Lap records at the Nürburgring Nordschleife come in many shapes and forms depending on the layout of the track. But in the years that I’ve kept times on all of the lap times being set at the track, I’ve never encountered what Chinese driver Han Yue did to his Mini Cooper S on his way to setting a world record of his own. Instead of driving traditionally with the goal of setting a lap time of around seven minutes and change around the ‘Ring, Han decided to do things differently, and by different I mean drive his Cooper S around the circuit on two wheels. Two wheels.

Naturally, Han's lap time around the Nürburgring in a Cooper on two wheels would fall way short of what we’re normally accustomed to from cars that use all four wheels around the circuit. But even with the obvious handicap, it still took the Chinese driver and multiple Guinness World record holder an astounding 45 minutes to complete the 21-kilometer (13 miles) lap.

Speaking with BridgeToGantry.com, Han explained that he couldn’t push his Cooper to its (two-wheeled) limits in large part because of a problem with one of its specially built solid-rubber tires. Apparently, at some point during the lap, one of the wheels started to vibrate and the vibration only stopped when the Cooper’s pace fell below 13 mph. It didn’t help the driver’s cause when he admitted that his shoulder started to hurt at the six-kilometer (3.7 miles) distance and he had to nurse it with 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) left in the lap.

Lack of pace and injuries notwithstanding, what Han Yue accomplished is still worth acclaim, if of only for the simple reason that he succeeded in his attempt. Sometimes, the lap time takes a back seat when the degree of difficulty is pushed past what race car drivers of any skill are used to. That’s what happened here.

If you wanna watch the whole lap time in all it's entirety, you can check out the video above. It literally is over 45 minutes long.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

This record is crazy and awesome at the same time

I’m not one to say which records are worth applauding and which ones can be brushed aside and deemed irrelevant. I don’t have any records to my name so I’m no position to say if Han Yue’s lap around the Nürburgring is impressive or not. Then again, I’ll still say it because it is impressive considering the variables involved in accomplishing the task.

Can you imagine driving on two wheels in a drag strip? Seems difficult enough in it of itself, right? Well, try doing it in a race track? Even harder, right? But Han Yue not only did it in a far longer distance than a quarter-mile, he also did it in the world’s most famous race track and quite arguably, one of the most difficult ones too. If you don’t give respect to the Chinese driver for what he did, then I don’t know what to tell you.

Besides, it’s not like Han is a novice driver who just drove the lap time of his life. The man is a Guinness Book world record holder and he’s even been featured in this site twice in the past. That world record he set was for the tightest parallel park, which he set in 2014 when he managed to squeeze his Mini Cooper into a space with just 3.1 inches to spare. He also set a record back in 2012 for “most donuts around a car driving on two wheels in one minute.”

Clearly, Han Yue has a thing for driving on two wheels and the latest record he set around the Nürburgring is going to be pretty tough to beat.