The Fast and the Faultiest
Welcome to bilcross, the jankiest junker showdown in auto racing.
- Alberto Bernasconi01To race Formula 1 cars, you need the conditioning of an Olympic athlete. To be a rally driver, you need to be comfortable hurtling down unfamiliar dirt roads and have a map-reading friend who's immune to motion sickness. Want to try Norwegian bilcross? All you need is a car and a sense of fun.
- Alberto Bernasconi02It doesn’t even have to be a good car. Bilcross grew out of an everyman’s class of world rallycross: Hammer out the dents if you want; slap on a sponsorship sticker if you’ve got one. But whatever you do, don’t get fancy.
- Alberto Bernasconi03Drivers race around Egerson Motorsport’s gravel track in beat-up Saabs and Volvos stripped of just about everything but the driver’s seat and steering wheel.
- Alberto Bernasconi04But even those few features that remain are a DIY, often slapdash, affair.
- Alberto Bernasconi05The near-indestructible Volkswagen Beetle is a popular racing choice.
- Alberto Bernasconi06Drivers work on their junkers in a parking lot near the racetrack.
- Alberto Bernasconi07All they have to do to qualify is be able to roll around the track. But even leaving the starting line is a stretch for some of these jalopies.
- Alberto Bernasconi08“The competition seemed more a spoof of racing than racing itself,” Mallonee writes. “Cars broke down and crashed at unimpressive speeds; others failed to start at all. One driver took several minutes to crawl to the finish line after her shift gear broke, the crowd cheering her on from lawn chairs perched in the surrounding hills.”
- Alberto Bernasconi09For the drivers of the fastest creaky clankers, there are dinky trophies. But everyone knows that’s not really the point.
- Alberto Bernasconi10At the end of the race, drivers park their cars together and auction them off for about $1,200. “It keeps it affordable for everyone,” photographer Bernasconi says. And that’s all bilcross really wants to be: fun.
- Alberto Bernasconi11Nobody bothers sinking money into their cars if they’re not going to hold onto it or even turn a profit. Especially when everyone knows the cars are going to end up looking like ... well, like this.
Laura Mallonee is a writer for WIRED covering photography. ... Read More
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