Rubbish Refined is set to clean up at the Red Bull Box Cart race with their box cart inspired by the street recyclers who collect materials in their neighbourhood and recycle them for cash.
The Red Bull Box Cart Race announced its epic return to South Africa on September 16, promising some of the wildest legal street racing around. Returning to Joburg after eight years, following on Soweto in 2010, this year’s Red Bull Box Cart Race is the fifth SA edition and will be bigger and better than ever.
Following the application phase, 80 teams have been shortlisted to compete in front of thousands of spectators in this year’s event and have eight weeks to build their hand-made, non-motorised machines fuelled by sheer courage, the force of gravity and perhaps a little Red Bull.
One team from Palm Ridge have caught the attention of the community, in how they have approached their box cart build.
Captained by Goolam Sirkhoth, Rubbish Refined’s box cart was inspired by the street recyclers who collect materials in their neighbourhood and recycle them for cash. For their entry to the Red Bull Box Cart Race, Goolam and his team recruited some of the street recyclers from their area to build their own version of a recycling trolly.
“Our story begins way back in the area the team captain grew up in… Palm Ridge. It was a little town on the outskirts of Johannesburg bordered by an informal settlements of Thokoza and Greenfields.
We were not privileged in terms of worldly items, but definitely the rich in terms of life experiences.
We built our own toys and things to play with to keep us entertained out of recycled materials from the dump which was literally down the road from my house, obviously being boys we built cars aka carts and would rave em all day every day.
This is where my love affair begin with all things that move the mind body and soul.”
The team consists of Goolam and three of his friends, Faheem, Ziyaad and Justin. They decided that they would honour street recyclists in building their cart.
“I do truly feel sorry for the people who do this very hard and physical job but I have the utmost respect for them because they are cleaning our streets and making sure that plastic gets recycled and doesn’t end up in our water sources, our soil and food.
I feel that these people need to be showcased and given the credit they so rightly deserve, cleanliness is next to godliness. People fight and swear and hoot at these people ever day and accuse them or creating traffic or scratching there cars but when last did any of those people stop get out the car and randomly clean our streets like they do….?”
During the testing phases (before building their cart) they used the actual recycling trollies from their street neighbours to see what would work and what wouldn’t.
The team have designed a cart that they believe is a “one of a kind that the Redbull community have never seen”. They have also alluded to the fact that the driver will be “piloting” it in a flying position.
“It’s a race for hand-made, non-motorised machines fuelled by nothing but sheer courage, the force of gravity and perhaps a little Red Bull. Experienced racers and amateurs are challenged to design and build dazzling box cart dream machines to compete against the clock in a downhill race.”
Their cart, as well as all the rest of the team’s carts, will only be revealed on the day… so make sure you diarise the 16th of September 2018, to be in Sandton, Johannesburg!
The Red Bull Box Cart Race is an international event taking place across five locations in 2018, including Rome Italy, Sofia Bulgaria, Cincinnati Ohio and Lisbon Portugal. Sandton is the steepest, most exciting track of the year.
The same rules apply everywhere. Teams are judged on speed, creativity and showmanship. No engines, batteries, electricity or catapults are allowed. What is allowed is unbridled imagination, charisma and of course, your bold and daring showmanship. It’s not enough that it actually moves or crosses the finish line first. The judges are looking for the outrageous, the preposterous, the ostentatious! Anything but the ordinary.
The Red Bull Box Cart Race is a free event for all participants and spectators, don’t miss the action on September 16, bring the kids and neighbours. To follow the action online and be part of the conversation, use the hashtag #RedBullBoxCartRace on all social platforms. For an overview of the selected teams, visit www.redbullboxcartrace.com
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