Madness erupts as human power hits the dragstrip at Santa Pod

Bug Jam

Santa Pod Raceway
Sat.27 July 2024

Santa Pod Raceway – the fastest racetrack in Europe, where racing cars hit 300mph and shake the ground as they go.

Yet once a year it’s the patter of feet that grabs the seismologists’ attention.

Bug Jam is Santa Pod’s annual Volkswagen festival – 37 years and counting – but for half an hour at Saturday lunchtime the motors take a break and the humans take over the track.

The Human-Powered Race is a hardy staple of the event. Thousands come to Bug Jam and a good number of them bring their trainers and plimsolls, their bikes and trikes, their scooters and skateboards, their fancy dress… even a Zorb now and then… in an effort to make it up and down the fabled quarter-mile as smartly as their legs will propel them.

It’s a kind of London Marathon in miniature, though London Marathoners don’t have to contend with Santa Pod’s glued, shoe-biting track surface underfoot. And age is no obstacle. For young or old, hurrying or just strolling, it’s a great way to take in the dragstrip scene from the racer’s point of view in a more leisurely fashion than the racer’s high-speed glimpse will usually allow.

Here’s a report of this year’s occasion.

Santa Pod Raceway traded horsepower for human power at the Bug Jam Festival this weekend (26th-28th July) for the annual Human-Powered Race. The 2024 occurrence saw record numbers as just shy of 1,000 people took on the return journey along the famed quarter-mile. The swarm of participants was so huge, we witnessed people being collected into the crowd and taking part by accident as they were just trying to navigate their way around the venue!

The level of preparation that goes into the event is immense, with one group completing the feat in a homemade pedal-powered VW Golf with trailer, just narrowly missing out on the “Most Imaginative Entry” trophy. That category was won by the equally impressive “Wheel of Misfortune”. Despite some entries going above and beyond with their vehicles and fancy dress, the event is for anything that is human-powered. A Santa Pod Raceway spokesperson said, “We see everything from walkers and runners with buggies and prams to skateboards, scooters, roller bladers, bicycles and just about everything in between. Even though there are trophies for each category of vessel, some are in it just for the experience, and with an event of this size it’s just as well because some people were only just starting as the winners were crossing the finish line!”

[ Pictures: Dave DJ Jones / Santa Pod ]

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