Mini laps the Nurburgring on two wheels

A crazy Chinese stunt driver has set a new world record for the longest distance driven in a car on its side wheels - at the Nurburgring, of all places!

Multiple record holder Han Yue drove a full 12.93 mile (20.81 kilometer) lap of the Nordschleife. And remember, the Nordschleife is not some vast, flat expanse of asphalt. It's tighty and twisty, full of tight hairpins and massive elevation changes. The concentration required must have been immense.

It was quite possibly the slowest lap of the Nurburgring ever recorded, too, taking 45 minutes.

Han drove his favored R56 generation Mini Cooper S for the attempt. The car was largely stock, apart from a full roll cage, race seat and harness.

It also featured unique, solid tires, which necessitated special wheel hubs to allow them to fit.

The tires were needed because, though strong, the sidewalls on conventional tires are not particularly wear-resistant. Previous side wheel distance records have been limited to only a couple of miles, simply because that's as long as the sidewalls on conventional tires last before they fail.

Another "side wheelie" record was set just a few days ago, when crazy Finnish stunt driver Vesa Kivimaki reached a speed of over 115 miles per hour (185 kilometers per hour) in his BMW.

The distance record was also notable for being the first event to be livestreamed from the Nurburgring on Facebook. At its peak, 8,000 people were watching the broadcast and, at the time of writing, it has been seen by over 279,000 people in the few hours since. It's safe to say the broadcast was a resounding success, which hopefully means more will follow.