Want to feel the adrenaline and rocket along the beach at dizzy speeds in you buggy or on your landboard? Once you got your kite skills sorted you may want to progress into one of the many traction kiting sports that are practiced today. One of these sports is kite buggy riding. Kitebuggying is quite easy to get into, all it requires is some level of kite flying skills and a proper understanding of the wind. Kitebuggying is easier to get into than say kite landboarding as one doesn’t need to balance or have any prior board skills. Once you master the basic kite skills and understand the dynamics of kite flying it is surprisingly easy to sit down in a buggy and go for a ride.
Kitebuggying can be divided in three disciplines. The first we’ll call freeride and this discipline covers what most recreational buggy pilots do: it’s all about cruising and having fun. For the more serious pilots there are two more disciplines that require practice and perseverance. The first and most common is buggy racing where it is all about speed and who gets round a set course the quickest. And there is the most extreme form of buggying called freestyle. Freestyle buggying often involves people strapping themselves to their buggy and performing jumps and even combining their jumps with aerial tricks.
The two main disciplines in buggy riding are race and freestyle.
Buggy racing
Racing on a competition level has the larger number of riders and is done in groups of up to 80 riders at once. Buggy races are mostly organized by the hosting countries’ national buggy club/federation. Racers have to adhere to specific rules and regulations, best to be compared to yachting regulations.
Most countries that have official buggy federations also demand the riders to take an exam where they have to show a set amount of skills. After passing, riders will be granted a licence and a (country specific) racing number which they must have visible on their buggy and which is also recognized internationally as indication that the rider is certified and registered.
There are several cups and classes, often country specific.
Most European countries have the following racing classes;
Open class – Intermediate level
Master Class – Professional level
Separate from these there are also women and kids classes. In countries like Germany, that have extremely many riders, there is also a Club class.
Buggy freeride/freestyle
Freestyle is quite a broad description as there are many riders practicing different ‘freestyle’ disciplines. Most common is the flatland variation where riders are often balancing on two wheels, riding backwards (even on two wheels) or perform 180°s, 360°s or more sliding turns. The more extreme variety of the sport is buggy jumping. Here one needs to strap into the buggy, often done with a belt connected to the side frame.
More advanced riders can go as high as 10 ft or more and even perform aerial tricks such as rotations, sidewinders, tombstones or inverts.
It goes without saying that buggy jumping can be extremely dangerous and riders that practice this type of buggy freestyle should always be wearing maximum protection gear; helmet, back-protector, knee, shoulder & elbow pads as well as shin- and forearm protection and crash pants.
At Peter Lynn we love all disciplines, we have products for all and support team riders, events and each kite community out there!
