In early 2016, two friends nattering in “The Wheatsheaf” thought, ‘We should build karts and have a race’. From then it became an obsession.
Soon one of those friends took the idea to the Parish Council. Some were sceptical, but it was adopted as an event nonetheless.
No-one realised how much needed to be sorted out: road closure, safety of the drivers and spectators, insurance, PA system, timing, start and finish points, barriers, cones, sponsorship, entry fees, advertising, website, hedge cutting, straw bales, grandstand, refreshments, awards, competition categories, marshals; the list seemed endless.
But with the efforts of a number of the Parish Councillors we managed to bring together a reasonably competent-looking event. No-one was hurt (only a few dented egos), the sun shone and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
The “Fastest” and “Furthest” awards were both won by Denzil Brunning, who successfully steered “Bluebottle Buzzin” to victory in that first event (he did the same the following year too). Others just didn’t seem to be able to compete at the same level.
Although the field was filled with 15 karts, we still managed to get most of them down the hill three times, only one gave up after failing to reach the finish line on the practice run.
Spectators turned up in numbers that far exceeded the organisers’ expectations. Was the event a hit? Yes, it certainly was.

And so we went on to the 2017 races, and yet again Denzil dominated the awards ceremony, he was still in exactly the same kart, it steered backwards (i.e steer left and the kart will turn right), many others had rebuilt or modified their karts, but still none could get close to “Bluebottle Buzzin”.
In 2018 “Bluebottle Buzzin” took a break, so “Acceleramus” from London entered and took the glory, while still not beating the “Bluebottle Buzzin” times.
The races developed tremendously over the first four years and we now have a much improved plan of what to do. We refined the event, now including a drinks bar, a food station and an ice cream van. Even a bouncy castle to keep the tiny ones entertained in was added in 2019.
The event has generated a party atmosphere, and even the rain in 2018 didn’t dampen spirits.

So, then we were forced to take a break for two years.

Will we be back? The demands from the locals for it to return have been clear and loud. So, YES we will be back in August 2022. On Sunday 28^th of August (bank holiday weekend), we will again run the Badsey Soapbox Races.

First run will be at midday, again rolling down Knowle Hill towards Badsey. Winner is the fastest to the finish line on the bridge.

We hope that you will join us. Perhaps you will even enter a kart! Take a look at the boring safety details in the link below, but the aim is to have fun, build a fantastic fast contraption.

A clue on how to win: Steering is key!