(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Forty-eight teams for the Red Bull Soapbox Race, a unique non-motorised racing event, assembled at the Crowne Plaza Muscat on Sunday to collect application kits that contained tools to make soapboxes.
Forty-eight teams for the Red Bull Soapbox Race, a unique non-motorised racing event, assembled at the Crowne Plaza Muscat on Sunday to collect application kits that contained tools to make soapboxes.
To be held on March 28, in the city, this is the first time the race is being held in the Middle East.
An organiser of the event said, ''Each team can have a maximum of four members, who are at least 16 years old. The racing machine must not exceed a maximum of 1.80m in width, 3.65m in length, should be at least 18cm from the ground and no taller than 2.10m in height. The teams will be judged on speed, creativity and showmanship.''
He added that soapboxes must be powered by the force of gravity and no stored or external energy sources are allowed.
Mohammad Habib, a participant from Higher College of Technology, said, ''Our soapbox is almost ready. We are a team of four friends and want to give it our best.''
Habib added that it took his team more than a month to conceptualise the idea, and their engineering background helped them construct the soapbox with ease. ''The basic model is ready. We are optimistic about the races outcome,'' he said.
Kishore Singh, head, Hospitality and Retail Division of Fadhil and George and Partners Restaurant said, ''Our design is a unique one. We have named our soapbox 360.''
An official at Red Bull, Oman, said, ''Home-made soapboxes fuelled by nothing but sheer courage and gravity, will hurl themselves down a quarter-mile-long downhill racing course in Muscat. The country has the perfect terrain to host such an event as compared to other Gulf countries. The numerous steep hills surrounding the capital city make for perfect soapbox racing roads.''
Over 40 Red Bull Soapbox Races around the world have been organised by the company since the first race was held in Brussels
