Queally: 'I have little HPV experience' ©Tom Shaw/ALLSPORT

Queally admits himself that the main barrier to success is his lack of HPV experience: "It's very true. The others have obviously got a lot of experience with HPVs. I've got very, very little, so that’s a big plus for them."

"My big advantage is that I’ve had the likes of Reynard involved with the production of the vehicle. They’ve used 3-D computer modeling to get a very good aerodynamic package and the composites department have built a very strong vehicle.

"So there are positives for me and there are negatives for me. It's the same for Matt and Sam as well. At the end of the day, it's going to be balancing those up and whoever manages to do that the best will come out the fastest.

"I've just got to take it as it comes. This whole project has taken place over only several months and I’ve had very little time on the vehicle itself."

Blueyonder Challenger designer Chris Field concurred: "The thing we've got against us is inexperience. Jason hasn't ridden in a recumbent before this year. But that's not to say that you can't get in things and win out of the box.

"My biggest fear is we're going to get beaten badly. I hope we won't but if we get beaten at all I think it'll be by Sam Whittingham, not Matt Weaver. Whittingham is the record holder: he's the guy out there who's done it and he deserves respect.

 

Varna Diablo: 'Super new vehicle' ©Team Varna

"He's there to be shot at and knocked off his pedestal and we hope we're going to do it. But it's going to be hard. He's got a super new vehicle, the Varna Diablo, and fantastic experience, which we lack as we're the new boys on the block."

Asked if he thought he could win the event, Queally replied: "I’m going to be guarded - I really don’t know. I think I’m going to be able to achieve speeds very close to the current record because the vehicle looks very similar to Sam Whittingham’s so, logically thinking along those lines, I should be able to attain that sort of speed. But beyond that I honestly don’t know so ask me in a couple of weeks time!"

Field was also circumspect about the team’s prospects. "I wouldn’t have started if I didn’t think we could win. But I don’t underestimate that Whittingham is going to give us a hell of a time. In my opinion, I think it will be out of Whittingham and Jason."

The Blueyonder Challenge team plans to test extensively in the UK prior to traveling to the USA for the record attempt at the end of September.

With few locations offering long, flat, clean road surfaces, an airfield in Elvington, Yorkshire, with a three mile runway is planned to be used to bring Queally up to speed and ready for the Nevada event.

 

	Streamlined: 'I'll be close to the record' ©Tom Shaw/ALLSPORT

"I’m always up for a challenge, that’s the great thing about it," Queally added. "This is something very different for me as I normally ride a standard bicycle.

"The Olympics is the pinnacle of what I do but I’m really excited to be involved in projects like this. Whoever gets the title, it’s something to add to my list. I think it’s going to be a fantastic competition.

"I just hope that this raises the profile of this record event to benefit any other teams in the future. I hope we all leave a legacy behind and maybe one day as Matt [Weaver] has suggested, man might be able to achieve 160.9kmh/100mph."