There is a lot of pretty incredible motorsport you can watch out there, whether it’s Max Verstappen’s dominance in Formula 1, the LA Metro bus rodeo or even the Tram Olympics in Europe. There’s now a new automotive event set to win your heart and this time it pits teams of recovery drivers against one another in a challenge of grit, determination and precision.
The contest, which will run in Japan at the end of this month, pits teams of roadside assistance crews against one another to see who can carry out all kinds of recovery challenges the best. The annual JAF Road Service Competition will see teams from all across Japan compete, as the Drive reports:
Organized by the Japanese Automotive Federation (JAF), which is like Japan’s equivalent to AAA, the Olympic Games of roadside assistance bring together emergency-response workers from Tokyo and nine other prefectures. What follows is not a Battle Royale-style brawl where folks beat each other over the head with traffic signs, but a friendly competition to teach the public about JAF’s role in keeping motorists safe.
The first event in the contest will see teams work to right an upturned car using a truck equipped with a winch. That might not sound like a big ask, but teams will be working to do it in the most delicate way possible, causing minimal further damage to the upturned car.
The focus on precision rather than speed means entrants will be tested on how they work as a team as well as their knowledge of how to hook the car up, when to pull and when to hold off. The contest will also include a challenge to right a motorbike in a similarly careful manner.
The event isn’t a new spectacle, but this year will mark the first time that the Japanese public have been permitted in to watch the display of automotive excellence first hand.
If this all sounds mighty impressive, you can head to Japan to watch the event for yourself on November 24. The action will kick off in the glamorous surroundings of a parking lot at the Aeon Mall Makuhari New City shopping center in Chiba City.
If getting to Japan to watch all this unfolds sounds a bit much for you, why not head here to find out more about the LA Metro bus rodeo, or here to see how tram drivers in Europe compete for supremacy.
