![]() Chariots went around and around, counterclockwise, with nothing but left turns (sound familiar?) These turns were deadly and many crashes occurred. The racetrack-called a Hippodrome (Greek) or a Circus (Roman)-was oval with tight turns on either end, just like (getting tired of saying this) NASCAR courses. Unlike NASCAR drivers who some might argue are slaves to their sponsors, many drivers (who remain unknown to this day) were actual slaves. He obviously hired drivers to be at the wheel. In 416 BC, the Athenian general Alcibiades had seven chariots in the race, and came in first, second, and fourth. Just as in NASCAR, there were team owners. When official chariot racing became popular, it wasn't the driver who owned the horses and chariot. In case of a crash they would be dragged along the ground and could be killed, so one final bit of protection was to carry a falx (a curved knife), used to cut their reins away in an emergency. They word helmets, leg guards, body armor or chain mail and wrapped the reins around their forearms. Roman charioteers wore more protective gear-perhaps because most were not slaves, but paid professionals. Two criss-crossed straps across the back prevented the xystis from filling up with air during the race. a sleeved garment called a xystis went down to the ankles and had a belt fastened at the waist. Like NASCAR drivers, they wore safety gear: The clothing was itself their safety gear. Unlike other Olympic events, charioteers in Greek races did not perform their sport in the nude. It must have been as uncomfortable a ride as what NASCAR race drivers have to put up with. There was barely a floorboard, no windows, and a waist-high guard at the front and sides. ![]() The horse chariot was a fast and lightweight vehicle and was indeed Spartan inside. In Ancient Rome, a two horse chariot was called a biga, a three horse chariot was a triga, and a supercharged, four horse power chariot was called a quadriga. Special performance equipment on chariots continued to advance. ![]() Up until the 1st century AD, chariots were also used in the military-racing to overcome the enemy, or perhaps betting on who would get to the battlefield first, might have also planted the seed of chariot racing. I'm certain that Greek and Roman officials taxed wine heavily, giving the ancient wine producer reason to race their "special" supply of wines past tax collectors to their regular clientele. two lemon growers meeting on the road and trying to beat each other to market. Perhaps this is where chariot racing started. Adding a horse in place of a goat (more horsepower-literally) meant goods could make it to market faster and beat the competition. To this day, you’ll find many a Harley-Davidson rally descend through debauchery and down into chariot racing – at least until the cops show up.You can imagine that chariots started out also as "stock" units, with additions and modifications needed to accomplish their task. Especially if you lived in Australia or New Zealand. In truth it’s hard to find a sanctioning body who’ll give this sport the time of day, but from about 1920 until about 1935, it wasn’t uncommon to see people dressed in full Roman regalia piloting wine-barrels lashed to motorbikes at your local fair ground. This video from the 1930s is exciting enough, and we’d be willing to bet that Julius Caesar would have preferred the coup happen this way than with a stabbing. They have enjoyed adrenalin, and pain, and hated math. Jockeys would have been men of solid stature and little patience. Often, with a little more force than is optimal. Goodness knows how they stop, but our bet is the wall or the fence usually had a role to play in that endeavor. Really talented riders would use different throttle speeds to help steer – faster on the outside, slower on the inside. It looks like most of these wannabe gladiators piloted the motorcycles with leather strapped connected to both throttles.
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