Yesterday, 20 September, Tabán looked very different from usual. Instead of people relaxing on the grass, the hill became a race track full of strange vehicles, costumes, music and thousands of spectators. It was the Red Bull Ládaderbi, probably one of the funniest and most unusual events we have seen in Budapest.
But what exactly is Ládaderbi?
The idea is quite simple: teams build their own vehicles and race downhill using only gravity. There is no engine. The cars have to be handmade, but apart from some safety rules, creativity is almost unlimited.
And this is what makes the event so entertaining. Some vehicles actually look fast and well designed, while others look like they should never move at all.
This year there was everything: a racing bathtub, a giant anvil, a Nimbus 2000 broom, a rocket launcher, a dinner table and even a kayak transformed into something similar to a Formula 1 car.
More than just speed
The goal is not simply to reach the bottom of the hill as fast as possible.
Before starting, every team also performs a short show and presents its vehicle. A jury then gives points for the design, creativity, performance and the race itself. This means that a slower but very original team can still get a great result.
The track in Tabán was about 330 metres long with around 40 metres of height difference, protected by hay bales on both sides. Some cars reached the finish line without problems. Others lost pieces, spun around or simply stopped working halfway down — which, to be fair, was often even more entertaining for the crowd.
35,000 people in Tabán
What surprised us most was the number of people.
According to Red Bull, around 35,000 spectators visited Tabán during the day, a new attendance record for the Hungarian event. At the busiest moment, around 12,000 people were there at the same time.
Even under the strong sun, people stayed along the track to watch the teams come down one after another. The presenters kept the atmosphere alive between the races, and the crowd was often cheering just as loudly for the cars that crashed or fell apart as for the fastest ones.
And the winner was… Mad Max
In total, 45 teams competed in this fourth Budapest edition.
The winners were the War Boys, with a vehicle and costumes inspired by Mad Max. They finished with 164 points and won the chance to test a Formula 4 car at the Red Bull Ring. The Keceli Tenger Kalózai finished second, while Team Hungary, made up of Hungarian Olympic athletes, took third place with their unusual kayak-based racing car.
The Olympic team was especially interesting because their driver was Olympic champion Máté Koch, with Olympic bronze medallist Dávid Betlehem helping with the braking system.
One of those events that makes Budapest fun
The race finished in the afternoon, followed by a Filo concert, but Ládaderbi was much more than just a competition.
It was one of those events where it almost did not matter who won. People came to see crazy ideas becoming real, laugh when something went wrong and enjoy a completely different side of Budapest.
For one day, Tabán became a place where a bathtub, a broom and a Mad Max car could all race downhill in front of thousands of people.
And somehow, in Budapest, it worked perfectly.
HERE is the link if you want to look for further information about the competition on the original Redbull page.
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