Goitibeherak (Soapbox Cars)

In the Basque Country the tradition of building soapbox cars goes back at least to the early 20th century. The name is a contraction of goitik-behera which means "from the top to the bottom". Unlike most European soapbox cars, the goitibeherak are three-wheelers and the early versions simply consisted of a triangular frame on three wheels or even scavenged ball bearings with a plank to sit upon, which children would race down the slopes found in many Basque towns.

The earliest documented races date back to the mid 1970's when races were held during local festivals. The first Basque national competition was held in 1976 and are common events all over the Basque Country today. One of the biggest events, the Goitibehera Munduko Txapelketa (World Goitibehera Championship) was first held in 1985 in Iruñea during the San Fermines and has been held at irregular intervals since, the last time in 2007 when the VIII championship was held.

The normal soapbox races are called carreras de cajas de jabón in spanish but this version is called goitiberas even in Spanish. They occur in the Basque Country and Uruguay to where they were exported by Basque emigrants.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_rural_sports

Soapbox cars (Link):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soapbox_(car)

http://images.google.es/images?ndsp=20&um=1&hl=es&q=soapbox+car&start=0&sa=N