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As fun as motorsports are, sometimes it’s even more fun to give traditional formats a remix. Take, for example, the Colombian semi-truck shootout that adds trailers and a time-attack course instead of having trucks go head-to-head on a drag strip. Finland is legendary for producing great racing drivers, so perhaps it’s not surprising that this country has also put its own spin on tractor pulls.
Sammi, a small village in western Finland with a population of about 250, hosts an annual tractor pull. As documented in a recent YouTube video from Hans’s Garage, it’s not like the events you’ll find in the United States. American tractor pulls are generally held on flat ground, and the pulling tractors generally drag specially-built sleds designed to transfer weight as they’re moved to increase difficulty. That’s not the case here.
Hans’s Garage via YouTube
The Finns make things more exciting by using a big hill for the course. The loads being dragged are also more rudimentary—they’re just trailers filled with dirt. It’s obviously harder to move something up an incline than it is over a flat surface, so this event is a great demonstration of pulling power and traction, while being a bit closer to the way tractors are used outside of competition.
Tractors are divided into classes that seem to be based on stock horsepower, as modified tractors with more power than stock are sometimes put into classes with a lower nominal output. Naturally-aspirated and turbocharged tractors are also classified separately. Trailers weigh up to 18 tonnes (19.8 U.S. tons), depending on the class. Each run is timed, with the quickest run up the hill declared the winner.
Crazy Finnish Tractor Hill Pulling Race | Sammi Finland | Crazy Finns |
Modifications aren’t as extreme as what you’ll see on the U.S. tractor-pull circuit. There aren’t any multi-engined beasts here, for example. There’s also plenty of vintage models, like the Nuffield 10/60 and Ford 5000 competing in the lightweight classes, and newer machinery. Regardless of age, the sound of the engines and the columns of smoke pouring out of their exhaust stacks are a feast for the senses.
If that appeals to you, this roughly hour-long video provides lots of action. Maybe someone in the U.S. will see it and replicate the format. Or maybe one of the Finnish drivers will start competing internationally and become the Tommi Mäkinen of tractor pulling.
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Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
