FuelTopia Barrel Sprint.....go on, you know you want to.

It was my pleasure to drop by the Santa Pod FuelTopia barrel Sprint on Sunday 19^th August.

I haven’t been to one before and didn’t really know what to expect.

The headline act was the UK Monster Truck Nationals but as a follower of Fueltopia I was excited to meet the FuelTopia guys.

I’ve dropped a few blogs (not for a while now) on to the site and have bounced emails to Jimmy Drama and Dan Fegent who’s work I really like.

Dan’s a master behind the lens and I’ve been loving his rallycross coverage, I grew up watching rallycross.

Jimmy puts out some great work as well as keeping the Fueltopia wheels in motion, like the road to Gatebill blogs which looked like the trip of a lifetime.

For those who don’t know about Barrel Sprint it’s close, head to head, grass roots motorsport.

You don’t need a 6 figure budget and in fact cars need to be road legal so just turn up, pay and play.

Fueltopia Barrel Sprints are supported by Monster Energy which means there’s a Monster promo vehicle with girls handing out drinks and stickers, always welcome.

Barrel Sprint does exactly what it says on the tin, a sprint…….with some barrels along the way!

It’s really simple, competitors go head to head with a sprint start, 3 barrels which they need to go around, full 360 degree, then sprint to the finish. Simples.

The course is short so there isn’t a massive advantage having a big bucks, huge power car.

While we were there we saw a rough old Renault 5 cross the line ahead of a nicely sorted S14.

There was a crazy mix of cars there from nicely sorted drift cars, RX7’s, S14’s, 200SX’s and Skylines, a Prelude trying to make the most of his 4WS, that old Renault 5, E36 BMW and so many more.

There’s a ropey old Pug 306 1.4 sat idle in the car park at work and I honestly think I’d have half a chance of a decent time. Don’t laugh. I think with a heavy tug of the handbrake and plenty of right foot……

I grew up watching club motorsport. Small budget, weekend racers doing it for fun. Hill climbs, sprints, rallycross and whatever I could get to. There was nothing like this. Simple, fun and cheap with a great atmosphere and a really cool bunch of people.

If you haven’t been you should go. What’s the worst that could happen? You have to explain to the wife why the tyres on the family car are bald and there’s a timing sheet in the car with your name on it? Well worth it……

http://www.fueltopiabarrelsprint.com/