After months of building and planning, a group of friends from West Bridgford took part in the Red Bull Soapbox race at Alexandra Palace in London on the 3rd July 2022.
After competing in the race in 2019 (with a soapbox called Defender which was themed around an arcade game console) the team, which consisted of James, Jeff, Paddy, Becky & Kate decided that the challenge would be a perfect distraction and something to focus on during the COVID-19 pandemic and also to bring them together as a team.
Competing with their ‘Hook a duck’ themed entry (named ‘Ay Up Me Duck’) and led by driver James, the soapbox raced down the slope to finish 28th out of the 69 other competitors.
James quoted – “We took to the course like ducks to water and would have gone faster if we hadn’t dropped a few of them off for a water bath!”
The ‘hook a duck’ idea came to team member Becky in a dream and it allowed them to be bright, creative and fun whilst representing Nottingham.
It was a real team effort from start to finish with James teaching himself to weld, Becky’s Mum sewing the canopy and everyone helping to test drive the soapbox and choreograph the dance. The costumes had a little help from local business Mad Dog Sports who printed and supplied the t-shirts.
The team are already thinking about entering in 2023 and what their theme could be!
The race was televised on Monday 29th August and if you want to watch their race, please visit: https://youtu.be/ns02xenzYIU
