Cape Town - The Red Bull Box Cart Race is back, and this year’s race will be taking place in Bo-Kaap – Cape Town’s most colourful and hilly neighbourhood.
“Red Bull Box Cart is a non-motorised race that challenges participants like no other,” said Takalani Simeli, spokesperson for Red Bull.
“Teams of all levels, from amateur to experienced, will put their driving and cart-making skills to the test as they aim to impress the judges on the day.”
According to the organisers, the event is meant to be an enjoyable day out for both participants and spectators, but there is clearly an element of risk involved in going downhill on a narrow winding road with a number of jumps and obstacles along the way.
The track includes chicanes set up for the race, as well as potholes and cobblestones which form part of the road infrastructure on Yusuf Drive in Bo-Kaap.
This year, 57 teams will be taking part in the 594m race.
Simeli said teams had spent the last six months building their box carts, which had to be out of the ordinary.
Judges will be looking for the creativity put into the project, as well as for “the outrageous, the preposterous, and the ostentatious”.
“Building the cart with the looming deadline of the Red Bull Box Cart Race fast approaching was a thrill,” said Antonio Pereira of BF Goodrrich.
“The effort that has gone into putting our ‘BF Goodrich Boxcart-O-Saurus’ together as a team is one we will never forget.”
Pereira said that bonding as a team had made for a great experience.
“The Red Bull Box Cart race is truly unique in the sense that it challenges amateurs to use their ingenuity to build a mobile box cart from scratch. The best part is that we will have the memory of building our Boxcart-O-Saurus cart together as a team for the rest of our lives,” said Pereira.
The first team to participate in the race will be Team Top Gear.
Papi Mabele of Team Top Gear also found that working together to build their box cart had brought the team closer together.
“It has also been most interesting, as this is most probably the longest period of time, on any consecutive days and weeks, that I have spent with my teammates,” said Mabele.
“We are all colleagues, but we usually see each other at work and call it a day. This has allowed us to spend a little bit more time together and see each other through those awkward and frustrating times when wires aren’t bending the way they’re supposed to, or when measurements are a few centimetres out of place.”
Mabele said that building the box cart was a case of making things that seemed far-fetched work.
“We had to take a step back and dumb things down a lot to make the most of literally nothing but a few scraps. There were so many aspects against us – time, weight, height and length restrictions – but we managed to make it work in our favour.”
The aim of the race is to make it to the finish line in the fastest time, which judges will consider alongside creativity and teamwork. Participants are required to cross the finish line in the vehicle.
Pereira and Mabele encouraged others to consider participating in future races.
“It is an amazing opportunity to test your own ingenuity but, more than that, to just have fun while being safe,” said Pereira.
Mabele said the race was an opportunity to showcase one’s skills, as well as to challenge and laugh at oneself.
The City of Cape Town has advised that some roads in Bo-Kaap will be accessible to residents only, while alternative parking has been arranged for those residents affected by road closures.
“We are looking forward to seeing thousands of spectators line up along the roads in the Bo-Kaap for this incredibly fun race,” said JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security.
Red Bull invites the whole family to come along and watch the race from 11am to 3pm tomorrow, November 6, in Bo-Kaap.
“The race will offer spectators an action-packed thrill as they get to witness carts going down the steep, sloping streets of the Bo-Kaap powered by nothing more than gravity and leg muscles,” said Simeli.