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This character may dress like Captain Risky but Mount Isa man, Thunder Dan, is attempting a world record to raise funds for a North Queensland organisation. Local miner, Daniel Bird, will attempt the world record of driving around a roundabout consistently for more than three hours and thirty-five minutes. The idea was put to Thunder Dan by his brother and organiser Tom Holz. Mr Holz said Thunder Dan always spoke about how much he loved driving around North Queensland and how much travelling he did. “He is always driving around, back and forth from Mount Isa to Townsville and up to the Gulf,” Mr Holz said. “So I did some research on driving related world records and I found this one. I challenged him with it and he accepted. “We approached the Townsville Men’s Shed to see if we could raise some money for them and they were keen to support our idea.” Thunder Dan will travel from Mount Isa to Townsville to attempt the world record on February 11 at 6am at University Road, Townsville. Mr Holz said Townsville was chosen for the location as it had a large, safe and suitable roundabout to meet the world record and road safety criteria. “During Thunder Dan’s attempt to break the record he must not break any road rules. Therefore he must slip onto the roundabout and go about the attempt with traffic flowing as normal,” Mr Holz said. “Thunder Dan will have a camera fitted to his car, on the side of the road and tracking him with GPS data. “Other rules he must follow include, stay seated in drivers seat for the duration of the attempt, not refuel the gas tank and only pull over for up to one minute to swap passengers on an average of once per hour.” Thunder Dan is confident that he can break the record and persists on not conducting any training before the world record attempt. “Thunder Dan is 100 per cent confident in his ability, some people have serious doubts on whether he will make it, but he is keen to prove us all wrong. “With a large, three-lane roundabout to contend with, I feel his stomach will be fine but not too sure about his bladder. “As long as he has some music and a can of Red Bull I’m sure he will be fine.” Townsville locals can enjoy the world record attempt as a sausage sizzle, jumping castles, face painting and a coffee/slushie van will be on site. “The Men’s Shed is a place where men engage in community projects, share and learn new skills and access men’s health information,” Mr Holz said. “Thunder Dan hopes to raise $2000 for the Townsville Men’s Shed to contribute to the installation of solar power at the venue.” If you would like to make a donation to the cause, visit https://www.gofundme.com/mensshedtsv

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