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fun started 15 years ago in Schuettorf,
a quiet town in the northern part of
Germany. As their now-infamous event
grew over the years, the Streetfighter crowd left
behind an increasing amount of scorched earth
in the fields that surround this biker-plagued rural
community. Five years ago, the ringleader Andy
Maetzig and his motley crew showed mercy on the
poor villagers and moved their traveling circus to
Altenberge. Despite being located even farther into
the remote hinterland of the Muensterland region,
their annual Showfighter Days has gained an evergrowing
number of devotees, making it arguably the
largest festival of its kind in the Germany.
The new host town embraces the event with the
whole community getting involved in the organisation
of the festival. For three days, the good people of
Altenberge go along for the ride when 5000 bikers
turn this otherwise quiet and peaceful village into a
bedlam of smoke, fire and noise. Unfortunately, the
weather gods weren't quite as co-operative this
year as the heavens opened and released a deluge
of rain over Altenberge and large parts of northern-
Europe. Just before the whole party turned into
a gigantic mudbath, local farmers saved the day
with truckloads of straw that were spread over the rain-soaked fields. With their bikes no longer at risk
of drowning in the pit of mud, people could focus
on the main attractions again - burnouts, spitting
fire, and other shenanigans. With the muddy fields
taken care of, bikers and organisers were happy.
Well, at least until the moment they discovered that
their burnout platform needed to be replaced after
only six hours of bike entertainment.
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rain-soaked fields. With their bikes no longer at risk
of drowning in the pit of mud, people could focus
on the main attractions again - burnouts, spitting
fire, and other shenanigans. With the muddy fields
taken care of, bikers and organisers were happy.
Well, at least until the moment they discovered that
their burnout platform needed to be replaced after
only six hours of bike entertainment.
One of the local organisers jerry-rigged an
extension for the bucket of his front-end loader and
welded a railing onto the two sides. As crazy as it
may seem, a burnout platform is mounted on the
bucket of the loader to support a bike and rider. The
daredevil gets the added thrill of burning rubber four
metres off the soggy ground. A second platform
was attached to a smaller tracked-loader to create
a two-storey burnout machine, allowing for even
more extreme stunting despite the sodden ground.
One diehard Streetfighter turned his head from
the complicated platforms and structures; he simply
used the soft ground to his advantage. With the
throttle and brake lever locked, he let his groundto-
ground missile dig itself into a proverbial hole.
Neither adverse weather nor global warming will
stop a true Streetfighter.
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For more information check out www.
showfighter.de
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