The monster of all motor shows, Monster Jam arrived at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday for an afternoon of thrills, spills and audience shrills. As trucks with oversized wheels took on a variety of stunts, back flips and leaps, an audience of thrill-seeking fans showed their appreciation with cheers, applause and a blaring of horns.
In recent years, Monster Jam has quickly become a fun for all the family event. That was in evidence on Saturday as the buzz in Cardiff City Centre and a procession of crowds walking up to the Principality Stadium came alive with an air of excitement.
The show commenced with a set of skill challenges involving the customised 10,000 pound machines takiing on each other, while at the same time testing their strength on obstacles and frames of old cars. With a phenemonal roar and a smell of burning engines, Monster Energy, Zombie and Scooby Doo, all fitted with 66″ Terra tyres, took on their customised BKT tyre counterparts Dragon, Megalodon, El Toro Loco, Max-D, Monster Mutt Dalmation, Grave Digger and Earth Shaker.
Monster Jam action at Cardiff’s Principallity Stadium Photo: Rachel Howells
The trucks, it appeared had their own larger than life characters. Scooby Doo did seem to resemble the animated pooch, while Dragon breathed fire from its engine. Megaladon looked like a shark on wheels, Max-D looked like it was up for maximum destruction, while Earth Shaker resembled a juggernaut and seemed to fight off the opposition with ease.
Of course, the thrills of Monster Jam weren’t just down to the trucks, but also the drivers behind the wheels.
Todd Leduc, (Monster Energy) , Alx Danielsson (Zombie), Jon Zimmer (Dragon), Alex Blackwell (Megaladon), Marc McDonald (El Toro Loco), Neil Elliott (Max-D), Candice Jolly (Monster Mutt Dalmation), Linsey Read (Scooby Doo), Morgan Kane (Grave Digger) and Peter Nyman (Earth Shaker) are all highly trained athletes who know how to push their vehicles to the limits.
The same could also be said for the talented team of stunt motor cyclists who appeared to acrobat through the air on their motor machines that kicked off the second half. Their tricks and skills amazed everybody and certainly made me sit on the edge of my seat with wonder.
A Freestyle competition of which the trucks were challenged to display their maximum strength and power via a variety of skills followed. This time the competition was stepped up , featuring back flips, driving on two wheels and even driving in an upright position. The challenge appeared to be too much for Earth Shaker which literally shook down to its bare nuts and bolts in some places during its final descent.
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Monster Jam was undoubtedly a great afternoon of fun for the family and with a promised return for May 2019 to Cardiff, it would be advisable to make a date in your diary as early as possible to see this action-packed show.