Six of the world’s craziest races

1. Macau Grand Prix
Motorcycles were first introduced to the Macau Grand Prix in 1967, an annual street racing event that had been running since 1954. One of the most demanding street circuits in the world, the Macau GP is infamous for its lack of run-off areas with fencing and guardrail lining the 6.2km circuit. Hosted in November by a city famous for its casinos, the Macau Grand Prix’s off-track shenanigans are known to be as wild as its on-track madness and is favoured by British road racing regulars. In fact, of the 48 years of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, it has been won by a British rider 34 times and British rider Stuart Easton currently holds the lap record which he set in 2010. Japan has the next most successful amount of riders at the event with 10 wins to its name, while Hong Kong, America, Germany and Switzerland have one apiece.

2. Erzberg Rodeo
Now in its 22nd year, the Erzberg Rodeo’s own catchphrase goes some way to summing up the event: World extreme enduro supreme. It attracts thousands of riders ranging from the world’s best to amateur off-road riders, its unfathomable entrants-to-finishers ratio proving just how extreme it is, and in terms of hard enduro, it is Europe’s supreme race. Held in an open-pit ore mine in Austria, the event’s Iron Road Prologue pits 1500 riders against the mountain with the top 500 finishers qualifying for the Hare Scramble. Leaving at 20-second intervals, riders begin at sea level to navigate 5000-feet of altitude in just 13.5km of gravel road. Then there’s the notoriously difficult Hare Scramble which sees the 500 qualifiers race a ridiculously difficult 35km course with the goal to finish within the imposed four-hour time limit. In last month’s 2016 Hare Scramble, just nine of the 500 riders crossed the line within the allocated time.

3. Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Affectionately known as the Race to the Clouds, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a 20km time trial through 156 turns where the start line sits at 9390-feet above sea level and rises rapidly to the summit’s 14,115-foot finish line. It’s not unusual for the ambient air temperature to vary up to 30°C from the start to finish, wreaking havoc on grip levels as the changes in altitude sap up to 30 percent of an engine’s power. When the course reaches above the mountain’s tree line there are very few guardrails with unforgiving and breathtaking drop-offs awaiting a wrong move. Celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year when the event kicks off in just over two weeks’ time, the course was all dirt when the hill climb kicked off in 1916 and has been gradually sealed over the years until the entire course was completed in 2011. With a relatively low fatality count during the 93 events held since its 1916 inception, many believe the gravel roads forced lower speeds and higher care, saying the all-asphalt road will prove more dangerous.

4. Baja 1000
An annual off-road team race held in Mexico, the Baja 1000 began in 1967 as a 1400km point-to-point race but is run these days as a 1300km loop raced over four days. Despite the race traversing gruelling landscapes through harsh and unforgiving weather, the event is known for spectators adjusting the course in order to provide more spectacular entertainment and, while any such circuit sabotage wouldn’t be tolerated in any other high-profile event, organisers and competitors have come to accept holes, flooded rivers and dodgy man-made jumps are just part of the madness. Aussie Dakar-winning Toby Price is Australia’s best Baja 1000 finisher, crossing the line in second place during the 2012 event.  

5. Isle of Man TT
Dubbed the most dangerous race in the world, the Isle of Man TT is an annual road race held on 37.75-mile course which winds through towns, villages and rural landscapes on a small island in the Irish Sea. Starting in 1907, the Isle of Man TT formed part of the World Motorcycle  Championship from 1949 until 1976 when Barry Sheene, who called it “37 miles of stone walls and telegraph poles”, campaigned heavily to have it removed from the series calendar. The late Joey Dunlop remains the circuit’s most successful rider with 26 TT victories to his name and his nephew Michael Dunlop holds the current lap record. Set this year during Saturday evening’s Superbike race, Dunlop lapped at an average speed of 133.393mph to set the first-ever sub-17 minutes lap of the Snaefell Mountain Circuit. Since 1907, more than 270 people have lost their life during the annual TT event, earning its many competitors god-like status among fans as well as the circuit’s reputation as the world’s most dangerous race.