Speed the aim of this experiment

The weather on Sunday decided to put on a performance typical of the City of Saints. Rain, then shine, then rain again bore down on the Settlers Monument, the only consolation being that the majority of the day’s activities would be taking place indoors. Except for one. Nestled in the front alcove, a group stood together amid a pile of wood, and metal rods that were lined up and centred by a number of small wheels. This was the beginning of the Scifest Soapbox Derby.

GTI and BMX took their time in getting ready, with GTI suffering a wheel loss, but this time while stationary in the pit.

This did not dampen the spirits of the orange team, nor the red team or any of the helpers and organisers. Soon, with minor touches of spray paint added, the two go-karts were finished. And after a quick practice run, all of them were pulled to the starting line.

That is, all except BMX, who had decided to go on a bit of a joyride and would have to be called back by the supervisor.

The race was set to begin. The idea of enacting a doubles tournament had to be scrapped after Vura and Uis- teer suffered a side-by-side collision. Instead, this would be a time trial. Fastest down the hill in their best run would be crowned winner. As so the racing commenced.

The drizzle continued, but that did not stop a crowd from forming. One after the other, the go-karts were started with a big push. The drivers had to handle a sharp corner down Fort Selwyn Drive, and a cruise down to the finish line where a marshal kept a watchful eye and a precise stopwatch.

Like the samoosas on sale at the Monument, the trials were never without a bit of spice.

Steering was lost, resulting in several crashes, a lack of oomph from the push-off added frustrating seconds to the runtime, and even Uisteer had to deal with a split chassis, earning them a trip to the pits.

But after half an hour of racing, the results were in.

The winners were announced with a fanfare of car horns, with bags of goodies being handed out as prizes.

Though all the times clocked by the racers, were impressive, one stood out from the rest.

The red team, with their trusty GTI and an impressive time of 25 seconds, had won the Scifest Africa 2017 Soapbox Derby.

After an hour or so, four vehicle-type structures began to rise out of the huddled groups, simplicity and functionality being the hallmarks of their construction. Although similar in design, the slight distinctions in their decorations and overall...

Vura was the first go-kart to get a test run, piloted by the blue team. It didn’t go well, with a wheel flying off on the first attempt. Back to the pits, the quick mend coincided with the test run of Uisteer, the sleek cruiser of the yellow team....