Yorkshire could host 167mph cycle speed Guinness World Record attempt in 2019

Now Neil Campbell is now going global after setting his sights on setting a new Guinness World Record, using the specially-made bike, which he hopes to break in Yorkshire.

Speaking to crowds alongside Sir Gary Verity, at Welcome to Yorkshire’s stand at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground yesterday, the 44-year-old officially confirmed his team’s plans to make a world record attempt in June next year.

Mr Campbell, from the Wirral, would need to surpass the 167mph speed set by Fred Rompelberg, from the Netherlands, in 1995 in Utah, United States.

“It would be a huge achievement because we are a small outfit,” he told The Yorkshire Post.

“It is all done in our spare time - we have full tiem jobs - so it is a big commitment but it just goes to show what you can do.

“It’s true British spirit and I would love to break the record and bring it back to Yorkshire.”

In order to make the speed necessary on the motor-assisted bike, which has only one gear, it will have to be towed up to at least 80mph before Mr Campbell accelerates to achieve the required speed.

The announcement comes just weeks after his Operation Pacemaker team stunned spectators after reaching 127mph on the runway at Elvington Airfield, near York, on June 19.

And Mr Campbell, who works as an architect, said he would prefer to make the next record attempt in Yorkshire once again.

Potential venues identified by the team include a return to Elvington, the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah where the current feat was achieved, or a flat stretch of the A1 near Bedale, Hambleton.

“We want to do it in Yorkshire,” he said.

“We started this whole thing here and we would really like to finish it in Yorkshire. We have got the skills and the enginuity, it will be difficult but we are going to give it a good go.”

His quest to break the record has been backed by Welcome to Yorkshire.

Sir Gary Verity, the tourism agency’s chief executive, said: “I have no doubt that Neil will break it.

“He has the full support of Welcome to Yorkshire and myself and we will do anything we can do support him.

“Wouldn’t it be an amazing thing for that achievement to happen in Yorkshire?”

Mr Campbell also acknowledged the risks involved in such a high-speed world record attempt, where a puncture can mean the brakes on the bike no longer work.

“The risks are real,” he said.

“The biggest risk is the distance of the runway if we do it at Elvington.

“It’s not like the A1 is going to just stop - but the runway is. It’s finite.”

He will be fitted with fully-padded gear, complete with the latest airbag technology to protect his body in the event of an accident.

As the team is currently entirely self-funded, they have appealed for sponsors to come forward and be part of the record attempt.

Mr Campbell said he also plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign, which he wants to organise alongside charity fundraising.