Subjects: Sports

Formula E racing has all the trappings of a world-class series, beautiful cars, beautiful circuits, and beautiful people. The only thing missing is the sound. It’s the inaugural Formula E series and you can be excused if you didn’t hear it coming. The all electric cars are just as fast as their Formula One cousins, but they sound like golf carts; really quick golf carts.

The final race of the Formula E series is run on the narrow streets of Battersea Park in London, England and features the highest of high tech on four wheels. There are no gas pit stops, but they have the next best thing as drivers make a mandatory stop to switch cars before the batteries run down.

From high tech to high drama as volunteer firefighters in New York State jump off blazing fast firetrucks in the 100th annual Firematic games.

Truck drag racing in Quebec, Canada, means Metric Tonnes of fun for everybody.

Joey Hand is lucky to be alive after a wild ride at Road America.

The Targa Newfoundland rally is one of those events that every racer puts on their bucket list. Not only is the race extremely challenging as it weaves through narrow village roads, but it’s also one of the most picturesque races as it hugs the Atlantic Ocean on Canada’s most rugged province. As you’ll see in this episode it’s not necessarily the fastest driver who wins the Targa, it’s the one with the car still moving at the end.

The Lindberg brothers might be the fastest siblings on the ¼-mile ever! Jonnie recently shattered the world record with a speed of 272 miles an hour. We try to catch up with Jonnie and his brother Johan as they try and seal the European Championship.

This episode will also take it off-road with the Lucas Oil dirt championships, test a state of the art electric motorcycle against its gas cousin, and see how a pair of drivers survived crashing over a cliff.

When it comes to Pikes Peak the numbers are staggering; 156 turns, 12-miles of zig-zags, a starting position at over 9000 feet, and a summit finish line at 14,115 feet. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is unlike any other race in the world; it’s not just racing against other drivers – it’s competing against the mountain.

In addition to following an electric car in its attempt to break the battery powered record, we’ll be there as a father and son both try to break the magical ten minute mark.

Shamwreck can be compared to a demolition derby, but the drivers are actually racing around a half mile track. The kamikazes behind the wheel throw out the rule book and basically bang each other all the way to the finish line.

This episode will also feature the ultimate in 50’s and 60’s hot rods, a world speed record on water, and stadium super trucks that tear it up on the Las Vegas strip.

Nürburgring is regarded as the most dangerous racetrack in the world – 170 turns spread out over 25 kilometers in Northwest Germany. Every year, more than 200 cars, in four classes, attempt to tame the track in the 24 hours of Nürburgring. This year the Aston Martin 007 team will attempt to crack the podium usually dominated by Audi, Mercedes and Porsche. The British factory team has never finished the grueling 24 hour race, but just finishing won’t be good enough for them this year.

When it comes to drag racing, age is just a number as we follow a 79 year-old dragster as he attempts to become the fastest drag racer in North America.

Minimotos are two-stroke miniature motorcycles that serve up a unique brand of speed and carnage. We’ll follow two of the sports stars as they race around a tight circuit in Northern Ireland.

Rounding off the episode: an off-road race that puts the “out” in the Australian Outback, a contest that features the best burnouts, and a spectacular crash in the Dakar Rally that you have to see to believe.

On an air strip at a Colorado airport the world’s fastest street cars duke it out in an attempt to break the world record of 219 miles an hour over a half mile. Lucas English is the current record holder in his beefed up Nissan GTR, but his competition is in his rear view mirror and gaining ground. They call the event the Air Strip Attack and it features traditional standing start drag racing, along with the extremely challenging rolling start events.

Figure 8 racing is like nothing you’ve ever seen before as cars race on two ovals that actually intersect. You can only imagine the chaos as cars essentially fly through an intersection at 80 miles an hour with no one stopping to give way. Speed is almost as important as surviving.

We’ll go sideways at the Formula Drift championships in California, jump on snowmobiles and race on clay, and meet two Swedish sisters aiming to be the fastest on two wheels.

Big Rig Truck Racing, five-ton vehicles jockeying for position on a track built for ‘normal’ race cars. It’s a lot like a demolition derby as the giants of the track bump and push each other around in search of the checkered flag. Veteran Jim Bennett will do his best to fend off upstart Simon Reid. Will Simon’s enthusiasm be enough to get past the crafty veteran and attempt to capture his first Big Rig win?

He calls himself Kid Kwik, but to Frank Hawley, head school master at Drag Racing school, Kid is just another student. The young cocky upstart better pay attention to Frank or risk hitting the wall.

Tanner Faust is one of the stars of global rally cross, a rock-em sock-em racing series that features every racing discipline and almost encourages contact. On the Las Vegas stop on the circuit, Tanner will try and keep his nose clean to make it to the finish line.

Eric Taboul straddles a jet motorcycle and goes an astonishing 451 kilometers an hour.

Connor Cummins recounts a spectacular accident that almost took his life on the world famous TT race course on the Isle of Man.

Virgil Benton wants to become the first driver to go 200 miles per hour in a Shelby Cobra. The San Diego gear head bought his 1965 Shelby in parts from the world famous manufacturer, built it himself, and now he’s taking it the Mojave Mile. “The Mile” in the middle of Mojave Desert is the place to go if you think you’re fast. Virgil doesn’t have a lot of race experience, but he’s hoping he can make history behind the wheel of his classic roadster.

Finland’s Anita Makela is the two-time European Top Fuel champion, and one of the fastest women in the world. Anita is out to capture her third crown as she straps herself into her top fuel alcohol dragster and gets launched to 300 miles per hour.

A former British Cabinet Minister gets behind the wheel of the world’s fastest electric car. You might not hear it coming, but the battery powered Lola racecar can go 205 miles an hour, without making a sound.

Jari Kuosma calls himself the Birdman as he soars at more than 200 kilometres an hour, five thousand feet in the air.

Meet Brenda Sue Carver, the fastest woman in the world… wearing a Tutu.

The Goodwood Vintage Revival is one of the most prestigious events on the motorsport calendar; the British Lawnmower Championship isn’t. Although they both attract a different clientele, each event features wheel to wheel racing, engineering excellence, and an unmatched competitive spirit. The only difference is about a ton of mud.

At Goodwood, vintage car owners put their trust in father and son restoring team Ian and Will Nuthall to race their million dollar beauties to the finish line without trading paint and suffering a costly bump along the way.

Not far away, the ‘Gods of the Track’ are trying to fend off ‘Team Rhino’ in the annual Lawnmower championship. The British rains have provided a muddy track, and if they don’t drown first, the winner will have lawnmower bragging rights for another year.

Also on this episode, RJ Anderson tries to move up a class in the Lucas off-road series and gets a rude welcome from the veterans.

The Isle of Mann TT circuit is regarded as the most dangerous racetrack in the world, but motorcycle racers from near and far come back every year to capture the TT title and boast they survived.

The Porsche 918 Spider is the world’s fastest Hybrid clocking in at over 200 miles per hour.

Bryce Menzies has won almost every off-road event he’s entered but there is one race that has always eluded him, The Baja 1000. Bryce and his co-driver Pete Mortensen are determined to conquer whatever the desert throws at them this year and cross the finish line first in the iconic event. It won’t be easy, of the 240 trucks that will start, less than 10 percent will survive the ultimate endurance race.

Barefoot Bobby Williams is out to capture the crown at another iconic event: the annual Swamp Buggy Championship in Naples, Florida. If Bobby is successful he’ll win the ultimate prize, a chance to dunk Miss Swamp Buggy in the murky waters of the swamp.

When it comes to supercars, the Pagani Huayra is the epitome of luxury. Crafted by hand, the Huayra is custom designed, with no detail overlooked: from personalized paint to the ignition key that is actually a model of the car sculpted from solid aluminum. It can be yours for $1.8 million.

Ryan Villopoto is a superstar in the dirt and he’s out to capture the national championship of motocross racing. Ryan has led the points race from the beginning of the season and he can seal the championship with one more victory.

Rocky Robinson wants to go into the record book on the fastest motorcycle in the world. To get there he’ll have to go 376 miles an hour.

The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most iconic racing events on the planet, it’s a race everyone wants to win and James Hinchcliffe is no exception. But with just one week before qualifying, the Oakville, Ontario native is in a hospital bed recovering from a severe concussion.

Hinch, as he’s known to fans and friends, has the backing of one of the most successful teams on the circuit and his car is definitely fast enough, but it all comes down to whether he can recover in time to qualify for the big race.

This speedy episode will also scream down the quarter-mile at the Nitro Nationals as the top fuel funny cars top out at 300 miles an hour.

One of Britain’s top stunt drivers rears his van up on two wheels for a television commercial, and we take a McLaren P1 for a test drive on the world famous Silverstone race circuit.