Motorsport has existed almost as long as cars themselves. It comes in all sorts of forms—there are rallies, circuit races, and even big smoky burnout competitions. China has never been a big innovator in this space, but I think that might be about to change. That’s because a new Chinese motorsport has been appearing all over social media this week.
The concept is simple, yet brilliant. Dig a big, conical pit. Line it with concrete. Fill it with slippery, foamy water. Competitors are then challenged to drive into the pit and attempt to make their way out. All manner of carnage then ensues. Vehicles slip, they slide, and occasionally over-rev to the point of major engine damage. I even spotted one glorious example of a G-Class ripping itself to bits in a desperate attempt to exit.
I don’t know what you even call this. The pit of without grip? Foamplay? Scrubba-dubba-don’t? It’s times like these I really wish I could speak and read Chinese.
This is great stuff. 18 minutes of low-grip glory.
Thanks to the segregation between Chinese and Western social media, it’s difficult to parse out many details on this sport. My research indicates it’s a relatively new phenomenon—videos popping up across Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube have all been posted in the last few weeks.
Most videos appear to have been shot at an off-road show in Shanxi Province, China. The pit itself is referred to as the Shanxi Cornucopia by YouTube channel Tank Firing Gameplay, which has posted a number of videos from the colorful and eye-catching foam crater.
The infuriating thing is that everyone shooting this event apparently felt the need to use vertical video.Â
The English narrator called this the Scrubbing Pan Off-Road Show in Shanxi China. I don’t think that’s what it was really called.
Escaping the pit is difficult by design. The foamy, soapy water massively reduces traction, meaning it’s very difficult to simply drive up the steep sides of the pit. After failing the easy route out, most drivers instead attempt to round the pit in circles of ever-increasing diameter, slowly climbing the walls. This can go amusingly wrong when the driver loses traction at high speed.
Many videos cut off before success. One presumes some drivers fail to exit and end up having to be towed out in disgrace.
Risks to the vehicle are numerous. Beyond crashing, there’s also a serious risk of hydrolocking your engine when driving through the water, particularly at speed. Overrevving the engine and causing damage is also plausible if one isn’t careful. Since escaping the pit usually requires high speeds, it can be difficult for drivers to stop before hitting barriers outside the pit, too.
What’s great is that vehicles of all types get involved. Videos show everything from chunky SUVs to tiny microcars getting in the pit. I’ve even seen at least one example of a semi-truck going down to taste the foam, too.
There is also a further enticing twist on this spot. There is apparently a version played in a muddy pit instead of a foamy one. YouTube videos showing this raucous variation appear to have been shot in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province. Given Wuhan’s enduring notoriety for other reasons, it might be hoped that the mud pit antics make it well known for new reasons.
After four minutes in the pit, this driver figures out the trick—driving in circles to get out. They make it over the lip of the pit… only to hit a dirt berm and slide straight back into the depths. It’s great stuff.
View this post on Instagram
Some drivers get out by going backwards.
Finding these videos is easy enough. You can just search “china foam pit” or similar terms. In the meantime, I’m just gonna call it foampittery until the Chinese government (or a dual-language speaker) advises me of a more realistic English term.
I don’t believe the sport of foampittery is officially sanctioned by the FIA or any other major governing body (I didn’t bother to query them as they don’t appreciate silly questions). This is more like Australia’s informal burnout contests, or the massed Altima racing of the United States.
This video notes the existence of mud pits in Chongqing and Guizhou. It may be that the muddy version of this sport existed prior to the concrete-and-foam variant.Â
I reckon it’s a new grassroots motorsport China can be proud of, and perhaps even export to the world. Given how popular it’s been on social media this week, expect to see this at every mudboggin’ off-road show in years to come.
Image credits: My Country Life via YouTube screenshot, Tank Firing Gameplay via YouTube screenshot
I would pay real money to see a couple of cyber trucks duke it out in one of these competitions.
Where do I sign up as a participant
“Scrubbing pan” = ‘scrubbing the wok’, as in soaping up a shallow bowl shaped thing and then spongeing it.
Can the new Range Rover Calligraphy Scrub the Wok™?
“I even spotted one glorious example of a G-Class ripping itself to bits in a desperate attempt to exit.”
someone absolutely got broadsided by that at the beginning of this clip.
Tank Firing Gameplay is exactly what I thought it would be, which was nothing like what I hoped it would be.
Ship the Murano to China and send it!
Finally! A good use for a Shitbox Showdown loser!
I didn’t remember seeing this in your last article about the Chinese SUV. Which day of the press loaner did you do this on?
Foam Around and Find Out in our 200-foot pit, Euclideeeeez Nuts!
It’s Malestromfest featuring DJ TiĂ«rod and the Chaintowers, with special guest deadmouse. No, seriously, a lot of small creatures drown in this thing and we’re gonna need a little cleanup help.
The foam version needs a DJ, lighting and recreational substances to make it a proper automotive rave.
youre assuming these cars arent pimped out on the inside with RGB lights and woofers
Uh… does that last vid embedded show someone getting run over? Quite a thing to see on my lunch break!
I guess both things can be true, but as a spectator I’d just as soon not be standing next to the pit when something comes flying out at 50 mph. The overhead shot gave me flashbacks to pictures of sideshows where morons stand around someone operating a vehicle on the edge of control.
Worryworting aside though, this does seem like a lot of fun. I’m far more likely to watch an FIA foam pit championship than F1. 🙂
2 men enter, one man leaves.
When I said that everyone involved with street takeovers and sideshows ought to be thrown into a pit, this wasn’t what I meant.
When you just knocked it out with the side chick and her husband pulls up in the driveway.
What’s old is new again. Check out the Auto Wash Bowl from 1924: Ask Geoffrey | Chicago News | WTTW
“The nearly 80-foot-wide, ridged concrete bowl was about 16 inches at its deepest point in the center. Customers paid 25 cents to an attendant who strapped a protective rubber cover over the radiator. Patrons would then enter the bowl via a ramp and drive their cars around and around the bowl at a speed of about 10 miles per hour. The ridges in the concrete would vibrate the car and the water, creating a sloshing action that helped wash away all the mud from the chassis and wheels.”
Immediately what came to mind when I saw the lead image.
Love the cover photo! It looks like a Baojun Yep! I’m into these in the same way that Miss Mercedes likes smart cars.