UNITED KINGDOM: The British Lawn Mower Race of 2007 is cancelled for the first time ever mid race due to severe weather and flooding

For the first time in lawn mowing history, the race was abandoned after only five hours due to torrid weather conditions. A record 52 teams had started the race but within two hours, the rain was lashing down so hard that it caused mowers to clog up and drivers sent to the first aid tent with mud in their eyes. By midnight, nearly forty teams had given up with only a dozen teams with the plucky Dunkirk spirit plodded on. Finally at 1 a.m. race officials finally raised the red flag the put them out of their muddy misery. Last year's winner, Accident Prone' were ahead when the race was postponed but there was no sense of victory, just a resignation to the fact that this year's weather had beaten them all. The history of the quirky sport began in 1973 - born out of a meeting of enthusiastic beer drinkers at the Cricketers Arms Pub, West Sussex. At the time, motor sport consultant Jim Gavin had just returned from a rally, and talk naturally turned to motor sport. The main point of discussion hinged around the horrendously escalating costs involved in all branches of motor sport, whether it be rallying or scrambling. So a few pints later, minds began to explore thoughts of an alternative form of motor sport. The main criteria was to be competitive, lots of fun and above all cheap. But what could they race? Motorised bar-stools and wheel barrows were soon passed as being passé and so they were left with lawn mowers. The twelve hour race sees three different classes of lawn mowers racing. The overall trophy is awarded to the team completing the most laps/distance during the race. For this monster of an endurance race, many months of preparation have been put in, ensuring the machines and drivers are at their optimum performance for the race. The Ferraris or McLarens of this sport have names more often associated by the layman with garden centers: Atco, Webb or Westwood. For obvious safety reasons all the blades are removed for Racing Mowers. Each team has three drivers who swap periodically and of course, there is a pit lane where teams refuel and carry out the inevitable repairs as mowers break down throughout the race.

ITN Source | August 2, 2007

Tags:. .flooding. .sense. .above. .removed. .motorised