[guerito]

Tractor pulling in a village close by!

We've been there until the rain started. It's a pity that pictures don't convey the smell and the noise, oh well you have to use your imagination. These are men's toys, and not any men's, but farmers who are not much into playing otherwise. In our area you hardly find a crowd so interested and competent as in this event.

We've got a lot of pictures, and we'll post some more in this thread. Here you have a starter:



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[guerito]

Yeeeeehaw!



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Irma has a better shot of this tractor doing a wheelie, just wait until she posts her pictures!

[guerito]

Highlander

A genuine racing tractor!!! He didn't pull anything though, due to his slicks. He started just for fun, I believe. But look at this engine! Pure fun and utterly useless for real work... Just great!



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[guerito]

The Crowd



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[Irma]

Well I don't know much about this sport?... but G told me what was my subject and the most interesting thing and I went to shoot tractors





As you know I like to take detail... well here is a nice detail of the tractor ...the pilot...





I had to give it a bit of my touch

[guerito]

Where The Strain Is



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[Irma]

This is the last one of the series.....



Hope you like our pictures

[matthew]

I wouldn't have considered this as a subject for photos -- but what a great series. In particular, the one by Irma with the man standing with his back to the camera is one that I keep going back to. (psst: desaturate the red of the man's jacket.)

A tractor in racing slicks... who would have imagined it?

[EnglishBob]

Great shots Irma and G.

Gotta say my favorite is the monochrome of the driver up close, nice work Irma.

[Irma]

Thanks Matt and Bob... We want to go there again next year... We thought they would start later but they started at 8 a.m. We should have guessed... All of them were farmers




P.S. Thanks a lot for the idea Matt

[Petographer]

Excellent series. Brings back memories for me. Growing up where I did tractor pulls were held every year. I would never miss it. There were also events using Clydesdale horses doing the same thing. Another event was mud bogging where the tractor would have a run of mud 4 feet deep and 100 feet long. These guys put out some serious noise and horsepower. They would run the length of mud in 3 seconds.
As to the photos I agree with Craig on the B&W of the driver. Great photo indeed.

[Kombisaurus]

hehehe.. I thought this crazy sport was just an American phenomonon.. obviously not.

Great pics and a great event to visit G and Irma... you did a good job with the photos.. but seeing a guy in a racing suit and helmet driving a tractor is just plain WRONG!

[Petographer]

hehehe.. .. but seeing a guy in a racing suit and helmet driving a tractor is just plain WRONG!

As a motor sports enthusiast you should know that these babies are not for the faint at heart. The ones shown in Irma's photos are likely pushing in the neighborhood of 3000hp. I've watched these in higher classes push 15,000hp. absolutely deafening.

Here is an interesting think with some info on the different class of tractors.
http://www.ntpapull.com/news081505A.htm

[byrt_001]

hi

wooowww i have seen power lifters......but this looks like toys

nice shots

regarsd

christian

[shuttertalk]

My gosh! Someone should get the environmental protection agency onto the first one!

What sort of loads are these tractors pulling anyway?

It must be an awesome sight to see in person.. thanks for sharing!

[Kombisaurus]

As a motor sports enthusiast you should know that these babies are not for the faint at heart. The ones shown in Irma's photos are likely pushing in the neighborhood of 3000hp.

You're right Pete, these things are definately hardcore and I wasn't trying to suggest otherwise.. I'd imagine they would sound similar to top-fuellers, but with the pulling event being much slower the noise (and associated bowel-moving vibrations) would last a lot longer and probably have more effect on the spectators.
But although there is certainly sound logic in it when you look at how the sport evolved, it just looks bizzarre because tractors are usually associated with an old farmer with a straw hat smoking a pipe and pottering around a field.. Its like seeing the big hardcore trucks that are involved in circuit racing... they are amazing pieces of engineering, but there is still something comical about watching them.

...And speaking of bizzarre motorsport, there's lawnmower racing! lolol.. I have only seen a little bit of that, but it looks, umm.. interesting.