Soapbox Sadness

We were looking forward to the 1st Red Bull Soapbox Race held in Istanbul for weeks but today was such a disappointment. I don't want to bitch much about the poor management for spectatorship and organisation of the whole venue. The event location was at Maçka adjacent to the public park. There were just too many people, we couldn't enjoy the show properly :(

I was trying to squeeze my way through the front to catch a better glimpse while Tolga was busy sneezing from pollen-allergy. Disastrous. The weather became hotter, then in addiction to the pushing crowd and on top of that imagine we were stuck in the narrow, almost non-existent walkway for anyone to go down further the slope. The viewers are so damn stupid not to budge.

Here are some pictures I managed to take. I certainly hope they would do better next year (if it's gonna be an annual thing).

Hahahahaa see the sign? No engine!

The route - Buradasiniz is the starting point

People like us who came for this race plus the people in the park

I got a free flag!! ;)

The opening ceremony with what else but an original Red Bull Soapbox

I couldn't snap any pictures of the passing car..

Total failure, lost my mojo LOL

Hahahahahaaa it wasn't all that bad like it sounds. We were pretty contented to witness what a soapbox race is about. I imagined that street kids make carts out of unused boxes, then race amongst each other. I think it could be true, how else would this game come about? In this Red Bull-sponsored challenged, the rules (like most races) are as follows:

- The car must have no motor
- The car must have at least 4 wheels
- The car may have to have some type of brakes
- The driver must wear a helmet
- A push at the top is allowed for extra speed

I couldn't take pictures of each individual cars because of the limited space. I didn't want to plaster myself to the fences looking desperate like a jailbird. Most of the contestants were creative, came up with quirky and some hilarious themes. Before they plunge themselves down the slope, they have to make a short performance. Hehehee Turkish folks can be quite funny. Other carts were just too big to be manuveured, they went crashing into the haystack.

Best view No.1

Best view No.2

Even better view on the big screen :P

Then we found a nice spot near the starting point

At least we could see something happening.. soooo pathetic LOL

OooOoOooof.. either get to the venue early or never again!

Here's the link to a Turkish site if any of you are interested to see the race. Tolga and I are both quite traumatised by this event LOL