The Bobby Car has become an integral part of children’s rooms. Even at the age of 29, Marcel Paul has not lost his fascination with plastic cars. In motorcycle gear, the Hessian races down a slope on one of the cult vehicles and sets a world record in the process.
With a souped-up bobby car, Hesse Marcel Paul has probably secured an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. After two test runs, the 29-year-old raced down a slope on a country road near Schotten in Vogelsbergkreis (Hesse) at 130.7 kilometers per hour, setting a speed record, as the organizers reported. The speed record in the second discipline with a classic bobby car with plastic tires was also successful: Here Paul managed 106 kilometers per hour. The record institute for Germany has already recognized both top values, which are now being submitted to Guinness for registration.
A traffic light system was set up especially for the frantic drive on the country road with a 15 percent incline. A brake run-out of 300 meters should also ensure safety. Paul discovered his passion for the iconic push cars many years ago. At the age of twelve he started to convert Bobby Cars, in 2005 he heard about championships for the first time – and was immediately hooked. He developed a prototype with a neighboring blacksmith and soon took part in competitions across Europe – an “ultimate adrenaline rush”, as the 29-year-old says.
In 2007, Paul won the world championship title in the youth class for the first time. He is now four times world champion in the professional class of the Bobby Car Sports Association, which, according to Paul, is the only one licensed by the toy manufacturer “Big”. Similar to Formula One, points are awarded for each race – whoever gets the most by the end of the season becomes world champion.
He suffered his first and fortunately only injury in 2006 – a torn ligament, as Paul reports. In order to be well protected during the journeys, on which he travels close to the asphalt and faster than some cars, he wears motorcycle clothing consisting of a leather suit and a crash helmet.
Paul carefully chose the year for his world record: 50 years ago, the robust children’s companions were presented for the first time at the toy fair in Nuremberg. “I figured this was the right time to give it a try,” Paul said. The toy classic is produced in the Big Spielwarenfabrik plant in Burghaslach in central Franconia. More than 20 million copies of the toy car have already rolled off the assembly line there.
