Teams

Torro Rosso

Garage Headquarters: Cincinnati, OH

Driver: Marc Phelps

Mechanics: Michael Holder, Rob Foster, Bryan Wright, Nicole King

Nuts and Bolts:

Torro Rosso captain Marc Phelps says that he “once raced a refrigerator down a hill, breaking his tailbone,” before adding that two team members have driven in excess of 160 mph. Marc and his four co-workers / mechanics have combined their love of needlessly self-inflicted danger and high speed in a most novel way. Taking their name from the Red Bull-owned Scuderia Toro Roso Formula 1 racing team, Torro (as in “bull”) Rosso have designed their racer after the famous bulls of Pamplona. In a new twist, the team mechanics -- all wearing red bandanas -- will enact their own Running of the Bulls by sprinting in front of the horned-and-hoofed soapbox racer as driver Marc begins his descent down Mount Adams.

Whereas the Formula 1 Toro Rosso team uses Ferrari engines, their Red Bull Soapbox counterparts will get the job done with steel, Styrofoam, chicken wire and glued fabric. Lying down headfirst, Marc will peer out openings in the mouth of the bull to navigate past his fleeing teammates and through the turns of the course. “Hopefully,” Marc says, “nobody will get gored by the bull.” If you’re running with the bulls at Pamplona, you can consider it a success to make it through without getting trampled. Team Torro Rosso intend to not only leave Red Bull Soapbox Cincinnati unscathed, but also carrying the title of champions.