Crash Bang Wallop, What a Soap Box Derby!

Thousands flocked to Hunstanton for the traditional Soap Box Derby on Sunday, 22nd September.

There were certainly spills, thrills and razzmatazz as the contrasting weather conditions meant a day of exciting racing lay ahead with dry conditions for the morning run and wet conditions for the second afternoon run.

Nearly 60 teams put their hand built karts to the test down the 500m course, some built months, even years, in advance, whilst others were, plainly, put together at the last moment. But that’s part of the fun as the course is ultimately a leveller, to some extent. A tight bend to deal with at the start, followed by the choice of a jump or chicane, with a tricky turn into the finish, putting, not only the most experienced driver to the test, but the quality of kart too.

Wheels fell off, in fact a lot of things fell off, thank goodness for the bales of hay that prevented harm to the spectators (and, to be fair, the drivers), as the afternoon’s wet conditions created mayhem. Fortunately there were no serious injuries, although a lot of the karts will now, unfortunately, be off to the breaker’s yard.

Dave Curtis’s dream is over for another year

Veteran driver, local man Dave Curtis, 78, was aiming to break his duck and win the event. His first run looked to be on course to lead the field, until he struck a bale on the chicane. Should have gone for the jump. His second run fell foul of the wet conditions as he slid to a halt on the run in. Better luck next year Dave.

Shoreline Bathrooms come a cropper on the chicane first time round

With the deliberation of having to choose between the jump or chicane half way down proving crucial to race times, many made the wrong choice, much to the delight of the crowd !

Frank Hartnell, who arranged the inaugural event in 1953 by challenging the children of St. Christopher’s Children’s Home to build and race their karts along the streets of Hunstanton, would have been both amazed and gobsmacked at the same time with the turnout and popularity of the event nowadays which he had, basically, thought up on a whim.

Soapbox racing is a form of gravity racing where motorless vehicles are propelled down a hill, preferably as fast as possible, depending on your agenda of course. How hard the push is at the start can be crucial but so is driver capability and the aero dynamics of the soapbox, with the creativity applied to some designs incredibly advanced, and some karts hurtling down the course and reaching speeds nearing 30mph.

Local MP James Wild in a tight corner (Birkin's Boys)

It is all about the taking the part that counts. Of course it is. Not going by some of the facial expressions of the racers as they hurtled down the course it wasn’t - although these may have been mistaken for looks of fear. Nearly 60 racers took part in the main, veterans and junior events, with ages ranging from 11 to 78. In the end, Team Apex Legend de-throned Birkin’s Boys to win the coveted title, with a time of 30 seconds, pushing Team Eggy into second place. Nutty’s Speed Shop won the veteran’s division, whilst Ram Racing and Team Devil Juniors from Clacton-on-Sea won the u16’s and u13’s events respectively.

Winner, Michael Andrew with Borough Mayor Paul Bland

Winner, Michael Andrew from Stoke Ferry, was gobsmacked with his victory. Having been a late replacement for previous winner Ed Neapolitano, he said a crash at 50mph last month and a puncture en route nearly scuppered his plans to even attend. But he made it. The 45 year old said, “thanks must go to my two young assistants, stepson Mason West and son Harvey, it was an amazing day with great camaraderie between the teams. I will most definitely be back to defend my title next year”.

Whilst thanks must go to all the volunteers and sponsors who help organise the event, there was a poignancy to the day as race coordinator, Roger Partridge, who has been involved in running the Derby on behalf of the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk for the past six years and has been integral in organising the race since 2018, stood down from his role this year. He capped the end of his tenure with the final run down the course much to the delight of the crowd.

Roger Partridge's grand finale