Lawn mower racing fills F1 void with flying turf

ARDINGLY, England, April 19 - With Formula One temporarily stalled by the cancellation of the weekend's Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, motorsport fans still got their fix on Sunday as the 53rd British Lawn Mower racing season began in a flurry of flying turf in a West Sussex village.

The low-tech sport lacks the glamour and speed of F1 and cash prizes are scoffed at, but the action in Ardingly was just as fierce as the ride-on mowers roared around the circuit.

"It's so much fun. Sun's shining, everyone's messing around on lawn mowers. You couldn't think of anything better," debutant Lee McGelachie told Reuters after stepping off his bright yellow machine.

"I've done a lot of motorsport over the years, motocross, road cars. This is really cheap, entry level, doesn't cost a lot of money. And it's brilliant fun."

You would not want them on your prized lawns though.

The fastest "mowers" can reach speeds of 60 mph and as far as their intended function is concerned they are useless as the grass-cutting blades are removed for safety reasons.

Spanning April through to October, the British Championship consists of 11 events with different classes, ranging from traditional ride-on mowers to more sophisticated buggy-style contraptions for more experienced drivers.

Races are typically 10 to 18 laps with points awarded on a sliding scale from 10 down to one.

Flying around a bumpy circuit takes its toll too.

"It's incredibly physical. This is in the British Championship, so they're longer races," Callum McIntyre said. "Races are about 12 minutes long. In those last two minutes, you're really struggling."

Jensen Cresswell, Sean Tanswell and Alfie Smith won their respective classes in Ardingly with action now moving to the next round at Dunsfold in Surrey in May.

Lawn mower racing was dreamt up in a pub in 1973 by Irishman Jim Gavin and friends over a few pints as they watched a groundsman cut the grass at the local cricket pitch.

Since then the sport has made its mark and even attracted some of the greats of British motorsport with Stirling Moss and Derek Bell teaming up to win a Le Mans-type 12-Hour lawn mower race that is an annual event on the calendar. REUTERS