Semi-Tractors in the Heat of Competition
This summer is a time full of sports events. The Wimbledon tennis tournament and the European football championship have just ended, and the Olympic games in Paris will start in a few days. We are also in the middle of the F1 season. So let’s take advantage of the fact that most of us are certainly affected by the ubiquitous sports atmosphere to some extent. Let’s take a look at a unique sport that is so close to our main field of interest on this blog, i.e. the various aspects of road logistics. Let’s learn more about semi-tractor racing.
If you can basically race anything that moves on two, four or more wheels, why not also take part in sports competition with vehicles designed to pull trailers and transport loads from point A to point B, right?
The Beginnings of Semi-Tractor Racing
On August 15, 1980, the film “Smokey and the Bandit II”was released in American cinemas, a sequel to a big screen hit from three years prior. The opening scene of the film shows a race of American semi-tractors on an oval track. It was not staged for filming purposes. The crew went to the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where the first semi-trailer races in history were inaugurated on June 17, 1979. It was then that ATRA, the American Truck Racing Association, was established, the first organization responsible for conducting the competition. In the following years, other entities were responsible for organizing the races, until 1993, when semi-tractor competitions ceased to be held in the United States. They only returned in 2017 as the Bandit Big Rig Series, but the last one was held three years ago.
Semi-Tractor Racing in Europe
It may be a bit surprising that in the USA, where the chrome-dripping, powerful tractor unit is one of the country’s symbols, truck racing has not turned out to be as popular as it might seem at first. This may be due to the fact that US motorsport enthusiasts can enjoy watching so many typically American disciplines (NASCAR, monster trucks, dragsters) that semi-tractor racing has turned out to be too small a niche. The situation is slightly different in Europe.
In 1985, the FIA established a series of competitions called the European Truck Racing Championship. Since then, a series of races has been organized every year on selected European tracks. In the 2024 season, races are held under the name Goodyear FIA ETRC. Seven rounds of competition are scheduled;the inaugural race took place on May 25-26 at the Italian Misano circuit, and the season will end at the Spanish Jarama track on October 5-6. When this article was written, fans were waiting for the start of the fifth round, planned for the turn of August and September in Most, Czech Republic.
14 teams take part in the ETRC this year, racing with MAN, Scania and Iveco trucks, and the current leader of the classification is the Hungarian driver Norbert Kiss. This racer from Szombathely (called Norbi by his fans) is a true legend of semi-tractor racing in Europe: he has won five championship titles and it looks like he is driving for his sixth triumph in the 2024 season. It is no surprise that in his native Hungary he is considered one of the best motorsports drivers in the history of this country.
In Europe, the British have a separate racing league. It’s the BTRC –British Truck Racing Championship. The 2024 season started in spring at Brands Hatch and will end there in November. The competition is organized by the British Truck Racing Association, in accordance with FIA regulations. There are 11 teams taking part in this year’s competition, and Ryan Smith is currently the leader of the points classification.
Semi-Tractor Racing in Brazil
If there is a part of the world where semi-tractor racing is as or perhaps even more popular than ETRC, it is definitely Brazil. It was first organized in 1996 as a Formula Truck. Seven years ago, this series was replaced by the Copa Truck series, but it returned in 2021 and now both racing series are organized simultaneously. Tractors from the most popular manufacturers in the Amazon region take part in the competition, including Volkswagen Constellations, which are a true symbol of road transport in Brazil.
Interestingly, in 2014, Tata Motors organized a series of races in India called T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship. As the name suggests, the competitors raced only with Tata Prima tractors.
Semi-Tractor Racing in Europe: What Are the Rules?
Now that we know the origins of these races and where they are popular, let’s briefly look at their rules, focusing on FIA ETRC races. Each racing event consists of four races and two qualifying sessions and one Super Pole. The FIA places great emphasis on safety issues, which is why the vehicles have a maximum speed limited to 160 km/h. Each tractor must weigh a maximum of 5.3 tons, which ensures equal opportunities for all competitors in terms of vehicle weight. In the second and fourth races of each event, the top eight from the previous race start in reverse order, which is intended to increase the competitiveness and unpredictability of the races. Drivers are classified in two categories –Chrome and Titan, with only drivers in the Chrome category eligible to compete for the Goodyear Cup. It is also worth paying attention to the environmental aspect of the entire FIA ETRC competition: it is the first racing series regulated by the FIA where HVO biodiesel is fully used.