Canterbury speedsters Phil Garrett and Rob Small have made the heartbreaking decision to call off their New Zealand land speed record attempt, after their bike broke beyond repair yesterday.
Garrett took the bike out for the first attempt on the open road in Pendarves yesterday, and reached the jaw-dropping speed of 250 kilometres per hour.
But it was then that the engine started spewing oil.
"It started to fish tail and it got worse and worse," Garrett said.
"I've been riding bikes for 40 years and I'll tell you now that was the scariest 10 seconds of my life."
Garrett's sights had been set on the record speed of 320 kilometres per hour, but he was heartbroken, having fallen agonisingly short and at the cost of his bike.
He and his team worked until 2am Saturday desperately trying to repair the bike, but to no avail.
"It's really hard," an emotional Garrett told 1 NEWS today.
"But we have been here before because we have built it and it's not the first time we've had to rebuild it. But this time we really thought we had it perfect."
Despite the setback, Garrett said it was not the end of the road when asked if he would give it another shot.
"I think the answer to that, everyone that knows me would be surprised if I said anything but yes," Garrett smirked.
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