Thursday 6th July 2006

Lotus gets on its soapbox

How to add lightness? Remove engine...

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Lotus Type 119c soapbox

The Lotus Type 119c soapbox, the record-holding downhill gravity racer, is to make its second competitive appearance at the Brooklands Museum Soapbox Derby on 16 July 2006. The Type 119c soapbox is the reigning champion and record holder of the challenging 0.7 mile descent at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Gravity Racing Club Soapbox Challenge.

Following the omission of the popular downhill event from the Goodwood Festival of Speed line-up since 2004, attention has turned to the Extreme Gravity Racing (XGR) Series in the USA, and the UK-based Brooklands Soapbox Derby which ran for the first time last year.

The closed-cockpit Lotus Type 119c "streamliner" features an aerodynamically-efficient ultra-light carbon-fibre monocoque, remaining true to the "performance through light weight" philosophy of Lotus founder Colin Chapman. It will be lining up on the grid once again against familiar automotive constructors such as Lola, Vauxhall and Ford as well as entries from schools, colleges and privateers.

Paul Adams, who successfully piloted the Lotus Type 119 soapbox to victory in the Roadster Class at the Goodwood event in 2002 and who clinched the overall win in 2004 with the 119c, will be returning to the driving seat hoping to lift a third trophy. On being back behind the wheel after a two-year break, Paul Adams explains: "I am really excited to be able to race at such a historic circuit and be reunited again with past competitors, which will certainly make for some good and fun racing. We will be shaking down the car on the Hethel Test Track, so that I can familiarise myself once again with the controls, oil the nuts and bolts and blow off the cobwebs!"

Teams will race from the top of the Test Hill of the Brooklands circuit, which then leads on to the exciting banked section before the Finish Straight in front of the paddock. The record, held by Lola Cars for descending the course, is 71.8 seconds, and competitors are expected to reach a top speed of around 35 mph.

[FestivAli]

I love this sport. Sounds fantastic, I'd love to make a well engineered 'type-ali' (cringe if you will) to compete in this level of comp.

Ali.

[dodgey_rog]

I think this is hilarious. I love the way you have the likes of Lotus, Mclaren and such like competing in something so basic. Why they don't cover more of this i'll never know, make it more than just 1 race. When the summer comes there should a championship or something.

Am i missing something here, but when i caught one on the tv once, it was damn exciting, especially when one of them gets a tank slapper on and wipes out!

[ruaricoles]

Yes, it's great fun. I ran the small team responsible for MIRA's entry at Goodwood a few years ago (with a multicoloured CFD pressure-plot painted streamliner) and it's a fabulous combination of serious development and competition but with a very silly and light-hearted approach. Our best run down the hill was against Lotus, sadly they beat us by a couple of seconds but the things slipstream each other, slide around and at Goodwood reach 50-60mph. We did tyre testing, wind tunnel development, CFD, chassis and dynamic modelling, FEA etc., and all the entries were developed to push the (many) rules set by Julius Thurgood's hilarious "Gravity Racing Club" or whatever it was called.

The year we entered McLaren set the quickest time (allegedly in a soapbox with a £9k paint job - it did look incredible), but because they hadn't done a proper run at one of the test days a couple of months' earlier they got a few penalty points meaning Rolls/BMW took the overall victory.

All great fun - I'm glad the concept hasn't disappeared altogether.

Ruari

[gfun]

Saw the last soap box race at Goodwood FoS and morn the passing of what was possibly the most competitive racing on the hill. But when the crashes resulted in some kids being shipped off to hospital (unfortunately I was stood right in front of some of the worst) I don’t think Lord March had much choice.

[mattbvw]

Yes I remember seeing a few crashes at the Molecombe corner in 2004 - not nice at all. Shame though...

[peter pan]

I think that there are lateral load problems on cycle wheels which mean they cannot take the stresses imposed on them going through bends at the speeds these things can reach. (at runs like the Goodwood Fos) I saw several crashes at the Fos and can understand why (regretably) they dont run there any more. Still, they were a lot of fun to watch>

[Harry521]

I was invloved in the Williams F1 soapbox for the Goodwood gravity race.

It was great fun, we tested loads and on similar hill went through 80mph.

It would of been great apart from on race day, a soapbox that did not go to the mandatory test, crashed at the bottom of the hill and the race was called off.

Our test time at Goodwood would of set a few raised eyebrows!

Long live the soapbox!

Cheers

Harry