Hill jumping

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A Peugeot 206 WRC yumping and landing one wheel at a time
A Peugeot 206 WRC yumping and landing one wheel at a time

Hill jumping (also known as ramping) is an activity that involves driving an automobile at high speeds up a hill in an attempt to get the car airborne at the hill's crest. In automobile rallying culture, a hill jump may be called a yump, and is sometimes referred to as such in official literature.The origin of the word yump is most likely a mispronunciation of the English word jump by speakers of languages such as Swedish that pronounce the letter J with the sound of the English letter Y.[citation needed]

Hill jumping is popular in rallying. Many rally cars have upgraded tires, rims, suspension, and frames that can more safely survive the stress of landing. Hills where cars may become airborne are popular spectator vantage points at rallies. In rallying, the driver usually gives the steering wheel a small flick as the car leaves the ground. This makes the car lean to one side, as if it were about to start turning. The result is that the car does not fly straight in the air, but rather is higher on one side than the other. The reason for this technique is to reduce the shock on the suspension components and axles when landing. A car coming down on one front wheel and then the other transfers the landing force better than one that lands on both front wheels simultaneously.[citation needed]

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