Green was for go at the Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix as Gisborne crew The Broccoli Boys flew down the track.
The Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix, a national trolley derby that attracts thousands of spectators, took place at Auckland Domain over the weekend after a 10-year hiatus.
A diverse line-up of 52 tricked-out trolleys were piloted by two people from each team through a course which included obstacles, hills, tricky corners and multiple paths.
The Broccoli Boys (and one girl) - a team of workshop mechanics from Gisborne company LeaderBrand - built a trolley based on a mini-tractor they affectionately named Ted, and donned fitting broccoli costumes on the day.
A statement from the team said the LeaderBrand workshop had recently seen many new people join the team, so they thought entering the Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix would be a novel and entertaining team-building exercise.
LeaderBrand grows a lot of broccoli and it is one of New Zealand’s favourite vegetables, hence the team name and concept.
The Broccoli Boys comprised Ethan Gordon, Drew Dear, Bryce Kelly, Matt Donaldson, William McIntyre, Graham Torrie and Silvana Ciotti.
“The most challenging part of the whole experience was choreographing the dance and then trying to remember all the moves at the beginning of the race,” McIntyre said.
“Making the trolley and doing the designs was the fun part,” Kelly said.
Donaldson called it “an epic event” to be a part of.
“Turns out Kiwis really do love their broccoli and we had heaps of support,” he said. “Bryce did an awesome job of getting Ted the Tractor down the race, however, turns out our broccoli costume ended up acting like a parachute and slowed us down a bit.
“We’ve recommended other teams at LeaderBrand give it a go next year.”
Unfortunately, the Broccoli Boys did not make the top three.
The overall winners were the defending champs from 2015 - the last time the derby was held - Red Stag Timber of Rotorua with their Flinstone-themed Yaba Daba Do.
Their victorious time of 55.948 seconds won them a World of Red Bull experience at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, including tickets, flights and accommodation.
