Almost every human being in this world is thrilled by speed, but some people take it to next level. When it comes to speed no other thing can match the action of a motorcycle. So here we have a list of the craziest motorcycle races across the world.
1. Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy)
The most common videos on YouTube showing riders zipping through the streets at a massive speed are from the Isle of Man TT. Isle of Man is one of the most famous races in the motorcycling world, organised yearly in May or June. The inaugural race was held way back in 1907. Ever since, this event has witnessed the deaths of more than 240 participants so far hence giving it the tag of the most lethal race.
People come from all over the globe to witness this event every year. The race lap of the island is incredibly famous, elevated at 422 meters above sea level in the mountain area, and covering village streets and windy roads. The mountain area has more than 200 curves and about 60 of them are individually named.
The fastest lap of the 37+ mile mountain course was recorded at an average speed of 131.578 mph and touching top speeds of approximately 200mph on public roads.
2. The Dakar Rally
If you don’t know about the Dakar Rally you have probably missed something in life. This mighty event is considered as the Big Daddy of all off-road events across the globe. The event occurs annually held mostly from Paris to Dakar hence named as The Dakar rally.
The race is open to all type of off-road friendly vehicles. It is typically an endurance rally in which the pilot and the machine are tested against extreme conditions. Participants come from the entire world to challenge themselves. The pros, the world champions, the masters and the amateurs all can participate at their own risk. 60 people have lost their lives in the history of this brutal Dakar rally, and there are thousands more who would give anything to be a part of it.
3. North West 200
Although track racing is fun, but the street racing events are fascinating too. Other than the Isle of Mann, another crazy street racing event is the North West 200. This event is yearly held in May in Northern Ireland. It is a 14.43 km track on the streets in the towns Of Port Stewart, Colerain and Port rush.The lap is also known as the triangle.
The average speed of the track turns out to be approximately 120mph or 190kmph. In fact, top speeds exceed 200mph or 320kmph.
But don’t underestimate the brutality of the track. A total 15 riders have died since 1929 out of which 3 riders lost their lives on a same day in 1979.
4. Baja 1000
If you have seen the movie ‘Into The Dust’, you already know what I want to tell about this. If not then give it a try. Baja (spelt as “baha”) 1000 is another very famous off-road event annually held in Mexico. The SCORE Baja 1000 is another annual off-road event held in Mexico. Various types of classes are allowed to compete on the same course from large to small displacement motorcycles, production vehicles, trucks, and custom purpose built off-road machines. The terrain of the rally is mostly desert.
The name of the event is not put up over the distance of the race, so it could be misleading if you are looking at participants in the loop of 600 to 850 miles or point to point 900 miles.
The first Baja Rally started on 31st October 1967 and was initially named Mexican rally.
5. Pike’s Peak Hill climb
Imagine watching riders passing through clouds at hills. The race to clouds is another name for the Pike’s Peak international hill climb. It is an annual automobile put up in Colorado in USA. The track is of 12.42 miles or 20km having more than 156 turns, climbing over 4300 meters. It has classes of various cars, bikes, trucks and more.
A number of new classes are tried and discarded every year. The race was started in 1916. The current fastest lap record is set up by Carlin Dunne on a Ducati Multistrada 1200 in 9minutes and 52 sec, where the average speed turned out to be 121.4 kmph. 2 participants have lost their lives in this race, till date.
6. Erzberg Rodeo
The Erzberg Rodeo is an Austrian endurance rally event that started back in 1995 and is organised yearly. It is a run on a working mine in Austrian Alps, largest-of-its-kind in Europe. It is also a part of Hard Enduro series. More than 1500 riders participate annually in this four day event. Each day is allotted to various different classes.
7. 300 curves of Gustav Havel
Riding fast and leaning on the curves is the most interesting part of every motorcycle ride. As bikers, we have wondered since childhood about leaning on a curve, rising and again leaning to another one. This race has particularly evolved from someone’s childhood fantasy for a race.
The 300 curves of Gustav Havel is such an appealing name for a motorcycle race isn’t it? The name itself gives goose bumps to adrenaline junkies. This is another event very much similar to the mighty Isle of Man TT with a much better weather. The sceneries all around are way beyond words. You can sit in an old-school pub, have a drink watch and hear the bikes roar. The race was started in 1922 and still happening yearly. The current circuit length is 3.20 miles.
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