VMX all too much for you ??

[VMX247]

take up this race discipline-lawnmower racing...and I thought the poms and yanks had some crazy idea's..

Ride-on lawn mower racing is becoming an increasingly popular sport, with about 30 drivers expected to compete at an event on the Sunshine Coast today.

Sunshine Coast Mower Racing Association president Gary Boegheim says male and female drivers will be competing at the Pomona showgrounds.

The mowers can reach speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour and Mr Boegheim says he loves the sport.

"I've been racing for 25 years now in different forms of motor sport; I got into mowers once I first got married and had a family," he said.

"I couldn't afford to keep racing speedway(vmx  ) so I got on board with the mowers and it's cheap, it's good fun and just something different."

[QLD779]

Alli. You have way too much time on your hands.
The sidecar boys in QLD have been drag racing their rideon mowers on new years day for years. They have a start grid marked out, out front and race their souped up mowers.

[oldskool]

yanks do have crazy ideas they have been lawnmower racing for years.some of there racing mowers can get speeds over 100kph.cheers gary

[crash n bern]

I watched a show on some outback town about 15 years ago.  They had annual mower races.  The reigning champion had a Morris 1100 motor in a mower.  Well on the show a newcomer turned up.  Had a long beard and a triumph singlet on, driving a Chamberlain tractor named Lindy.  He had shoehorned a 351 clevo' into her with upswept drag pipes and a mower deck bolted on the bottom to comply with reg's.
When he took of it wheelstanded, threw him off the back and careered towards the crowd.  The bloke took off after it, leapt onto to the back grabbed the wheel and pulled her hard right just before it hit the barrier which was only a rope fence.  Spectacular.  He got the trophy

Talked to another bloke who had participated in riding mowers to the Cape.

[TooFastTim]

Any sport that was supported by the late Oliver Reed has my support..(hic).

[firko]

On the same theme, I saw a great piece on the telly about electric wheelchair races in the USA. A race series has been set up where old folks representing their convalescent home get to compete against racers from other old folks homes on a course set out in a car park. The course is a bit like a gymkarna course with witches hat chicanes and other obstacles. They race two or four at a time and the old folks take it very seriously, some of them tweaking the motors, fitting wide go cart slicks and trick metalflake and flame job paint schemes. According to the TV piece there are a dozen or so teams involved and the interest was growing so quickly they were going to soon have to start grading competitors.

What a great way to inject a sense of fun and competition into the lives of bored old people and give them a sport/hobby that isn't going to tax their energy too much yet give them something to look forward to. I thought it was brilliant.
                 

[ted]

Firko....So can i enter you in the first race at the Alroy Tavern carpark meet.

BTW When is the charity auction

[Curly3]

Electric mobility cart racing, wait until most of the original VMXers have hung up the boots.
With today's networking capabilities it won't belong before theres is a national title event.

[ted]

This could be big....Darren could sponsor it with his stand up chairs

Firko on pole, me on the second row ( coz i`m a little younger ) and the fast guys start on Rooty Hill Rd. Two laps of the carpark and last in shouts

[firko]

BTW When is the charity auction

Unfortunately Ted we've had to put the Show'n'Shine on hold until we can find a suitable date. We were set to go on March 26 but Slakewells soiree in Armidale had been planned for that weekend which we'd overlooked. After some enquiries and checking of calendars we decided to go with the following weekend April 3 and booked the pub and started the ball rolling. The morning I was going to announce the new date Shaun popped onto the forum announcing the Pre 90 meet for Dargle, buggering our plans. All of the following dates in April are taken up with various other events and personal committments and Easter has us going to the HBBB.
As it stands right now, the calendars looking a bit busy so until we can fit it into the scedule consider it gone for the moment.

[brent j]

I watched a show on some outback town about 15 years ago.  They had annual mower races.  The reigning champion had a Morris 1100 motor in a mower.  Well on the show a newcomer turned up.  Had a long beard and a triumph singlet on, driving a Chamberlain tractor named Lindy.  He had shoehorned a 351 clevo' into her with upswept drag pipes and a mower deck bolted on the bottom to comply with reg's.
When he took of it wheelstanded, threw him off the back and careered towards the crowd.  The bloke took off after it, leapt onto to the back grabbed the wheel and pulled her hard right just before it hit the barrier which was only a rope fence.  Spectacular.  He got the trophy

Talked to another bloke who had participated in riding mowers to the Cape.

There was a Morris 1100 powered mower in Darwin many years ago, the owner/builder also had a supercharged V8 powered burnout bike, jet powered bike, flathead V8 powered BBQ (the rotisserie!) and a short wheelbase Blitz truck with Holden running gear right through it. The Blitz was recently repowered with the jet engine from the bike.
The guy's name is MAD for obvious reasons.
The 1100 powered mower was capable of well in excess of 130km/h and if I remember rightly it steered by brakes!

I’m not too keen on racing my ride on mower but with four wheel drive and pivot steering I’d be a starter for an off road trial type event!

[VMX247]

I’m not too keen on racing my ride on mower but with four wheel drive and pivot steering I’d be a starter for an off road trial type event!
[/quote]

geez thats a flash one brentj    I can't wait till we actually have some grass to mow and do some roll backs on the wet grass  one of the best 1200$ we ever spent 
cheers A

[Power Stand]

Apparently there are a few short comings to lawn mower racing, races get chopped short and riders get chopped off at the knees if there are protests. Slashing is a problem with hacking made worse when accidents happen. Bad cuts are often but leaving no lines between mowers is preferred. If you are caught trimming then you are left to the edges. The elite riders are always pruning weeding out the competition just to flatten the grounds. Whipper snipers are given there own class to keep the numbers cut back. These young trimmers are kept sharp so it’s not so blunt hard for them.

You are safer on dirt bike than with these rotating blades men. 

[KTMaico]

Husqvarna still chasing a World championship 

[mx250]

Now we're talking......



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