Red Bull Soapbox Race returns to Mumbai, with a display that’s bigger, better and more eccentric than ever
After spectacular runs and plenty of crashes down the steepest slope a Red Bull Soapbox Race has seen, team The Other Guys were declared winners
Mumbai, 13th November, 2016: On Sunday evening, the slopes of Powai were taken over by hippie tanks and bananas on wheels, zombies and Frankenstein’s monster, with residents of the usually serene locality witnessing a spectacle unmatched. The Red Bull Soapbox Race returned to Mumbai – after having made its debut in the city in Bandra in 2012 – taking over Supreme Business Park in Powai, and giving the thousands gathered the ultimate display of eccentricity combined with genius.
Over 40 participating teams took to the race track in an attempt to outperform each other, being judged and awarded points on the creativity of their soapboxes, showmanship and lap timings. While some made it to the finish line with apparent ease, others demonstrated the trickiness of steering a hand-built machine, minus an engine, down a steep and challenging slope by crashing most spectacularly. Emerging unharmed from the wreckage, the plucky pilots and their teams were awarded points nonetheless for their spirited display.
The race was flagged off by actor and bike-enthusiast John Abraham and Sonakshi Sinha who dropped by to promote their upcoming film Force 2, and from the get-go, hosts rapper Baba Sehgal, funnymen Cyrus Broacha and Jose Covavo and IPL host Rochelle Rao kept the audience hugely entertained with their banter.
The teams were judged by a panel comprising Red Bull BMX flatland athlete Viki Gomez, fellow Red Bull athletes badminton player Ashwini Ponnappa and climber Tuhin Satarkar, founder of Maker’s Asylum Vaibhav Chhabra, Indian kabbadi athlete Rishank Devadiga and actors Elli Avram and Arjan Bajwa. Teams The Other Guys, Kith and Kin and The Maratha Riders bagged the first, second and third places respectively. As a special recognition for their zany vehicle, Team Frakenwagen won the Audience Award. Each of the teams walked away with a gleaming trophy, some serious bragging rights and prizes from the partners of Red Bull Soapbox Race.
