This looks fun

[a.twiddler]

Interesting. I've not seen this before. I can understand the passenger leaning out as per sidecar racing on the bends but the humping seems counter productive, as well as rather bizarre, applying the same amount of weight back then forward ought to cancel itself out. Perhaps it's a psychology thing. If if all the competitors believe it works, then the more aggessive humpers might intimidate the less aggressive to keep clear. All things being equal, the ones with the better bearings ought to be able to roll away infinitesimally more quickly from the start then create a lead if the start just incorporated letting off your brakes and waiting for gravity to get you going. It might mean the race taking much longer of course.

It was noticeable how much the photo Kart bounced about on the bad surface towards the end, as well as the trusting to fate with the crowd lining the route and that white van being parked at random on the bend. All getting a bit hairy at that point. I wonder what the casualty rate is.

A good downhill ride on a bike or trike but getting to the summit would be another story.

 

[matticus]

If you've very nearly stopped, bumping can move you a little; and that might be enough to get you over a short flat-spot, or hole in the road, onto the next bit of actual downhill. I suspect any other usage is just for fun/show!

(Try sitting on an office chair - without wheels! - and you can "hop" it an inch or so forwards.)

 

[lazybloke]

Do they still have motor bike sidecar racing?

Had a friend who did that.

She wasn't safe as a driver; she'd written off her parents car; passed her bike test but crashed her motorbike a few times.
She'd tried track-racing motorbikes too, but that bike died with a tank slapper and a nasty smash.

She took up sidecar racing next, and we all breathed a sigh of relief that she would be passenger rather than doing the steering. Except we didn't know what sidecar racing was, or what the passenger does. OMG they have nerves of STEEL!