Carnage and chaos on wheels took to Stafford St as the Alpine Energy Soapbox Derby returned to its roots.
The carts began their rapid descent at the top of the hill, across from Animates, dodging hay bales and risking it all over jumps as they made their way down before coming to a halt at the intersection of Stafford and George Sts.
It was the first time since the 1980s that Stafford St played host to the crazy carting action.
More than 1000 people lined the length of the course on Sunday and event co-organiser Shannon Hardacre could not have been happier with the support the derby received this year.
‘‘I’m really happy with the turnout, especially the crowd. Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves.’’
The course change for this year’s event definitely freshened things up for both the crowd and the drivers, he said.
‘‘We’ve noticed a big difference, especially with the jumps — we believe there has also been more speed.’’
Despite all the chaos and action, the aim of the event was to raise money for mental health organisations in South Canterbury.
‘‘Supporting mental health in Timaru is so important, so we thought we’d keep going and we hope everyone enjoyed the event as well,’’ Mr Hardacre said.
Alpine Energy marketing communications manager Michelle Agnew said the Soapbox Derby was a great event to get behind.
‘‘Our vision at Alpine is empowering our community and events like these that get people out and about and bring visitors to the region, which is fantastic.
‘‘It speaks to our objectives, which is giving back to the community and going back to local beneficiaries, and mental health is an important one for us so it’s a great event to be a part of.’’
As well as being a bit of fun, there was also a competitive edge to the day.
For the third year in a row, the Kennedy Aluminium team came out on top as the overall winner of the corporate section.
