Here are nine of the wackiest motor races you've never heard of

No doubt you’ve heard of lawn mower racing, but are you aware of the jewel in the crown – the British Lawn Mower Racing Association 12 Hour? Yep, it’s an endurance race for mowers. Heck, the first one in 1978 was won by Stirling Moss and five time Le Mans winner Derek Bell.

Imagine a banger race on a tarmac oval where all of the cars are FWD and have metal plates welded under their rear wheels. We assume that was the elevator pitch for Skid Plate Racing, and it’s just as entertaining as it sounds. Who said motorsport has to be fast? These things top out at around 35mph.

Extreme Barbie Jeep Racing involves fully grown Americans racing downhill on dirt tracks while riding plastic Power Wheels cars designed for kids. Extra points for a unicorn liveried Jeep, we hope. 

How do you make the US pastime of figure eight racing even more chaotic? Why, you chain two more cars to the back of yours, stick a second driver in the rearmost one and then pray you don’t get T-boned crossing the track. You may recall Sabine Schmitz and Chris Harris having a go in S25 E1 of the TV show.

The TukTuk Tournament traverses Sri Lanka in a three-wheeled rickshaw. Teams take on a magical fantasy quest to slay dragons and find fake gems, all with the goal of being crowned champion while raising money for charity in the process. It’s weird and we love it.

Another uniquely British event, the Nifty Fifty is a five hour, off road endurance race for 50cc mopeds. Teams fit knobbly tyres to otherwise standard mopeds, before four riders take on the climbs and jumps of a motocross dirt track. Hope you like the sounds of teeny four strokes.

Of course it was those zany Dutch who decided motor racing would be more exciting if everyone was driving backwards. This was made possible by the DAF 66’s Variomatic CVT transmission, which allowed it to hit its top speed of over 70mph in reverse. Cars do get a little erm... unstable, though.

The annual Pig-N-Ford races take place at the Tillamook county fair in Oregon. There’s a Le Mans style start with drivers running to pick up live pigs from the other side of the track. Carrying said pigs, they then start their Model Ts with a hand crank and complete three laps, stopping each lap to swap pigs.

The ‘World of Speed’ happens every year at Bonneville. It’s not just 500+mph streamliners stretching for a top speed – there’s also a class specifically for actual barstools fitted with 12V electric motors. The current record is 55.935mph.