C4 - Untold Stories - Boy Racers

[Ranger 6]

I watched this documentary recently as was wondering, in these days of marshals numbers declining and running events proving difficult to staff. Is this where young folks are going, instead of legitimate motorsport events and venues?

https://youtu.be/dA4z-88RQfo

Is there a group/meet in every town across the country, or has the young C4 journalist just found a couple of lads who do this night time stuff?

I know there's some scenes of show cars, rather than racers, but the shots of a GTR popping and banging, just made me cringe. Could we switch them on to 'proper' motorsport or is the excitement of the illegal activity what they're after rather than just being car enthusiasts.

[ecsrobin]

I’ve not seen the program yet but have read an article. This kind of thing has been going on for 20-30 years.

[Red9zero]

ecsrobin said:

I’ve not seen the program yet but have read an article. This kind of thing has been going on for 20-30 years.

Just seems the speeds have got faster due to easy access to high powered cars.

[ecsrobin]

Red9zero said:

Just seems the speeds have got faster due to easy access to high powered cars.

Yep higher speeds and more pops and bangs than 20 years ago. Back then you’d get the odd 700bhp skyline or something similar whilst everyone made do with an Impreza or fiesta with a filter and exhaust.

These days it seems the majority is 500bhp+

[KurtFlew]

Loved my boy racer days after passing my test in 2005. Drag racing down the local industrial estate every Sunday night, 'cruises' to a retail park in a new town or city you've never been before every weekend.

Racing your mates in 80bhp cars down a dual carriage way late at night. Good times.

This will never stop and will only get worse with drag strips closing and track days getting ridiculously expensive.

I really don't get the middle aged blokes in 60k cars turning up, that's just weird. It's something all 17/18 year olds should get out their system. There's been a few 'spectators' killed here in the North West last few years at these because cars are so fast now.

[shost]

Just watched this show. Agree that it’s being going on for years. Many of us have been too quick for the conditions. I generally think my mates and I picked some back lane to bomb down. Never did the meets as such.

The thing that has changed is it’s no longer underground. I’ve been witness to plenty of cars racing during the day on quite crowded roads. The change is specifically been driven by Instagram, for some reason the algorithms started showing a few accounts glamourising quite horrifically dangerous driving. Think 30mph zones, high streets, crowded dual carriage ways. Scary stuff and kids seem to think it’s clever.

Edited by shost on Monday 5th June 22:56

[Ranger 6]

shost said:

....The thing that has changed is it’s no longer underground. I’ve been witness to plenty of cars racing during the day on quite crowded roads. The change is specifically been driven by Instagram, for some reason the algorithms started showing a few accounts glamourising quite horrifically dangerous driving. Think 30mph, high streets, crowded dual carriage ways. Scary stuff and kids seem to think it’s clever.

This is what worries me - it's not big or clever.

I know there's always been a car 'scene' across the country in the form of meets and cruises. I've been participating in rallies for many years - from 12 cars to WRC. As a navigator on road rallies you could say that I've been driving the speed culture. The difference is that we've always complied with some form of regulation when out in the lanes.

[Richard-390a0]

I see Classic Car Sundays had to put out a message on FB after this weekends meet at Port Solent about arriving & leaving in a sensible / respectable manner.

[ecsrobin]

Richard-390a0 said:

I see Classic Car Sundays had to put out a message on FB after this weekends meet at Port Solent about arriving & leaving in a sensible / respectable manner.

Alton not port solent.

You’re not the same person who’s posted his photos of Alton on the port solent groups site are you?

[Richard-390a0]

ecsrobin said:

Richard-390a0 said:

I see Classic Car Sundays had to put out a message on FB after this weekends meet at Port Solent about arriving & leaving in a sensible / respectable manner.

Alton not port solent.

You’re not the same person who’s posted his photos of Alton on the port solent groups site are you?

No me no lol. I see there's a 700 photo album been posted who the hell is going to bother scrolling through that lot?!

[poo at Paul's]

What a bunch of pumpers!

[s p a c e m a n]

In the late 90s there would regularly be 500+ cars racing eachother every weekend night at either Basildon or Thurrock depending on where the police were, there were several industrial estates that always had more cars in them at night time than during the day. Someone at both ends of the 'strip' and a walkytalky each for the proper cars late a night in other locations, but there would still be a hundred spectators for those. There would be circuit racing around London City Airport and Lakeside shopping centre and you would be standing in the crowd and hear northerners talk about how they drove 5 hours to get there because word had spread so far.

Then in the early 2000s the council's gave in to the pressure and put speed ramps in every known location so everyone changed to drifting. Any industrial estate with a couple of linked roundabouts and there were hundreds of people lined up watching ratty 3 series and Volvo's with lock kits banzai all night. Cameras were installed, roundabouts were modified to stop it.

25 years ago I was sitting in that underground roundabout near the isle of dogs in the first part of that program doing exactly the same thing as all of those boy racers were doing with all my mates. I don't think it will ever stop

[shost]

s p a c e m a n said:

In the late 90s there would regularly be 500+ cars racing eachother every weekend night at either Basildon or Thurrock depending on where the police were, there were several industrial estates that always had more cars in them at night time than during the day. Someone at both ends of the 'strip' and a walkytalky each for the proper cars late a night in other locations, but there would still be a hundred spectators for those. There would be circuit racing around London City Airport and Lakeside shopping centre and you would be standing in the crowd and hear northerners talk about how they drove 5 hours to get there because word had spread so far.

Then in the early 2000s the council's gave in to the pressure and put speed ramps in every known location so everyone changed to drifting. Any industrial estate with a couple of linked roundabouts and there were hundreds of people lined up watching ratty 3 series and Volvo's with lock kits banzai all night. Cameras were installed, roundabouts were modified to stop it.

25 years ago I was sitting in that underground roundabout near the isle of dogs in the first part of that program doing exactly the same thing as all of those boy racers were doing with all my mates. I don't think it will ever stop

Agree, there has always been cocking about in cars. My issue with the latest type is consent. If you chose to attend a organised “underground” cruise or drift event, you also know the risks and accept them. Same with official motorsport, crowd and competitors sign up to a reasonable risk of harm. But that isn’t the case with street racing / gapping / Mexico / certi driving, it’s all about being the biggest idiot putting others at risk.

[Driver101]

Just briefly scanned the YouTube video.

It's strange that so many people think you can't break a speed limit without getting caught, yet there are an endless amount of idiots on the road and at car meets that aren't worried about driving like idiots.

[asfault]

I'd bey at least 50% of the pH user base are ex cruisers and max power generation. Great times.
As stated above so much fun gathering to then convoy to another cities cruise.

[thetapeworm]

I've only just seen this, I was such a boring "yoof" it seems. We were up in the Yorkshire Dales so the numbers were lower but we'd go out for a drive in the country, go to organised club meets and then pay to drag race at Elvington or York Dragway or pay Bookatrack to go on track.

I'm not saying no speed limits were broken but in comparison to this stuff we were so tame.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-secret-wor...

I remember seeing the low resolution videos of antics outside Ace Cafe and other similar places but the bonkers stuff seemed to be limited to Ghost Rider or Getaway in Stockholm, these days it's a Golf and an Audi doing this stuff in the middle of the day.

There's the drag meets going on too, locally we had the "Certi Drivers" stuff and meets with racing a few hundred metres from the main police station near Elland Rd or up in the retail park / industrial estates in NE Leeds but this has really tarnished any legitimate local static meets and led to a "Vehicle Nuisance PSPO" across the whole city.

https://www.leeds.gov.uk/antisocial-behaviour-and-...

Presumably being old now has made me forget a lot of it but I'm full circle, slow car, harder work, more engagement rather than 600bhp and only getting the same buzz at 100+ because everything else was so easy.

[s p a c e m a n]

I've just gone down a YouTube rabbit hole of finding crap videos from my area back in the day..

Bit of lakeside and Dagenham drifting

https://youtu.be/nf3ar9TISLU?si=o9vQ1tIvu2fHVN79

Quiet bit of racing at Truckworld Thurrock

https://youtu.be/CF0y_BBobA4?si=_Rf5LLWEYKcSQrfu

https://youtu.be/aR-bO_O7ev0?si=DxOALkYit53-LlWG

Ferry lane Rainham drifting in the rain

https://youtu.be/6kJxav90KJA?si=LILfQpcow0bC5CfQ

Edited by s p a c e m a n on Tuesday 21st November 19:13

[Jamescrs]

asfault said:

I'd bey at least 50% of the pH user base are ex cruisers and max power generation. Great times.
As stated above so much fun gathering to then convoy to another cities cruise.

Absolutely, I was part of it and it was a brilliant time, the Cruise forums were brilliant, I'm still mates with the guys I was involved with back then, difference is now we all drive high power cars to places like the Motorist for a Sunday morning meet, do proper track days and go to the Nurburgring twice a year.

I guess we are all slightly more responsible now and have more disposable income

[Terry Winks]

The Cardiff cruise scene was pretty bonkers back in the day, I think it used to get out of hand then too, was a lot of fun. We'd hang out there then when all traffic was gone it was the country lanes were is where we probably got a bit out of hand. Badboy bonnets! Haha.

I had a Mini with a B18C4 Vtec engine in the front, which back in the early 2000's was a killer, everyone has a 300bhp Golf now though and I wouldn't see where it had gone in all reality.

[timrud]

Terry Winks said:

The Cardiff cruise scene was pretty bonkers back in the day, I think it used to get out of hand then too, was a lot of fun. We'd hang out there then when all traffic was gone it was the country lanes were is where we probably got a bit out of hand. Badboy bonnets! Haha.

I had a Mini with a B18C4 Vtec engine in the front, which back in the early 2000's was a killer, everyone has a 300bhp Golf now though and I wouldn't see where it had gone in all reality.

Way back in the day 400bhp and you didn't even have to try, nobody could touch you. Now you would be the runt of the litter!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45xygP3DP2I&ab...