Motoring
How to drive a Red Bull Soapbox racer
We call on some of the fastest racing drivers and riders on the planet to clue us in on how to drive at Red Bull Soapbox Race.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that driving a Red Bull Soapbox Race craft is, to quote Buzz Lightyear, simply about ‘falling with style’. In fact, in a machine with zero horsepower and powered only by good old gravity, the driver and his inputs become key to getting a fast time down the hill.
So how should you drive a Red Bull Soapbox racer? To answer that question, we’ve pulled together a sort of crack A-Team of drivers and riders across a variety of disciplines to give us their insights. They are:
- Pierre Gasly – 2016 GP2 champion, Red Bull Racing test and reserve driver, Super Formula racer in Japan
- Andrew Jordan – 2013 British Touring Car champion, sometime World Rallycross Championship racer, 2017 Red Bull Soapbox Race London judge
- Ayrat Mardeev – 2015 Dakar Rally Truck class winner
- Sam Sunderland – KTM Factory rider and overall 2017 Dakar Rally winner
Here are those riders and drivers’ golden rules on how you should drive at Red Bull Soapbox Race…
1. Keep your speed up – and you don’t want no scrubs
When guiding your craft down the Red Bull Soapbox Race hill, you’ve got to choose your lines as carefully as an F1 driver negotiating the Maggots-Becketts complex at Silverstone. More carefully, in fact – you don’t have 750bhp sitting behind you!
“The racing line is highly important,” says Ayrat Mardeev. “Use the steering wheel of the kart lightly to control the rotation, because obviously it has no engine if you take off too much speed.”
It’s really easy to scrub speed by putting a lot of steering lock on
“You’ve got to think that it’s all momentum-based, and there are going to be obstacles that are going to slow you down,” agrees Andrew Jordan. “It’s really easy to scrub speed by putting a lot of steering lock on. So use minimum steering lock, take the tightest route and the shortest distance possible.”
Use minimum steering lock to avoid scrubbing speed
© BTCC
“Corner entry is the key to not scrubbing speed,” adds Sam Sunderland. “Try and look far ahead and take the straightest line possible.”
“It’s actually a tough challenge,” reckons Pierre Gasly. “But you’ve just got to try to be smooth, be gentle with the steering and not scrub any speed.”
Pierre Gasly knows the importance of momentum
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
2. Get off that start-line like you gotta bobsled team
As previously discussed, momentum is all you’ve got at Red Bull Soapbox Race. So make sure you and your team are busting out start practices like you’re in Cool Runnings ahead of the event, to help you get the highest speed possible off the line.
“You’ve got to get a good start and then keep your speed up,” says Sam Sunderland. “Then try and keep as straight as you can and not lose any momentum.”
“You need a good push-off initially,” agrees Andrew Jordan, “and then brake as little as possible. But it’s easy for me to say that because I’ll be stood at the side watching rather than driving the thing!”
"Look far ahead and take the straightest line"
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
3. Don’t attack the jumps, or they might attack you
Sending it over a jump like you’re the Robbie Maddison of soapbox racing might look good for the cameras and the punters. But time spent flying through the air could usually be better spent on the ground, keeping your speed up and pinging towards that finish line.
“Obviously with the jumps and the landings, a lot of the cars I’ve seen in previous years get into a bit of a wobble, which in turn scrubs speed,” says Andrew Jordan, who knows a thing or two about jumping from his World Rallycross Championship outings. “So it may actually be better to go a little bit steadier over the jumps, get back down on the ground again and keep going, rather than being stuck in mid-air having a moment.”
Sometimes you might need to brake a little bit before the jump
Ayrat Mardeev has also done a jump or two in his time – but reckons the principles of doing it in a soapbox racer are exactly the same as doing it in his 10-tonne KAMAZ truck.
“For jumps, the approach is crucial,” he says. “You need to understand the capabilities and performance of your soapbox. Sometimes you might need to brake a little bit before the jump. This is something we do on the Dakar as well.”
Ayrat will often dab the brakes before a jump
© Victor Engström/Red Bull Content Pool
But if you are going to launch it, at least make sure that your soapbox is up to the job…
“I think the most important thing is to keep the soapbox in one piece,” says Pierre Gasly. “Make a strong soapbox with good wheels and make it to the end – because that already is quite tough.”
And remember, if it does all go to poop, it’s just a laugh. Isn’t it?
“You do see some crazy rigs going down the hill, but I’d love to have a crack at it,” says Sam Sunderland. “It’s a cool project – you get together with some buddies, build something crazy and run it down the hill. Fun times!”