This page is a small overview of the different soapboxes build.
Soapbox racing or gravity racing came about in 1933, when American newsman Myron E Scott encountered three boys racing home-made carts down a back street in Dayton, Ohio. He was grabbed by the potential of this amusing spectacle, and arranged a coasting race for the boys, their friends and a motley collection of machines made from orange crates, tin sheets, buggy wheels and other 'junk'. This he christened The Soapbox Derby.
The principles are quite commonon all over the world;
- The car must have no motor
- The car must have at least 3 or 4 wheels
- The car must have some type of brakes
- The driver must wear a helmet
In the first years our attention went to the small 'kermis-races' but in the end, we are now one of the topteams in the european field, competing in races all over Europe. A link tot the official European commitee for soapbox racing is; http://www.speeddown-ceccas.com/ (french site)
If you want to build a soapbox, I wrote a few years ago a paper in Dutch with the basic principels behind soapbox design, and how to create a few things. It is a Word doc.
Officially the team I'm participating in is; DaGaNi Racing. A long history is living with this name, but in a brief the team's history existed of a period of 'childish'-soapboxes till 2004 and after that the 'serious' stuff began.
2000 2004 (Soapbox 1)
2001 2005 (Soapbox 2)
2002 2006 (Soapbox 3)
2003 2007 (Soapbox 4)
