Scrapes and Flames and Crashes!

Stunt car shows are something that have always got my blood pumping. Not only have you got the speed and the roar of engines, but there is also the risk factor - sometimes quite a big risk factor involved!

One of the shows that stands out in my mind was a monster truck show in France (when I was on holiday as a child). They built a number of light wooden fences, doused them in petrol, set them alight and drove cars through them. To add to the experience, only moments before the car went through them there was an additional BUCKET of petrol thrown over the flames! It must have been about 5 or 10 litres of fuel in just a moment. Needless to say there were a lot of very big flames!

No matter how controlled, that surely poses a risk. Even if the risk is not really for the driver of the car, but rather the man whos job it was to throw the bucket of petrol!

Driving a car on two wheels is another skill that must be exceptionally difficult (although I think that the risk is likely to be less) and, more to the issue, HOW DO YOU LEARN TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! Surely you must roll a large number of cars? I have heard that there are a few modifications that need to be implimented before driving like that. Firstly the axels must be fixed. If you tried it with a normal car, what would happen is the wheel on the floor would cease to turn and the wheel in the air would turn double time. Additionally the pressure in the tyres has got to be greatly increased. If it was not the car would simply end up driving on its rims as the tyre gets squashed.

Long may such shows continue!