable as possible, thus improving its balance.
Record for the longest jump
Adam Anderson jumped over 8 cars “flying” with the Megalodon® and beating all records.
Anderson, the 5-time world champion, achieved this record with his Monster Truck which is easily recognized thanks to its shark shape, thus beating the record of 7 cars set last year.
Once again it is essential that the tires guarantee reliability and resistance for the vehicle. In this case, the product's tireprint on the flat and the rounded shoulder are key in keeping the Monster Truck stable on landing after the jump.
