The huge new event is expected to attract thousands
James, the driver of what will be a fully-decorated birthday cake from Bristol firm Amalgam, celebrating their 40th birthday(Image: Bristol Post)
The 40 makeshift go-karts that will soon be taking part in Bristol’s first ever huge Krazy Races soap box event went through their first check-ins today at Ashton Gate Stadium, as organisers met the entrants for the first time. The event is expected to attract thousands of spectators to Victoria Park in a couple of weeks, to watch the elaborately-decorated contraptions navigate their way down a course through the middle of the park.
Krazy Races have been running soap box derby events around the country for years, with thousands filling town and city centres in the north and the Midlands every month, but this is the first time any event of its kind will be put on in Bristol.
Local businesses, groups of friends and madcap engineers have been busy creating carts to tackle the Victoria Park course, and this afternoon (Wednesday) they checked in for the first time. Almost all of the carts weren’t finished just yet, but the basic machines were weighed and safety was checked, with teams having just over a fortnight left to add the colourful decorations.
The event will take place on Sunday, September 7 all day in Victoria Park, with live music, loads of stalls and street food, as well as the racing. All 40 entries will be judged on their pre-race show, as well as the designs of their machines, and of course the speed with which they navigate the course. None of them can be pedal-powered, all have to rely – like all home-made go-karts should – on gravity and a bit of a push at the start.
Danny Scoffin, from Krazy Races, said the Bristol day would be a huge event for the city. “Today is a really exciting day because it is the first time we’re meeting our amazing teams,” he said. “They’ve entered since way back in September last year and today’s the first day we’re actually seeing them,” he explained.
“We’re doing different things – testing the weight and the brakes of the soap box, just to make sure they are safe and race-ready and ready to go on the day. We’re the UK’s largest touring soap box derby event, and Bristol’s the end of our season. We’ve done amazing events all across the UK this year with thousands of people coming out and seeing some incredible teams.
“We’ll be in Victoria Park, we’ve got live music, amazing street food from all across Bristol, and it’s going to be a great, family fun atmosphere. Lots of fun, lots of dancing, lots of silliness, and lots of craziness,” he added.
Images from a Krazy Races soap box derby. The event is coming to Bristol for the first time in September(Image: Krazy Races)
Most of the entries weren’t quite the finished article yet, including a giant birthday cake soap box cart entry from Bristol company Amalgam, which is based in Lawrence Hill and provides models, installations and industrial prototypes for a huge range of different clients.
The company is celebrating its 40th birthday this year, so has entered a cake, with a courageously small opening at the front to allow the driver, James, to see out. Chris Conlon, from Amalgam, said the idea was to use the same principle as blinkers on a racehorse, to stop their driver from being distracted by the crowds on either side.
READ MORE: More than 40 teams to take part in Bristol’s first Krazy Races soapbox derbyREAD MORE: Huge Soap Box Derby event coming to Bristol this year
“It’s been six months in the planning, but we managed to get our hands on a chassis and only in the last three or four weeks we’ve been able to do the last few finishing touches and create the final piece of cake,” said Chris.
“We managed the test the rolling chassis around the workshop, it’s been a few tests on the flat, so the downhill element will be a first. Keeping with the birthday theme, there’s going to be a bit of a party at the start of the run before we send James down the hill.”
The Krazy Races event is a big fundraiser for local charities wherever it goes, and Bristol’s has partnered with a number of charities after a public vote earlier this year. One of those chosen is Many Minds, a Bristol-based charity which uses art and creativity to support people with mental health issues.
Images from a Krazy Races soap box derby. The event is coming to Bristol for the first time in September(Image: Krazy Races)
They are entering two contraptions, with their members getting stuck into creating the carts. One is a three-wheeler machine – a bike trailer mashed with the front of a bike to give a distinctly retro Chopper bike feel – while the other is a more standard four-wheel affair made from a pull along trolley.
Co-founders of the charity, executive director Olivia Ware and artistic director Viki Browne, said they had a lot of work to do to create what will be a colourful entry, but they had brought the basic kart frames along for the testing day.
“They are definitely not finished – a work in progress. There’s still a lot of decoration to go into this. The idea behind us having a couple of teams is that our members can get involved. We have over 200 members that engage with us to make performance. This is a good opportunity for our members to get involved. It’s about having a bit of fun and get involved,” said Olivia.
As the partner charity, the group from Many Minds are also going to provide the performers for the opening ceremony, and Viki said they probably have more chance of victory in the performance categories rather than the race itself.
“I think the best chance we have is the 15-20 second performance at the top of the track, so that’s going to be really our area,” she said. “We’re also opening the whole event, which is going to go down the track and engage with the audience,” she added.
Competitors at Bristol’s first Krazy Races soap box derby event, which is to take place at Victoria Park on September 7, 2025, bring their unfinished contraptions to Ashton Gate for initial safety checks, August 20, two and a half weeks before the event. – The Turbo Islanders with their as-yet-unfinished entry that will include a fire and a boombox when it’s completed.(Image: Bristol Post)
There will be a distinctly Bristol theme to many of the entries, including one from a group of friends – Adam, Ross and Paddy – who have called their entry the Turbo Islanders. Two of them will be sitting on a two-seat sofa with a ‘fire’ and a boombox at the front, as a celebration of Stokes Croft’s iconic unofficial party area.
“It’s inspired by Turbo Island, the iconic spot in Bristol, where people like to relax, sit by a fire which is yet to be constructed and just have a good time, really,” said Paddy.
The Krazy Races event takes place at Victoria Park all day on Sunday, September 7.