Motorcycle lovers are often like families, once they meet their fellow riders. Meeting a motorcyclist on the road is usually filled with courtesy and pleasant experience sharing. Long have passed the days of motorcycle gangs waging war with one another. Even though that used to be a thing and rivalries still exist, they are often settled at rallies, by racing, rather than using violence.

Speaking of rallies, there are plenty of those in the world, but which ones should you visit if you get the chance? Polish people, for example, love watching Formula 1 which is one of their most-watched racing events. In other countries, another type of racing is popular – horse racing (you can read more about it)! What about the other less famous events? Read all about them here!

The Elephant Rally

This rally is actually called the Elefantentreffen which does translate to Elephant Rally and is held in the Bavarian Forest, near Thurmansbang in Germany, at the end of January or the beginning of February, every year. This meeting is obviously a winter meeting and winters in Germany can really be scenic. You can expect snow and a lot of cold.

It is called the Elephant Rally thanks to the Zundapp KS 601, a green motorcycle and sidecar called the Green Elephant. It was founded in 1956.

It is a rather spartan meeting, where participants cannot bring tents or trailers to the event but must leave them outside and bring everything they need on their motorcycle. The motorcycles present can be stock or modded. The motorcycles have to be street-legal, however. You can expect anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people at this event.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has been here since 1938 and has been held in Sturgis in South Dakota, United States. The rally was originally meant for stunts and races but expanded over the years.

It is the most popular annual motorcycle rally in the United States and gather around 500,000 fans on average, even exceeding 700,000 in 2015. The event is held in August so expect high temperatures and bring your summer gear.

Penguins Rally

The Penguins Rally takes place in Spain, in a town known as Valladolid, or rather, next to it in a pine forest. Dedicated fans come from all over the world to enjoy this chilly festival, which takes place during the second week of January, as it has since 1982. This is one of the most visited motorcycle festivals in Europe, gathering up to 35,000 motorcycle lovers. It was named a festival of great importance in 2011.

Daytona Beach Bike Week

A direct competitor to the Sturgis Rally for the most visitors and best rally in the United States, the Daytona Beach Bike Week is also a popular motorcycle rally. It takes place in Daytona Beach, Florida. It has been around since 1937 and is as important as the Sturgis Rally. It also attracts around 500,000 and is a 10-day event, held in March.

These are some of the most important motorcycle rallies in the world. They are all in different months so if you are passionate enough, you can visit all of them in a single year. There are more events like these, just check your surroundings for a local rally.

 

Cars are what we use to drive around daily. Some of us are driven, some of us drive and commute, and others use cars occasionally to travel to new destinations. Some of us even like to follow popular car races and even have our own favorite NASCAR team. I personally like to watch these races to see the cars and check out what improvements were made. Innovation is important, especially in the car industry, as competitiveness drives other manufacturers to keep innovating.

Some concepts and new models are often presented at car shows. Here are the most famous car shows in the world.

The International Car Show

This has to be the vaguest name in the history of names. It used to be known as the International Motor Show Germany, but now it is simply the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, which translates to the International Car Show.

It is held biannually, every odd year for passenger vehicles and every even year for commercial vehicles. It was separated due to the number of visitors. You can go to Frankfurt to see passenger vehicles and to Hanover to see the commercial ones. This is one of the most important car shows, as noted by its simple name. You can expect to see the newest models here, as well as concept cars.

The Tokyo Motor Show

This is another very, very important motor show, featuring all the Japanese car companies like Honda, Toyota, Mazda, and Nissan. It is held in Tokyo as it is the country’s largest city and will easily attract the most people.

Upwards of 30,000 cars are displayed here, not to mention motorcycles and commercial vehicles. You can also buy tickets in advance, especially if you want to see the vehicles first. They have something called a Preview Day, which is an exclusive premiere to see the newest models before anybody else (who didn’t buy a Preview Day ticket).

The Paris Auto Show

It is often called the Paris Auto Show, even though its name is actually the Paris Mondial De l’Automobile. It is held biannually, every even year, in the Paris Expo hall, also going by the name of the Paris expo Porte de Versailles. The show is amazing and you can see the newest cars, from a lot of auto manufacturers. Most European manufacturers, if not all, are often present.

The Geneva International Motor Show

The Geneva International Motor Show, or GIMS, is an annual event, held in Geneva, Switzerland. It has been here since 1905 and is one of the most important car shows in the world. There are plenty of vehicles to see here, electric cars, production cars, concept cars, tuners, special parts and accessories as well as new technologies. It is a great annual show for any car enthusiast.

The North American International Auto Show

This motor show is also called NAIAS or the Detroit Auto Show as it is held in Detroit, every year. It is the most popular auto show in the United States, yet it has its own ups and downs. Following the downward trend of luxury cars in the United States, BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz were not present at the 2019 show, alongside other luxury car manufacturers such as Volvo, Jaguar, Porsche and Land Rover.

The Beijing International Automotive Exhibition

This exhibition is also called Auto China, simply put. It is a biannual event and has been held every second year since 1990. China is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. Manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Skoda, Volkswagen, BMW and Lexus have been present, not to mention BMW, Honda, and more. Given China’s size and market, more manufacturers come every year.

These are the biggest and most important car shows in the world.

Hot rods race in a single line and accelerate a very, very fast pace. They are the fastest drag racing vehicles, sanctioned by the government and regulating bodies, of course. The sport is very fast and loud and the races do not really last as long as you might hope.

There are different categories of cars and they are the top fuel, funny car and pro stock.

The top fuel cars are the fastest accelerating of the 3 and they can go as fast as 330 miles per hours which is 531 km/h. That is really fast.

The funny car vehicles are slower in acceleration and can go as fast as their counterparts.

The pro stock cars are stock cars with lots of addons, well, they resemble stock cars. They have to use regular fuel, unlike top fuel cars.

They are all drag racing vehicles. Drag racing is really popular and here are the most famous races.

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series

The NHRA is the National Hot Rod Association and it is situated in the United States and it is the regulating body for all things related to drag racing in the United States and Canada.

Their Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is the top tier of drag racing competition in the United States and Canada.

The Mello Yello series is divided into 7 division, based on geographical locations. Each of these divisions has lots of races. The divisions are the North East, South East, North, South and West Central, and North West, and Pacific.

Once they qualify to be in the Mello Yello series, drivers score points after each race. In the end, the driver with the most points, wins for their category.

There are many categories of drag racing vehicles, the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Top Alcohol Dragster, Super Comp, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Comp, Stock, Super Stock, Super Gas, Super Street, Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, and Pro Mod.

The race events last for an entire day, actually, a weekend. Qualifications are on Friday and Saturday and elimination rounds on Sunday.

The races last for a short time, but there are plenty of them so you can stay the entire day. It is quite a treat for loves of fast vehicles, mods and loud, actually, very loud engines.

There are other levels of competition regulated by the NHRA, like the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and the NHRA Summit Series. Lovers of drag racing will have nothing to worry about if they are planning on visiting the US.

In Australia, the ANDRA Pro Series is the top tier of drag racing and in Europe, the FIA organizes a championship of its own.

People have heard of famous races like the Monaco Grand Prix and almost any race related to Formula 1, as it is one of the most popular auto racing. People have heard of the Indianapolis 500, but are not sure what it means, at least the people not from the United States.

For the US citizens, it is much more than a race, as it has been since its inception, more than a hundred years ago.

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race

This is its full name, yet it is often dubbed the Indy 500, due to it being part of the IndyCar Series, top tier open-wheel racing in the United States and North America as a whole. Its nickname is the Brickyard, due to the track being mostly bricked in 1909.

In 1911, however, it was an event on its own, on asphalt. It has been held annually ever since 1911, around Memorial Day. As of 1974, it is held on the Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend, which is considered to be the most important day in racing, as more than just one gigantic race is held on that day.

The race itself is a 500 mile, or rather, 800 kilometer race which runs counter-clockwise on the racetrack. The racetrack is oval, or rather, a unique-rounded rectangles, each of the 4 turns being the same size and angle. The rest is a straight line. The track is 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers long. The racers have to complete 200 laps, amounting to the iconic 500 mile number.

The Engines

The cars use engines built by Honda and Chevrolet. These engines are all 2.2 V6 engines, tuned to have anywhere between 550 and 700 horsepower. These are the current engine manufacturers, but many have been present during the 118 years of the race’s existence. The specifications for the engines have changed through the years, leading up to these numbers. These types of cars are arguably the fastest in the racing world, reaching speeds up to 230 miles or 370 kilometers per hour on the Indy 500 racetrack. There have been talks of various records through the years, like the 256 mph or 413 km/h record by Paul Tracy in 1996.

Ceremonies

The race is surrounded by tradition, many of which date back to its inception. The pre-race ceremonies include an aerial bomb in 5 or 6 in the morning and in 8 in the morning, the bands perform a march around the track. There are a couple of songs performed in order, an invocation, Taps, America the Beautiful, God Bless America, the national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, and lastly, Back Home Again in Indiana. After that, the starting command is given, sometimes by a grand marshal. The anthem has been sung by various people during the history of the festival, like David Hasselhoff and Steven Tyler.

The post-race ceremonies include driving to Victory Lane to be presented with the Borg-Warner trophy, the trophy of the race since 1936. They are also presented with a bottle of milk, a tradition started by Louis Meyer who asked for it on two occasions after winning the race, in 1933 and 1936.

This is one of the most iconic races of the IndyCar series and regarded sacred in the United States. It is a very important race, enveloped in tradition. The next one will take place on May 26 2019.

Formula 1 does not need a lot of introduction as most of you are already familiar with it, but Formula E might be something you’ve never heard of before. Who would have thought 50, 20 or even 10 years ago that we will be watching electric-powered car racing? In addition, betting on Formula 1 with the help of betting sites has become very popular lately as more and more people watch this exciting sport.

The first Formula E championship began in 2014 and currently counts ten teams and twenty drivers (two per team). It is something completely new to the racing world, and as electric cars have become available to regular people for everyday use, the interest in the series rises.

Betting on Formula Races

Having some fundamental knowledge about the drivers, tracks, constructors, and history sure helps. Michael Schumacher won 5 consecutive world championships with Ferrari, and even though he’s undoubtedly one of the most respected drivers in the history, it was his vehicle that allowed him to storm hundreds of laps and win competitions.

Teams spend millions of dollars each year trying to figure out how to improve the car’s performance and still play by the rules.

The fact that the pole position in Monza 8/10 times allowed the driver to win, while it was just 1/3 for the Montreal race proves that being familiar with all the tracks is important. You don’t want to rush into betting all your money on the guy that is holding the pole position because overtaking is easy on some tracks, or they have low-risk tolerance.

Stay Updated

Stay updated on all the news and changes teams might make, such as signing a contract with a new tire supplier or even changing something about the vehicle.

The FIA often makes new rules or changes the existing ones. This always has an impact on the performance of certain teams as the changes might not fit their current strategy, while developing and establishing a new one takes time.

Talking about strategy, it comes in handy to be familiar with teams and their tactics. The race is hours long, so do not make the mistake of canceling the bet or rushing into a new live one if your pick is not in the lead, as the driver might be saving the tiers and fuel for fewer pit stops or later attacks.

Be Patient and Do Your Own Research

After you’ve gathered enough knowledge about Formula 1 and Formula E, it is time to go online and find a place to bet. Formula E is still not that popular amongst online bookies so you’ll have hard time finding one that actually gives odds for those races, but Formula 1 is available in all major casinos.

Bonus offers, promotions, and odds always change and are different from bookie to bookie, which is why doing your own research might be the best idea until you find the right one.

If you already know what you are looking for, type in the keywords such as “Formula 1 no deposit bonus”, which will most likely provide you with a list of websites that have both no deposit bonus offers and Formula 1 listings.

Gamble responsibly and don’t let betting ruin the enjoyment and fun while watching some of the fastest vehicles in the world compete against each other.