MORE than a thousand people turned out to Bradford’s first ever soapbox race and they were delighted by the wild, wacky and wonderful.

Huge crowds surrounded the street track, start and finish lines and starting ramp on Sunday morning and enjoyed six hours of racing and entertainment.

The Bradford BID Super Soapbox Challenge kicked off at 11am and consisted of three heats, before the 10 fastest teams then battled it out in a final, called the "Top Ten Shootout".

The track itself started on Kirkgate, with a mammoth ramp for the competitors and cars to fly down, to get things going.

It truly did look like something from an alpine ski resort.

As the cars gained momentum, they then navigated a sharp turn onto Bank Street.

This first corner proved problematic for some, with several teams clattering into the hay bales at the side of the course, after taking the turn too wide.

Each team had runners though, who sprinted behind the car at full throttle and were able to give their vehicle a push if it crashed or even came to a halt - but pushing the car without it stopping resulted in a disqualification.

Bank Street, being relatively steep, provided a welcome boost for those cars which were struggling on the flatter stretch of Kirkgate.

Drivers then went round the final corner and onto Tyrrel Street, where they either zoomed, or trundled, over the finish line.

There was a pit zone too, where more than 20 cars were situated, with lots of tinkering going on throughout the day.

Some of the cars were built purely for speed, others looked like they could shatter just going down the ramp, while there were those which looked spectacular in the level of detail in their design.

This included Tiffin's sandwich box car - which was a fans' favourite - but also those teams that dressed up to fit the theme of their vehicles, such as The Broadway Bradford's "B Team", dressed as members of the A-Team, or the team whose car design was a lighthouse and had runners dressed in Baywatch gear.

The T&A also had a car in the event, in collaboration with Bradford College, who kindly made the vehicle using recycled materials.

Students and teachers alike spent weeks cutting, welding and grafting, with some even staying up until 1am on the day of the race to put the finishing touches to the vehicle.

What was produced was a masterpiece and it certainly proved so out on the track.

The first run came in slightly slow, at one minute and 24 seconds, which was mainly due to the brakes biting too hard.

But a slight adjustment saw the car fly on its second run, coming in at 41.90 seconds - despite a small crash - and putting the team into third initially.

Then the golden moment, a flawless run from Jack the driver saw the car cross the finish line in just 34 seconds - the second best time all day.

The team came fourth after the "Top Ten Shootout", while The Green Arrow got top spot, with a time of 32.26 seconds.

It was no shame losing out to that vehicle, as it was consistently the fastest car on the track.

Overall, it was a fantastic event, using Bradford's infrastructure, creativity and industrious nature to build something brand new for the city to enjoy.

Bradford BID said on Twitter: "Atmosphere is brilliant today in the city centre. Lots of happy people enjoying the Bradford Soapbox Challenge."