Ten excellent photos from Red Bull's London soapbox race

Red Bull has its fingers in an awful lot of taurine-laced pies. The Austrian firm's fizzy energy beverage is advertised by a Formula 1 team, air races and, um, a man freefalling from space. Way more enthralling than a 15-second slot in the middle of Coronation Street, we’re sure you agree.

But you don’t have to possess four-time world champion potential, a pilot’s licence or a weapons-grade parachute to get involved in the fun.

All around the world, Red Bull hosts soapbox races, where anyone high on creativity but short on sense can throw together a contraption in which to propel themselves down a hill, harnessing the mighty power of gravity and stupidity. This year’s London leg has just taken place.

The rules are thus: you need to cross the downhill race’s finish line to stand a chance of winning, but doing so quickest isn’t enough. You need a device with a design to entertain the crowd, too, so imagination and a willingness to showboat are essential. Some soapboxes resemble cars, others penguins or even a black pudding sausage. Obviously.

Naturally, with only gravity as their power source, many teams end up in a haybale long before the 'showboating' stage. But if ever there were a sport where it really is about the taking part, this is it. 

Click through the gallery above for some highlights from this year’s London soapbox race, held last weekend at Alexandra Palace. And if you're concocting a 'Hey, at least they're faster than Ricciardo's F1 car' gag, join the back of the queue...