Kylie Ounsted and her grandfather Michael Lumley believe they've built a winner with 'Formula Won', which will compete at Sunday's Hub City Soap Box Derby in Nanaimo. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

already won

Family duo channelling Mario Kart & cancer victory for Nanaimo soap box derby race

Aug 18, 2024 | 5:53 AM

NANAIMO — A new hill marks a new challenge for a new group of 52 brave racers all looking to raise money for a local non-profit.

The 2024 Hub City Soap Box Derby runs down Franklyn St. in the downtown on Sunday, Aug. 18 in support of Nanaimo Child Development Centre.

Event organizer Kathryn Scott said the move one block over from last year’s track on Fitzwilliam St. offers some new opportunities.

“It was an ask from the City because Fitzwilliam St. is on the main drag there and so for the emergency vehicles it just made sense for us to move it one street over. It is more of a steeper hill.”

More offshoots for drivers to steer down, as well as a Wesley St. fun zone round out the setup.

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Racing is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with food, drinks, treats and more on offer for spectators.

Scott added with the steeper hill, additional measures were put in place to catch any rogue carts.

“We’ve added some security measures this year. The Go Kart association up in Parksville are lending some barricades. We have tires, we have hay, we have definitely more safety this year.”

A sold out kids division, as well as some corporately-sponsored big kids, will race down Franklyn St. in Nanaimo on Sunday. (Hub City Soap Box Derby)

One of the entrants in the youth division is 11-year-old Kylie Ounsted and her car “Formula Won”.

It was a project she built with her grandfather, Michael Lumley, in celebration of his clean bill of health from a colon cancer diagnosis in 2023.

Ounsted said during his recovery, the pair played a lot of Mario Kart together, which inspired the duo to build their own unit.

“It was really fun. We added Mario stickers on the back of it of each of our characters we usually play. The build was not that hard, it was a lot easier than we expected so we started off by going to Home Depot and grabbing two big planks of wood, cut out a general idea of a car then just started getting our ideas and went from there.”

The name was a suggestion from Ounsted’s mother, with Lumley “winning” against cancer.

Ounsted is by no means heading into Sunday’s race unprepared.

“We usually go to the parking at VIU. We just race down those hills. The last time we were there, there was also another driver there so I actually got to have a feel of racing.”

Mario stickers on the back represent some of the pair’s favourite characters from the popular video game franchise. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Lumley works at Nanaimo Honda, who sponsored the project.

He said he built and raced soapbox cars as a kid and the opportunity to do it again with his granddaughter was too good to pass up.

“She was really helpful putting stuff together, painting, sanding and finishing. It was an all-round great experience. For me, it’s about connection with my granddaughter and be able to see her excitement in doing it, so that’s everything I could hope for.”

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