Engineering a Wacky Auto Race: What is Tuk-Tuk Racing?

Tuk-tuk racing is a chaotic, unpredictable, and often dangerous sport that takes riders on wacky adventures around the world. So what exactly is tuk-tuk racing, and how does it work?

@redbulllatino ¿Cómo andarías uno de estos? 😂 Hoy en nuestra sección de eventos curiosos: Red Bull Tuk It 🤓 #RedBull #Tuktuk ♬ original sound – Red Bull Latino

Summary:

What is a rickshaw?

  • A rickshaw is a two-wheeled vehicle that has a large open seat and two long handles on each side. Passengers sit in the open seat while an operator uses the handles to pull the vehicle on foot.

What is a tuk-tuk?

  • A tuk-tuk is a motorized, drivable rickshaw.

What is tuk-tuk racing?

  • Tuk-tuk racing involves teams racing tuk-tuk vehicles across all kinds of terrains for long distances.
  • The courses are so rugged and unstable that the tuk-tuks will often get stuck, tip over, or have mechanical failures.

Red Bull Tuk-Tuk Racing

  • Red Bull has held their own tuk-tuk race featuring grueling courses and obstacles. In 2020, they held a two-day, 80-mile race in Sri Lanka that featured over 200 teams.

The Rickshaw Run

  • There’s an event called the Rickshaw Run organized by a group called the Adventurists.
  • Participants race about 1800 miles for two weeks across Asia (the specific country varies).
  • “There’s not really any way of knowing if you’re gonna make it at all. In fact, the only certainties are that you will get lost. You will get stuck. And you will definitely break down,” Tom Morgan, Founder and Chief Idiot of the Adventurists, said.

 

What is a rickshaw?

To understand tuk-tuk racing, we first have to understand rickshaws. A rickshaw is a two-wheeled vehicle that has a large open seat and two long handles on each side. Passengers sit in the open seat while an operator uses the handles to pull the vehicle on foot. It’s similar to a pedicab, but with no pedals.

A rickshaw operator sits in the passenger seat of a traditional rickshaw. Engineering a Wacky Auto Race: What is Tuk-Tuk Racing?

 

What is a tuk-tuk?

A tuk-tuk, or auto rickshaw, is a motorized, drivable rickshaw, and there are three wheels instead of two. In southern Asia, Tuk-tuks dominate the street scene. Drivers even decorate their tuk-tuks with neon lights, bright colors, and sound systems.

How fast does a tuk-tuk go?

Tuk-tuks are usually fairly slow (about 34 mph downhill), and the Guinness World Record for the fastest tuk-tuk (prototype) is 81 mph.

A line of brightly colored, brightly lit tuk-tuks sit in a line at night. Engineering a Wacky Auto Race: What is Tuk-Tuk Racing?

What is tuk-tuk racing?

Tuk-tuk racing involves teams racing tuk-tuk vehicles (go figure) across all kinds of terrains for long distances. To steer a tuk-tuk, the driver has to physically shift their weight. This is no easy feat when you’re racing over jungles, deep puddles, rough roads, and steep hills.

The courses are so rugged and unstable that the tuk-tuks will often get stuck, tip over, or have mechanical failures. Teams then have to quickly make repairs or get out and push the tuk-tuk back on course.

Red Bull Tuk-Tuk Racing

Red Bull has held their own tuk-tuk race featuring grueling courses and obstacles. In 2020, they held a two-day, 80-mile race in Sri Lanka that featured over 200 teams.

@redbull Tuk-Tuk things up a notch 🔥😏📈#redbull #givesyouwiiings #tuktuk #redbulltukit #tuktukracing #racing #motorsports ♬ original sound – Red Bull

The Rickshaw Run

In addition to Red Bull’s tuk-tuk race, there’s a less competitive, albeit even more chaotic, charity event called the Rickshaw Run. It’s organized by an environmental activist group called the Adventurists, who describe it as “[taking] on the world in a glorified lawnmower.” The group puts on the event to raise money for charity and to help electrify tuk-tuks around the world.

 

If you wanted to tour a country, you’d probably rent a car or take a tour bus. However, there are a few unconventional tourists who are a bit more ambitious (that’s putting it lightly). Rickshaw Run participants race about 1800 miles for two weeks across Asia (the specific country varies) to raise money and to explore everything a nation has to offer. Literally EVERYTHING.

On an average day, tuk-tuks are unreliable. Take them 1800 miles, and minor engine trouble suddenly becomes the least of your worries.

“There’s not really any way of knowing if you’re gonna make it at all. In fact, the only certainties are that you will get lost. You will get stuck. And you will definitely break down,” Tom Morgan, Founder and Chief Idiot of the Adventurists (yes, that’s his actual job title), said.

 

Additional sources:

5 Of The Most Outrageous Motorsport Events

The wacky world of tuk-tuk racing

Everything You Need to Know About Riding a Tuk Tuk in Thailand

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Kelly Obbie

Social Media Coordinator at CADENAS PARTsolutions | A 2018 graduate of The Media School at Indiana University, Kelly studied journalism, public relations, English and Spanish and has experience in news writing and editing as well as social media writing and management. She also has professional and personal experience in videography and photography. She currently lives in Ohio but has lived in four states, and in her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, learning languages, and watching Disney movies.