Video: Subaru nearly crashes while breaking TT lap record

Driving round the Isle of Man TT course at an average speed of 113mph in a car might not be quite as certifiable as doing it naked on a bike, but racing driver Mark Higgins certainly deserves kudos for smashing the road-car record in a largely standard Subaru WRX STI.

The TT organisers gave the former British Rally Champion just one shot at the title which has stood since Tony Pond was allowed round the course in 1990 aboard a Rover 827 Vitesse.

You might think that his time wouldn't have been that hard to beat in a 296bhp all-wheel-drive super saloon like the WRX, but the TT course is fraught with spectacular danger as Higgins discovered almost straight out of the blocks. The second video shows how the passenger remains staggeringly calm as his life flashes before his eyes while Higgins' hands work their magic.

Click below to see where it almost all went wrong right at the start in what Higgins called the "biggest moment of my life..."