What Are Non-Racing Motorsports?

Photo by Gleb Krasnoborov from Pexels (What Are Non-Racing Motorsports?)

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the term ‘motorsports education’? If you’re like most people, you’ll probably think that it means learning how to make race cars go faster around a track, right? 

Well, that’s true. 

When you choose to pursue an education in motorsports, that means devoting yourself to learning how to build and tune competition vehicles that can achieve higher speeds and provide fantastic handling.

Still, here’s the thing that most people tend to forget when they think about the field: not all motorsports have to do with racing. That’s right! Think about that statement for a minute. Can you think of any examples of motorsports that have absolutely nothing to do with racing?

Don’t worry if you can’t, because we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’re going to explore four non-racing motorsports like drifting, demolition derby, freestyle motocross, and even tractor pulling.

By the end of this article, you’ll be able to appreciate the diversity in motorsports thanks to its non-racing competitions that include cars, motorcycles, and even tractors!

Drifting

Be honest; you’re probably thinking about The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, right? Well, that’s completely understandable. That 2006 movie brought a lot of mainstream attention to the motorsport of drifting. Still, it wasn’t the first one to do so. Many of you may have learned about drifting from the manga series Initial D. instead.

If you’re not already familiar with the concept of drifting, here’s a brief explanation. Drifting is a way of driving where you (the driver) deliberately oversteer and countersteer their car around corners. By purposefully losing traction, the vehicle will then slide around those corners while still remaining under full control by the driver.

If Tokyo Drift and Initial D. are any indications, you’ll see that the motorsport of drifting has very deep roots in Japan. Still, the sport has also gained a lot of popularity overseas thanks to motorsports enthusiasts and the mainstream attention it’s gained through manga and movies over the years.

How Drifting Is Judged

So, if drifting is non-racing motorsport, how is a winner judged? Well, drifters are judged according to factors like speed, drifting angles, and of course, showmanship. Not only do participants compete to show off their handling skills and their cars’ performance, but they also compete to see who can do it with the most style!

Demolition Derby

Demolition derby is not something that you hear much about in this part of the world. Even if you know what it is, you probably discovered it through movies or TV. That’s because this particular motorsport is most popular in the United States, and they usually happen at events like local fairs and festivals.

Despite being considered very American-style motorsport, demolition derby has also spread out to other Western countries like Australia. Though, as mentioned earlier, you don’t see much of it in Asia.

During a demolition derby, participants will typically drive an American sedan or station wagon. Usually, they’ll take an older model that may or may not even be road-worthy anymore and modify it for the sole purpose of ramming into other cars.

Still, there are specialised categories of this motorsport that feature other car types. Those that use compact cars are becoming increasingly popular, while other lesser-known versions use minivans and pickup trucks.

How Demolition Derby Is Judged

The winner of a demolition derby is usually decided by whoever’s vehicle is still functioning after all that ramming has finished. Some derbies use different rules to declare their winners. For example, the winner may be whichever driver scored the most direct hits with their vehicle at the end of a specific timeframe.

Freestyle Motocross

Next up, let’s look at non-racing motorsport for two-wheelers, namely the motocross bike. 

Now, don’t get confused. We’re not talking about the conventional motocross races, here. Instead, we’re talking about freestyle motocross, which is completely different motorsport altogether.

In freestyle motocross, you compete with others by performing impressive but dangerous jumps and stunts. As you do that, you’ll score points with a panel of judges who will assess you based on the rules of that particular competition.

You see, there are generally two different versions of freestyle motocross. The first and newer version is ‘big air’ or ‘best trick’. Here, riders will be allowed to perform two jumps from a dirt-covered ramp. The scores are then compared between competitors, and whoever has the highest one is declared the winner!

The older and classical version of freestyle motocross is slightly different. Here, riders will use an entire course that includes multiple jumps, and they’ll have anywhere from 90 seconds to 15 minutes to perform two routines. Again, judges will assess the riders and award the highest points to the winner.

How Freestyle Motocross Is Judged

For starters, judges will award points to riders based on how much style they have in the tricks they perform. On top of that, riders will also score more points if their jumps show a lot of originality, and mostly if they perform more difficult tricks successfully.

Tractor Pulling

So far we’ve looked at non-racing motorsports for drifting cars, demolition derby cars, and also dirt bikes. But did you know that there are people who compete with their tractors, too? 

Yes, that’s right. They call it the ‘world’s most heaviest motorsport’, where competitors use modified farm tractors to see who can pull a specific weight the furthest.

It’s easy to assume that this is all-American motorsport. However, this particular one has also gained popularity in many European countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, and even Germany. May it’s safe to say that any culture that relies on heavily motorised farming might also develop an interest in competitive motorsport like tractor pulling!

How Tractor Pulling Is Judged

With tractor pulling, it’s all about distance. Tractors will attempt to pull something heavy, what they call a ‘sled’ for as far as possible. Still, it’s not that easy. The tractors will also be modified to include a ‘pan’ which increases the resistance of the pull. So, the farther the tractor goes, the more difficult it is for it to move forward.

To find out more about motorsports news and motorsport education, check out TOC Automotive College, the best automotive college in Malaysia.