Top Gear USA host sets world record

Did you happen to catch the professional sporting contest involving cars over the weekend? No, not the one in which an advanced humanoid posing as a young, affable German won again. Or the one with our name on it.

We are of course, talking about the Indy 500 - one of the world's biggest and most historic races, and the setting for a rather nifty world record.

Gallery: 11 record-breaking moments from the Indy 500

Team Hot Wheels constructed a 100ft tall, 1,500ft long ramp in an attempt to re-bigulate the dreams of child-like petrolheads the world over: what would a real-life Hot Wheels jump look like?

A lot like this, actually. Top Gear USA host Tanner Foust - revealed as the mystery mentalist - piloted an 850bhp custom-built Pro2-style truck at the centennial Indy 500 race and launched it off the 16ft-high ramp into the abyss.

As well as fulfilling his childhood ambition of catching an abundance of spiffing air, he managed to set a new jump record for a four-wheeled vehicle of 332 feet, smashing the previous record of 301 feet.

"As a kid playing with Hot Wheels I could only dream of experiencing something as outrageous as a life-sized V-Drop track set," said Tanner.

Watch the jump below, and stay tuned for more pics...