Drivers have been drag racing automobiles and motorcycles ever since they were invented. We can't say the same about snowmobiles, not on asphalt at least, but it turns out racing ski-doos at the drag strip is a thing.
There's even a Snowmobile Asphalt Drag Racing Association that runs events regularly and the yellow snowmobile you're about to see below belongs to Brian Lamb, who just won an MSADRA event a few weeks back. He brought his modified 1999 BRP snowmobile to Byron Dragway and ran a couple of 1/8-mile sprints against a Suzuki Hayabusa.
As you might have already guessed, this isn't a regular Ski-Doo. It has been modified to run on asphalt and it features a rebuilt engine, prepped to run fast at the drag strip. That tiny 0.8-liter (49.3-cubic-inch) two-stroke, three-cylinder runs on racing fuel and nitrous. And it's impressively quick too.
Brian does a test 1/8-mile run at 6.88 seconds and 95.30 mph (153.37 kph) before taking on the Hayabusa. This snowmobile actually competes in quarter-mile races, but strong winds and bush fires in the area forced Byron Dragway to run 1/8-mile races only for safety reasons.
The first race against the Suzuki Hayabusa sees the bike take the win with a 6.54-second ET. The Ski-Doo crosses the line in 6.86 seconds. The gap makes sense given that the Hayabusa's trap speed was almost 20-mph (32-kph) higher.
Brian actually manages to win the second race, this time around with a notably quicker 6.63-second sprint at 97.39 mph (156.73 kph). The Hayabusa rider runs the 1/8-mile in 7.42 seconds at 84 mph (135.18 kph), but you can clearly see that the rider is struggling to fight the strong wind.
It's definitely the weirdest drag racing video you'll see today, but I think snowmobile asphalt racing deserves a lot more coverage than it gets. Sure, they're not as quick as funny car and top fuel racers, but it's a far more affordable sport that anyone can join.
"Let's make a racing series for every contraption that has an engine" is my brand-new motto!
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News