You know it’s going to be good when the start is marked by cannon fire! When most of us think of tractor racing we think of sled pulls, demonstrations of huge torque and traction. Representations of the utilitarian farm implement taken to massive extremes. Well our friends the Russians were tired of all that sensible slow racing and decided to ramp up the action!

At this 2015 event in Bison, Russia tractor racing is a whole other type of racing. Part open wheel rallycross, part mud bog drag, all awesome! Redbull arches in the background we can only hypothesize this german energy drink fueled spectacle is the result of crazy Germans and Russians looking for a good time.

These pumped up diesel machines still resemble the agricultural machines they originally were but feature enclosed cabs, uprated powerplants and drivetrains, and have traded in their agricultural tires for more race minded rubber. These farmers don’t mess around, this is clearly a contact sport.

Side by side starts add excitement and the threat of crashes as these open wheeled machines hook tires and ram each other for the advantaged line. Obstacles like the arch of fire are met head on by the contestants, and fires are quickly extinguished in the next bog. The priorities of these race tractors appear to be speed, and handling above all else, wading the water poses little resistance to these high ground clearance tractors, and they appear surprisingly well behaved even when bouncing airborn from bump to bump over this short dirt course.

Spectators attendance looks like it could be in the 10,000s and the action is nonstop. How long till we have the guts to race tractors like this?