An estimated 500 tracked vehicles converged on a paddock outside Tapanui in March last year, trying to set a record for the most vehicles with self-laying tracks working in the one paddock at the same time.
While organisers were confident they broke the record they cannot confirm it, because a former club member, who was the only one with the password allowing communication with Guinness, has left the area and is no longer in contact with the club.
Club publicity officer Alan Garden said he and others had been trying to work out what the password might be.
Without it, they face the prospect of believing they have set a record but not having the official verification from Guinness.
"Everything is in limbo, which is a shame."
The club had been trying to "progress things" with Guinness but because it handled so many world record applications it only communicated with groups and individuals by issuing them with a username and password.
Trying to establish what the password might be was proving difficult, Mr Garden said.
"I think everyone involved with last year's event recognises we set a new world record, but it's just not official."
There is another way of finding out whether Guinness has accepted the new record attempt, but it involves spending about $1200 to register with Guinness again.
"If we could somehow get into the website with the right password, we would be able to see where we are at," he said.
Attempts to get a response from Guinness were unsuccessful.
