Fire, Ash and Brimstone: An Icelandic Formula Offroad Racer

What comes to your mind when you think about motorsport? You might picture Formula 1, Indycar or even the World Rally Championship. But in Iceland, there’s a different kind of racing that steals the spotlight: Formula Offroad.

So what is it? In short; purpose-built machines blast up near-vertical sand hills, kicking up massive plumes of stone and volcanic ash and, sometimes, they flip backwards in spectacular fashion.

At the heart of it is Atli Jamil Ásgerisson, a 35 year old from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. I met Atli on the outskirts of his hometown, below a volcanic mountain range called Esjan, where I had the chance to photograph one of the wildest looking things on four wheels I have ever seen. 

Why was I here? Well as a kid, I would watch an old video cassette tape with the 1995 season of Icelandic motorsport. 7 categories were on the tape, but I got stuck on Formula Offroad. As far as I can remember, I watched that tape every day for a year until I actually went to my first race with my dad back in 1996.

This is baby me with eight-time world champion and six-time Icelandic champion Gísli Gunnar Jónsson and his Apple-sponsored Formula Offroad car. I don’t remember much from the event – after all I was only five years old at the time, but since I’d made this trip back to Iceland, that was the only time I’d ever seen these cars in the flesh. 

The tape forever changed my life and is the sole reason as to why I am into cars.

The year 1996 wasn’t just important to me but to Atli as well. This was the year that his father, Ásgeir Jamil Allansson, started competing with the family-run Jamil Racing Team. For Atli, Formula Offroad isn’t just a sport, it’s part of his DNA. Both his parents raced cars in the late 1990s. 

In Atli’s own words, “I’ve been around cars my whole life. Growing up in our family’s car parts business, driving was second nature. By the time I was a toddler, I was already behind the wheel.”

That may sound exaggerated, but I can assure you that in Scandinavia, it is not.

Atli has dipped his toes in other motorsports such as rally and drifting. I actually caught a glimpse of him at Gatebil this year in his Toyota GT86 drift car. However, nothing compared to the thrill of being behind the wheel of a Formula Offroad car and by 2015, Atli purchased his first hill-storming beast from Norway after being a service crew member two years prior.

“Those (other) sports are thrilling, but the raw intensity and technical challenge of Formula Offroad is unmatched,” Atli explains.

The cars are unlike anything you have seen before. They aren’t designed to go fast on flat surfaces, but are built for climbing near vertical slopes, undrivable terrain and sometimes, even skipping across lakes. Atli’s car is a perfect example of the sport’s engineering extremes.

A Chevrolet LS7 V8 from Mast Motorsport producing 750hp is paired with nitrous oxide that adds an additional 150-300hp depending on the setup. The transmission handling all that power is a BTE Powerglide unit, built to withstand up to 2000hp.

A custom tubular chassis was built in Sweden and imported to Iceland in 2021, while the suspension consists of12-inch Terrafirma triple bypass air shocks for tackling brutal impacts and maintaining control during climbs.

Some of the most important parts are the tires. In order for cars to actually make it up the vertical sand hills, they need to dig deep into the ground and they do so thanks to the 33.5-inch paddle tires, alternating between the Bigger Digger and Super Scooper models depending on the conditions. Both have excellent names.

There are a couple of classes in the sport. Without going into too much detail, Atli competes in the Unlimited class – which speaks for itself. Custom builds, extreme steering angles and insane power, those are all part of the fun.

There are no limits to creativity and engineering, unlike the Modified class which enforces stricter restrictions.

That doesn’t mean the sport is cheap, though. While sponsorships are present and help with the terms of cost, most teams like Jamil Racing are family-run operations and everyone chips in to help.

“It’s a big commitment. But once you’ve experienced it, there’s no going back.”

While some teams rebuild every season, Atli takes a more strategic approach, upgrading the car every now and then. For him, it’s not just about winning trophies, it’s about keeping family traditions alive.

Family traditions which include flying, because Atli’s dad decided to join our shoot not on the ground, but in the sky with his aeroplane.

The Jamil family breathe motorsport and as long as there are hills to climb, Atli and Jamil Racing will be right there kicking up ash and defying gravity.