SsangYong Musso Pick-Up Racing Is The One-Make Series You Definitely Weren't Expecting
If you just don’t fancy racing a sports car, a single-seater or even a rallycross machine, how about a SsangYong pickup?
This slightly bizarre new racing series really is a thing, already established in New Zealand, of all places. The Musso One-Tonne pick-ups are standard apart from Proflex racing dampers, Speedline Corse wheels with Avon tyres and the regulation safety kit.
That means you get a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine, sealed so you can’t tweak it, rear-wheel drive and enough load-lugging capacity for plenty of ballast, should BTCC-style rules ever be introduced.
The series has just kicked off with a three-race event at Snetterton circuit, with a field of 12 Mussos contesting the win. There’s a qualifying session, rolling starts and a 15-minute race format. Four of the six rounds, including Snetterton, Silverstone (National), Knockhill and Brands Hatch (Indy) will have three 15-minute races, with Oulton Park and Cadwell Park offering two-race shows instead.
SsangYong says the series will run roughly monthly until the last weekend in October, with no races in August but two events in July followed by a two-month break before the end-of-September races. We have to admit we weren’t expecting this to appear on the scene. We’re sure the chaps at WTF1 will be keeping an eye on whether it’s any good.
Comments
I guess its popularity has yet to . . . pick up
Meanwhile in Thailand… They have pretty competitive truck racing with purpose built pickups from Hilux’es to D-Max’es as well as drag racing. The rolled coal can be seen from Malaysian soil.
Meanwhile in Uruguay :D
https://youtu.be/dqhc3j92Md0?t=8m10s
I never thought taxi racing was a thing either, but…
“None of those tracks are near me. This is clearly ‘fake’ news.”
Wait wait wait. I get it. Cheap way to try out motorsports yadahyadahyadah. But why on earth are companies sponsoring this?
We have a TATA Primo truck one-make race series at the country’s only F1 circuit, the Buddh International .
Wasn’t this something to do with the cars failing a safety test? But they already had them on shore so they just decided to race them instead?
No idea. Just why.
Whoever pitched this idea to a marketing team must’ve been very persuasive. Racing. Ok, sounds cool, but whats going to be unique about it? Pickup racing. Ok, been done before, but go on. With a small, korean pickup using a 2.2 liter diesel engine. MY GOD, THIS MAN IS A GENIUS!