. .. soap box racing in MonacoOnly a few weeks have elapsed since the end of the F1 season, but the Red Bull Racing drivers are already seeking out ways of getting their kicks on wheels. Over the weekend of 5 and 6 November, Christian Klien and Tonio Liuzzi headed off to Colombia to take part in the Carrera de Estrellas karting race, while David Coulthard and Christian Horner went soap box racing in Monaco.
This was the second time that Juan Pablo Montoya has organised a celebrity kart race in Cartagena to raise money for a charity he runs in conjunction with wife Connie to provide sports facilities for children in his native Colombia. Drivers from a variety of disciplines took part, with Formula 1 represented by Montoya’s McLaren team-mate Pedro de la Rosa, Antonio Pizzonia, Christijan Albers and our own Christian and Tonio.
Travelling out before the weekend, our drivers played football with some of the children who had benefited from the charity and then practice and qualifying took place on Saturday, with the races the next day. The circuit was laid out through the narrow streets of the historic city of Cartagena, famous in the past for its gold and its pirates – so the F1 boys certainly felt at home!
“It was a great atmosphere between the drivers,” reckoned Christian, “because normally, we never get much chance at the track to spend time with the guys from other teams.” Saturday night and everyone attended a special dinner, which, in keeping with Colombian tradition saw everyone dressed in white. But judging by his dancing style (yet again!) Tonio evidently thought this was a “Saturday Night Fever” theme night. It didn’t stop him taking a comfortable win in the second of the two races on Sunday, but he was not up for top honours, after crashing out in the first heat. De la Rosa was the overall winner.
Meanwhile in Monaco, David and Christian H were on the judging panel of the Red Bull Grand Prix Soap Box Race. Another famous face in the judging panel was Paris-Dakar motorcycle winner, Cyril Despres. To get an idea of exactly what the competitors were up against, DC didn’t need much persuading to jump in one of the machines and try out the course that followed the F1 Grand Prix circuit from Casino Square down the hill to the Portier corner, just before the tunnel.
Waving regally to the crowds, David seemed to enjoy travelling with slightly less horsepower than usual: “I have to say it was a novel experience, actually being able to take in my surroundings and hear the people at the side of the track,” he commented.
The event definitely livened up the usually reserved Casino Square, as Red Bull had set up base camp in the swish Café de Paris, usually home to little old ladies and dogs with diamond-studded collars, from where they were pumping out the music to go with the show; that’s Red Bull, not the little old ladies.
No less than 43 soap boxes were entered, one of them by an all-girl team who work at Coulthard’s Columbus Hotel in Monaco. Judging was based on three criteria: creativity of the vehicle, interaction with the spectators and speed. When it came to creativity, there were plenty of signs of lateral thinking with some people soapboxing in tents, cows, yes cows and proving very popular, beds!
