Tuk-Tuk Racing Is The Motorsport You Didn’t Know You Needed

Since the invention of the first automobile in the late 19th century, humans have had the need for speed and racing. You’re probably all familiar with NASCAR and IndyCar, but have you heard of Tuk-Tuk racing?

Tuk-Tuk racing is a popular sport in Sri Lanka that involves a team of three people maneuvering a jeep-like, three-wheeled compact car across a long-distance obstacle course. When put like that it sounds like a pretty simple feat, but it involves the two people who aren’t behind the wheel standing and hanging out the side of the vehicle in an attempt to effectively distribute the weight of the car as it drives over hills and other obstacles. Nothing could go wrong there, right? See for yourself.

I’m not sure about you, but this is one of the most absurd sporting events I’ve seen in quite some time and I am totally here for it. A typical Tuk-Tuk race consists of four stages, all with difficult obstacles. Those fortunate enough to survive the first stage are faced with three more stages where the terrain in each additional stage becomes more difficult to navigate. From start to finish, the course is over 80 miles long, so it is a bit of a marathon. The irony of it all is that driving the course would be a pretty simple task in pretty much any vehicle other than a Tuk-Tuk.

Tuk-Tuk racing is sponsored by RedBull, so I imagine the competing drivers are getting quite the adrenaline rush. If falling out of a Tuk-Tuk countless times while racing across Sri Lanka sounds like a good time to you, then consider signing up for this October’s Tuk-tuk Tournament, which seems to be a considerably lengthier event, spanning the course of 13 days and over 1,000 different “challenges.”

From my point of view, Tuk-Tuk racing feels like it would be much more fun to watch than to actually compete in, but if watching it got you fired up and it’s something you feel like you have to try, then more power to you. I just won’t be joining you, so you’ll have to look elsewhere to find your crew.

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