The A to Z of Red Bull Box Cart Race: Everything you need to know before the carts hit Sandton Drive

Homemade carts, fancy dress, big jumps and bigger wipeouts. Red Bull Box Cart Race rolls back into Joburg on Sunday, 4 October, and it costs nothing to watch. No engines. No batteries. No second chances once the cart tips over the edge.

On Sunday, 4 October, Red Bull Box Cart Race takes over Sandton Drive, and Joburg gets a front row seat to the most gloriously unqualified engineering in Mzansi. Teams of up to five have built their carts from scratch. They will perform a skit at the start line, then send a driver and co-driver hurtling down a course loaded with jumps and obstacles. Entry is free.

Here is everything you need to know, from A to Z.A: Arrive Early. The best spots are wherever the carts hit the jumps, and they go fast. Bring a hat, sunscreen and water, and plan to stay for the lot.

B: Bo-Kaap. The last South African race in 2022 tore down the steep, cobbled streets of Bo-Kaap in Cape Town, where more than 22,000 spectators. Cape Town set the bar. Over to you, Joburg.

C: Costumes. Every cart is dressed up as whatever the workshop dreamed up at 2am, and the crews usually match. Expect fancy dress, full characters and machines held together with hope and duct tape. Half the fun is picking a favourite before it has even moved.

D: Durban. It all started in Durban in 2004, when Team Flower Power rolled to victory in the first South African edition. The race has since visited Johannesburg, Soweto, Sandton and Cape Town.

E: Engine Free. Every cart is hand built from scratch and powered by gravity alone. No motors. No batteries. No catapults. Just a working steering and brakes, because the hill does not forgive. Each team of up to five rolls with a driver and a co-driver.

F: Free. Entry costs nothing. No tickets, no box office, no excuses. With stands and seating areas set up along the course, there is room for everyone. Find your spot and settle in.

G: Global. The race began in Brussels in 2000 with one simple idea: build something ridiculous, point it downhill and hope for the best. More than 160 editions later, it has drawn over five million spectators across 53 countries. This year Sandton Drive shares a calendar with Belfast, London, Denver and Los Angeles.

H: Heart or Horsepower. Every race needs someone to shout for, and this year's field hands you a proper choice. Township hustle or engineering brains. Pick your side and lose your voice (see N and Q).

I: Imagination. The only real limit. The fastest cart does not always win. The one that tells a story nobody saw coming just might.

J: Judges. A panel scores every run on speed, creativity and showmanship. Past judges and hosts have included rally driver Giniel de Villiers, rapper Nasty C, Proteas quick Kagiso Rabada, Courtnaé Paul and comedian Dalin Oliver. Win them over and you are halfway down the hill.

K: Kids. Bring them. It is a free day out on the hill, and watching a homemade cart lose a wheel mid-jump is exactly the kind of thing that turns kids into engineers.

L: Line the Hill. This is a spectator sport in the truest sense. The crowd is part of the show, the teams feed off the noise, and every jump lands louder with a few thousand people cheering it on.

M: Mzansi. South Africa is still the only African nation to have hosted Red Bull Box Cart Race, and this is our eighth edition. Proudly local. Proudly ridiculous.

N: Noma Yini. Named after township car guards, always “on the move, planning and finding a way to make things work.” They are back for the fun, and for something bigger.O: Obstacles. The Sandton Drive course is a downhill run loaded with jumps and obstacles built to separate the brave from the sensible, with a few proudly South African surprises thrown in. What exactly? You will have to be on the hill to find out.

P: Potjie Boytjies. The reigning champions from Stellenbosch won the Cape Town edition on a potjie pot on wheels, a nod to South Africa's melting pot of cultures. The bar is set. Now the title is up for grabs on Sandton Drive.

Q: Quick Quick Now Now. That is how you say Kwik Kwik Nawu Nawu, a crew of final-year UCT Mechanical Engineering students on one last crazy project before graduation. Their delivery-themed cart is “our final delivery,” and they are not here to make up the numbers. “First and foremost, we want to win.”

R: Road closures: The following roads will be affected by full or partial road closures between to 29 September – 7 October; Sandton Dr, Grayston Dr, Alice Ln, and 5th St. For more details on full road closures, head to redbull.com/za-en/events/red-bull-box-cart-race-south-africa.

S: Sandton. Joburg last hosted the race on Sandton Drive in 2018, when 80 teams lined up in front of thousands of spectators. Eight years later, the carts are back on the same stretch of road.

T: Theatre. Before a single wheel turns, every team performs a skit at the start line to win over the judges and the crowd. Kwik Kwik Nawu Nawu reckon theirs is sorted: “We’ve put a lot of thought into it, and we think we’re going to absolutely kill it.”

U: Unpredictable. Noma Yini describe their cart as “Creative. Kasi. Unpredictable.” That last word covers the whole day. Some carts fly. Some fall apart on the first jump. Nobody, the teams included, knows which until they go.

V: Viral. Red Bull's YouTube compilation of the most outrageous runs cracked 21 million views within months of release. Phones out, and tag your best clips #RedBullBoxCartRace.

W: Wipeouts. Gravity always collects. Wheels come loose, steering gives up, and the odd cart takes itself apart in slow motion while the driver hangs on for dear life. Nobody remembers the tidy runs. Everybody remembers the wipeouts. X: X Marks the Spot. 11 Sandton Drive, Johannesburg. Sunday, 4 October 2026. For the latest event information, head to redbull.com/za-en/events/red-bull-box-cart-race-south-africa.

Y: Your Crew. Round up your friends and the colleague who swears they could build a better cart. This is a day best shared.

Z: Zero. Zero engines. Zero entry fee. Zero guarantee anyone reaches the bottom in onepiece.

See you on the hill.

IOL