Teams

Team Jamaica

Garage Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA

Driver: Chris Mckleroy

Mechanics: Michael Horvath, Jon Moran, Chris Gilbert

Nuts and Bolts:

Chris Gilbert, Mike Horvath, Chris McKleroy, and Jon Moran hail from different states, but in the three years since they met in a freshman dorm at Loyola Marymount, they’ve gotten into plenty of shenanigans together, including the Los Angeles CRANK Mob bike events. And none of their previous efforts have held quite as much promise for epic greatness as the Red Bull Soapbox Race. You might call it their senior project. “School and work and our social lives weren’t enough,” says a vaguely exhausted-looking Chris with an ironic grin. “So we thought, ‘Why not build a pushcart racer and maybe win a trip?’”

With majors including business, recording arts, natural sciences, and engineering, the teammates bring a wealth of skills to the table, not the least of which is a proud history of building stuff. Take, for example, the “tree lounge” they constructed at the house where they lived last year. Chris describes, “It had three levels, five seating areas, one mezzanine level, and one mattress, all lit with Christmas lights.” In its finest moment, the tree lounge accommodated a full complement of 27 happy partyers; but, alas, the property has been foreclosed and (shockingly) the teammates didn’t even get their security deposit back. Maybe they’ll have better luck when they portray the legendary Jamaican bobsled team on September 26. (The inspiration came from a video of Jamaica’s current-day pushcart racers. “Sixty miles per hour down a hill? That’s what I’m talking about!”) From the team’s new digs in Westchester, Chris yells over the roar of LAX passenger jets to affirm, “We are stoked to be racing downtown Los Angeles!”

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