Talbot Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 There's been a couple of mentions of Lawnmower racing on these pages recently, but no real details or information about it, so I thought a thread about it would be good, especially as it seems to offer the very cheapest motorsport possible, and the sort of stuff that gets raced is clearly utter chod, held together with gaffer tape, baler twine and good luck. In two weeks time, there is the annual 12 hour lawnmower race extravaganza, which happens to be just up the road from me: http://www.12hour.co.uk/ Anyone else going? Anyone from here actually racing there? One day, when I have time and money available again (so possibly never) I would absolutely love to have a go at this, be it as crew, as a driver, or any other part of the fun. Who could put together "team Autoshite"? chaseracer and mat_the_cat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coprolalia Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 I've done the twelve hour for the last two years, and uploaded some videos and pictures last year. I was born and raised in Wisborough (where it started) and my family has been racing since the 70s. There's usually at least one team of my cousins involved (the most we fielded was about 6 teams of family and friends a few years back). http://autoshite.com/topic/20107-coprolalias-scirocco-16td-125-charging-issues/page-1 Not racing this year as our mower needs some serious welding, metal fatigue is setting in, we're all poor, and we've got a new mower on the cards for building. We finished last year with a lot of it held together with cable ties. If people want a crack at it, I'll probably build the mower this winter, so welcome next spring to have a go and get involved. Exiled_Tat_Gatherer, Talbot, RobT and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitsisigma01 Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 I'm in Horsham so could pop down , went to one at the Dog and Duck , good crack especially with it being in the pub garden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 Not racing this year as our mower needs some serious welding, metal fatigue is setting in. Were you the team that had the unmistakable flash of welding coming from your pit gazebo at some point around midnight? I thought that was very much in the spirit of mower racing that not only did "running repairs" extend to welding, but that you had the kit available on site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exiled_Tat_Gatherer Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 I've taken part many moons back in Wiltshire with cousins..... just turned up and rode it and almost killed myself. It was absolutely brilliant and everyone there was a true gent in the proper competitive getting along sense of the word. I'm over in EU land, but would gladly show up to drive, muck in and be general dogsbody when not in the seat...... Gladly throw some funds in too to make sure something* makes it to the start line. I'm currently trying to get into the Belgian side - but online presence isn't great so it's taking a bit of time as they don't respond for bloody ages. Don't want to buy anything until I get an OK and details of what is/isn't allowed. Would be a great weekend over in Blighty for a decent race too...... trailer tent on standby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coprolalia Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Were you the team that had the unmistakable flash of welding coming from your pit gazebo at some point around midnight? I thought that was very much in the spirit of mower racing that not only did "running repairs" extend to welding, but that you had the kit available on site!Could have been us, triple-pit, we were welding every hour or so. Not our kit, but our helpful neighbour was a mobile welder with his van backed into the pit lane. We seriously abused his services welding back together our chassis, bonnet, dash, stub axle, seat mount, throttle bracket, seat mount again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 There's a dose of silliness in this video. chaseracer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerodynamically_challenged Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 I'm looking at getting into lawnmower racing, hopefully doing the first race next year and building a suitable contraption this year while i'm on holiday from uni. Anyone got any advice about what needs doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coprolalia Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Depends on where you are and who you're racing with. Mower Madness and the North West LawnMower Racing Association (NWLMRA) are a little more chilled about builds than the BLMRA.Check out the BLMRA for their handbook on builds and what it needs to comply. Before building the stock mower will need to be registered and assessed, our current hold-up is awaiting homolagation (a more in depth review) as we've got a weird old mower that's of a type never raced before. Ready-built mowers sometimes pop up on Facebook or eBay, so worth keeping an eye out for a route in. You can get a race ready set up for under a grand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 There was someone selling a race-ready mower at last year's 12-hour. It came with a bucket of spares, and look really well done. It was £1k, but undoubtedly negotiable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catsinthewelder Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 I occasionally race in the WMLMRA who have most of their meetings around Bromyard and Tenbury Wells. It's great fun and has a really friendly atmosphere but will leave you aching the next day especially on dry days like DW filmed. Regs are fairly relaxed but may tighten up as it is getting a bit too fast. I was cornering on two wheels at that meet and the last meet of the season has a large jump to guarantee a few repairs over the winter. It's low budget motorsport but people still manage to spend a few quid. I don't as there are two people who ask me to drive their mowers which is great. red5 and Talbot 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Went as a spectator to the BLMRA 12-hour race over the weekend. It was fabulous! The track had to be wetted down quite heavily, which meant the first few laps were hillarious. The leader of the race for 11h 40m had a massive failure with just 20 mins to go, and ended up in the pits for ages trying to fix it. Got it bodged, managed 1/2 a lap before it broke again, and the driver dragged the mower over the finish line by hand "Cool Runnings" Stylee to get them second place. (although no-one seems to know if that got them second, or if they were a DNF Some of the mowers (particularly the group 3 Lawnbugs) were making some serious speed down the start-finish straight, as it was a bit more downhill this year due to the change of field. Highlights: (can someone tell me if the link works.. YouTube is blocked at my work, so I had to copy that by hand from my phone.. errors are highly likely!) catsinthewelder and chaseracer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 It seems a team from Luxembourg just won a 12-hour lawnmower race. motorpunk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorpunk Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I fully intended to go and see this but got sidetracked. Looks bloody brilliant and I'd love to get involved with putting a team together. chaseracer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tadhg Tiogar Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 ….Highlights: (can someone tell me if the link works.. YouTube is blocked at my work, so I had to copy that by hand from my phone.. errors are highly likely!) Link works perfectly. Looks like great craic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseracer Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 ...I would absolutely love to have a go at this, be it as crew, as a driver, or any other part of the fun. Who could put together "team Autoshite"? We NEED to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catsinthewelder Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Should I have a word with the boss to see if ASMM can take Lucky 13 to a few meets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorpunk Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 We NEED to do this. Make it happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerodynamically_challenged Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 Depends on where you are and who you're racing with. Mower Madness and the North West LawnMower Racing Association (NWLMRA) are a little more chilled about builds than the BLMRA.Check out the BLMRA for their handbook on builds and what it needs to comply. Before building the stock mower will need to be registered and assessed, our current hold-up is awaiting homolagation (a more in depth review) as we've got a weird old mower that's of a type never raced before. Ready-built mowers sometimes pop up on Facebook or eBay, so worth keeping an eye out for a route in. You can get a race ready set up for under a grand.Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I've read the BLMRA handbook thingy and it seems like I would be aiming at the LM category because it seems like it's the anything goes category, we are probably aiming for a budget of around £200 but we are in it for the laughs not to win. I have a couple of questions though; for the brake would it be ok to stick a go kart brake on the back axle or do i need something on the front as well? also would it be acceptable to buy a mower that's rusted to fuck and weld it back together? also also what do people do about the cut off device, I'm at a bit of a loss on that because it says you can't just use a noose around the wrist. Apologies for all the questions, any help is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catsinthewelder Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Our mowers are often welded up in a somewhat different shape to the one they came in. I would imagine that welded repairs are fine for any race though as they often need welding back together after a race. Most mowers seem to make do with a single rear disc brake. The cutout device is is a form of electrical switch attached to the mower. You wear a strap which has a special bit of plastic on the end which clips onto the switch holding it open and allowing the engine to run. If you fall of it comes out, the switch springs shut and kills the engine to prevent a repeat of that brilliant Chinese cctv footage that was posted last week. https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/EMERGENCY-CUT-OFF-SWITCH-LANYARD-OUTBOARD-KILL-CORD-IGNITION-FLOATING-KSWITCH/282797066331?epid=10004223449&hash=item41d804c85b%3Ag%3AOuoAAOSw7ThUibeC&_sacat=0&_nkw=kill+cord+switch&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2380057.m4084.l1311.R1.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xkill+switch+cord.TRS0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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