Victory for Houdini coffin as thousands watch wacky Red Bull Soapbox race at London's Alexandra Palace

William Mata
·2-min read
Victory for Houdini coffin as thousands watch wacky Red Bull Soapbox race at London's Alexandra Palace

A coffin-shaped contraption paying homage to the great Harry Houdini escaped with top honours at Sunday's Red Bull Soapbox Race, outpacing 58 other wacky entries at Alexandra Palace.

Thousands of sun-soaked spectators packed the grounds to witness the return of the barmy event to British soil, following last year's Georgian jaunt to Tbilisi.

The global competition challenges teams to cobble together the most outlandish gravity-powered vehicles imaginable, before hurtling them down a treacherous hill.

Among the eye-catching creations careening (or crumbling) their way downslope were nods to pop culture icons, including the magical mayhem of Harry Potter's Knight Bus and the beloved Simpson family sofa.

The Hurry Houdinis pose for a portrait after winning the Red Bull Soapbox Race (Red Bull)
The Hurry Houdinis pose for a portrait after winning the Red Bull Soapbox Race (Red Bull)

Teams were given a mark out of 40 for their creativity and the overall winner was decided based on this and the time clocked down the 420m course.

The Hurry Houdini team, from London, were crowned this year’s winners and said “a lifetime of preparation” had gone into the race, adding they “will be back to defend the title”.

“We can’t believe we have actually won,” team member Grace Pappas said.

“When we arrived and saw all the other carts, we thought we would have been lucky to get in the top one or two.

“The quality of the other carts were so high. It has been a mental couple of days. The wheel hubs arrived yesterday so it was really down to the wire if we could go or not.”

The ‘Harry Crane’ was another top entrant (Red Bull)
The ‘Harry Crane’ was another top entrant (Red Bull)

Down the course, the soapboxes had to negotiate four jumps, provided by sponsors, as well as a cannon of foam.

The judging panel was made up of Red Bull athlete and freestyle skier, Kirsty Muir; former The Traitors contestant and BMX star, Matt Harris; professional mountain bike rider, Jono Jones; and fitness and lifestyle creator Esme Gummer.

Ms Pappas added: “It felt electric to win. A lifetime of preparation has gone into this moment now. We will be back to defend the title with a few tricks up our sleeves to make it bigger and better for the next race.”

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