Daredevils race handmade buggies downhill through downtown

People lined the streets of St Just to watch the daredevils race their handmade buggies down the hill in the shortest possible time. Part of the town’s community festival, Lafrowda, the ‘Gravity Buggy Race’ took place on the evening of Friday July 19 ahead of the festival’s culmination, Lafrowda Day on Saturday.

Taking place in the afternoon, visibility and road surface conditions were far from perfect, but there was no option to change tires for these homemade go-karts built from bits of old bikes, bins and bathtubs. 15 carts were towed to the top of the hill, but only 13 came down.

The Buggy Race was first included as part of the Lafrowda Festival in 2016 and usually takes place twice a year – once in May on the quieter streets of nearby Tregeseal and once on Lafrowda Eve on the much busier high street Fore of St Just, in front. of hundreds of spectators.

The rules are pretty simple. Buggies must be hand-made, with three or more wheels, with some form of brake (to be used only if necessary) and can only be powered by gravity. You’re allowed to do one push at the top of the hill and then you’re on your own.

However, while the rules may be simple, the course is anything but, with buggy drivers facing a steep bend almost immediately at the top of the hill before zipping past cheering spectators to the finish line.

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From start to finish the course is around 0.3km and according to the AA Route Planner should take around 55 seconds to drive. This year’s overall winner was Ben Morgan of the Sandy Acre 7 band, who flew down Fore Street in under 33 seconds – only slightly slower than Usain Bolt.

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