---
title: "Police Seize New Holland Tractor Caught Street Racing Against Motorcycles"
description: "A farmer in England took the phrase run what you brung to new heights last week when police busted him drag racing in his New Holland T6.175 tractor."
date: "2019-02-22"
modified: "2019-02-22"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/26593/police-seize-new-holland-tractor-caught-street-racing-against-motorcycles"
categories:
  - "Motorcycles"
  - "News"
  - "The Garage"
---

# Police Seize New Holland Tractor Caught Street Racing Against Motorcycles

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2019/02/tractor-drag-race.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

A farmer in England [took the phrase *run what you brung*](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/11325/watch-these-amateurs-run-what-they-brung-in-a-bunch-of-pickup-trucks>) to new heights recently when police busted him drag racing his New Holland T6.175 tractor against a group of motorcycles near the small town of Amesbury last week. No word on the outcome of the race, but chances are the unfortunate driver lost in more ways than one that night.

Amesbury Police [tweeted out a picture](<https://twitter.com/AmesburyCPT/status/1096647946383298560>) of the blue New Holland tractor with a giant sticker reading "Seized by Police" slapped across the side window. The tweet says the department received multiple reports about a street race between a tractor and several motorcycles on a public road and arrived on scene to stop the show. The motorcyclists escaped, but officers were able to detain the farmer since, you know, [he was driving a tractor.](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/19571/top-gear-set-a-guinness-world-record-for-the-fastest-tractor-on-the-planet>)

https://twitter.com/_/status/1096647946383298560

Depending on which transmission is equipped, [the 175-horsepower New Holland T6.175](<https://agriculture.newholland.com/eu/en-uk/about-us/whats-on/news-events/2017/t6-dynamic-command>) has a stated top speed of around 30 mph and up to 24 forward gears (really 8 speeds spread across low, mid, and high ranges) for efficient acceleration. That's impressive for an 11,000-pound farm implement—less so in the high-stakes world of drag racing.

Since police didn't actually catch the tortoise-and-hares group in the act, Officers impounded the tractor when the unnamed driver failed to produce insurance paperwork for the vehicle. He was also given a ticket for the contents of the New Holland's fuel tank: red diesel, which is purchased at a lower tax rate in the UK for farming, construction, or certain marine purposes. Using it in a road vehicle, or for drag racing on a road in a farm vehicle, is akin to tax evasion.

That's a heap of trouble for what couldn't have been a very exciting time. We at *The Drive* fully endorse [unconventional drag races](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/26507/hennessey-tuned-lincoln-navigator-drag-races-bone-stock-navigator-navigator-wins>)—provided they're taking place in a legal environment.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)