Richards Castle Soap Box Derby most successful yet
An annual cart racing extravaganza was the most successful yet, organisers have said.
The money has been counted from the recent Richard's Castle Soap Box Derby, which sees home made carts of all shapes and sizes driven down Hanway Common next to the tiny village near Ludlow, with only gravity to power them.
Now organisers have revealed the 14th year of the event has raised a whopping £15,000 for charity, the most it has ever made in a single year.
On the day organisers estimated the event had made more then £9,000 from the gate alone, breaking the target of £100,000 raised over the years.
But with sponsorship money for the 31 racers that took part also taken into account, more than half as much again has been made this year – including £1,200 form a single team, WOW Racing (Women on Wheels) of Ludlow, made up of Rachel Whitehead and Paula Davies.
Derby chairman Humphrey Salwey said: "With a course length of 550m and vertical drop of 50m, spectators saw some cracking soap box drama on Sunday as the sun shone on Hanway Common.
“I would like to pass on my tremendous thanks to everyone who supported this years’ Soap Box Derby, to all the competitors, spectators, local businesses and our band of helpers who have worked so hard to put on such a fantastic day.
"We have beaten our £100,000 which is a remarkable feat," he said.
This year the main three charities to receive donations will be CLD Trust – Strong Young Minds, Ludlow Foyer and Smile for Ludlow Maternity.
A presentation evening will take place in September to present the money raised to the charities, Mr Salwey said.
Reigning champion was C12 driven by Steve Thomas from Chippenham, who claimed the top spot for the fastest cart with a time of 38.856, narrowly missing his course record from last year of 38.343.
The best novelty cart went to Wallace and Gromit Family Outing driven by Dan Richards of Cleobury Mortimer and most innovative design to Whose Bright Idea Was This with its inventive steering design, made by Rob Savage and Dave Bright from Knighton.
