Finally, it happened – Latvia welcomed its first Red Bull Soapbox, and exactly in the city of nine hills, Tulsi. One of the main streets of the city became a challenging track, where 45 teams started today – including six from Talsi.
The Lego men from the team “The Dream” or “Sapnis” happily danced before the start – they will go down in history as the very first to compete in the first Red Bull Soapbox competition in Latvia. But it is a unique adventure and a dream come true for more than 40 teams. One of the six teams of talsi players was still painting their bus at five in the morning before the competition. “I’ve always wanted to participate because it seems really fun and funny. In particular, I was also very excited about the big ramps and the big flyover located on the track. I hoped that I would get down, finish – that was my main goal,” says Imants Ratnieks, a member of the “Labrīt” team.
The flywheel could not exceed 80 kilograms, so the team “Labrít” lost its roof before the competition. Drivers had to try to please the jury not only with their speed, but also with their performance on the starting field and car design. One of the members of the jury was also the sailor Intars Busulis, and the home team was also represented by the teams of several companies. “Vika Wood” SIA, about which legends circulated in the city for a while, kept the secrecy until the last moment – whether they would participate or not. “The name of the team is bark beetles… There are three bark beetles and I am a lumberjack. There will be a fierce battle to save the tree. There is no fear for now. For the time being! We will see that when we get on the ramp,” said Artūrs, the pilot of the SIA “Vika Wood” team, before the start.
Talsi wanted to host the crazy competition to promote the city’s festivities, which were held in parallel. And they were not wrong – the organizers predicted in advance that around 50,000 people would come. Literally every free centimeter was occupied, some could watch only on the big screen, others gave up their hopes before even reaching the track. But the crazy, original and creative competition was exciting. The team “We – Talsiem und novadam” was one of the first to start. Their car was built on the basis of a used boba. “Damn impressive! So many people have come! The trip didn’t go well, but everyone got to wave, so it was a great event! I made it to the finish, but after the second springboard I ran into the wall, but nothing to do. We have reached the finish line. This is, if not the most impressive thing I’ve ever done, then it’s definitely top 5,” shared Lauris Eglītis, pilot of the “We – Talsiem und novadam” team after the trip.
“Voka racing” dazzled the jury by literally building their car in front of them in seconds. But the “Brabantia” team went down like rockets with their ironing board, and at that time finished as one of the leaders of the competition. “I didn’t really think it would be this good, but it was!” Jānis Papēdis, pilot of the “Brabantia” team, after the trip. “We ran along because we thought we would have to push somewhere, but it really went like a rocket! We didn’t get along. So we had a little sprint. But Jānis malacis – great! The training is good,” says Jānis Freibergs, a member of the Brabantia team.
Although the biggest challenge was for those who sat behind the wheel, from the outside it looked like the rest of the team members had to sweat hard as well, who had to run the 500-meter long track in a flash to help a vehicle that got stuck at certain moments. “But maybe in some sense we give some energy to that ironing board, because the runners along, I think, miraculously help him roll better. It helped us in every way,” said Jānis Freibergs.
The Red Bull Soapbox Race was first held in Belgium in 2000 and has since gained great popularity around the world. In total, more than 100 competitions have been held in various countries, including Australia, America and Japan.
Photo by Edgars Lācis.
The material was created with the funding of the Media Support Fund from the funds of the Latvian state budget. SIA “TV9 Pakalni” is responsible for the content.
2024-07-09 14:32:58