Millennium Season Race Diary

Meeting no 1, Billingshurst Sussex 13th May 2000

Not a great start!

I passed scrutineering with flying colours. During the closed season I have made a few changes (lowered the seat, improved the pedals etc), but it all started to go wrong in practice. I hit a straw bale & damaged the steering (which was probably always a bit weak). I patched it up and started the championship race. I hit the same bale again & had to give up the race as the steering was again damaged.

We patched it up again so that my friend Dick Plowman could try the mechanics race. He finished in about 4th place, but the steering was really finished by the end.At this point we gave up. I spent some time examining other mowers steering to see what tips I could pick up.

So now it's sorting these issues out ready for the next race Laughton in 2 weeks time!

Meeting no 2 - The Cuckoo Fair @Laughton Sussex 28/29 May

I had fixed the steering & strengthened the seat, so all was set for Laughton. The weather beforehand was dreadful...very heavy rain for days..so I was expecting a wet weekend's racing. Sunday was terribly muddy, but great for me. The mower went better than ever before...until the exhaust broke. It was made of 1 inch coper piping with standard plumbers joints brazed in place. The vibration was all too much and it came apart, when I was going well (in 2nd place for a change!). Fortunately, I was able to carry on racing for the day.

For Monday I fitted the original Briggs & Stratton supplied silencer box, this kept me racing. The only mishap was a puncture. Otherwise a great days racing....I'm getting quicker. I'm not competitive, but it seems to take longer & longer each race before I get lapped. Slow progress, but in the right direction.

Annette took lots of pictures (some are on the pictures page)

Meeting no3 - Kirdford 11th June

Dick Plowman & I spent all Saturday working on the mower ready for the 3 hour race on Sunday. Pete Longley agreed to join me to race my mower. We had a throttle cable break in practice, but got it fixed in time for the race start.

The mower went better than it's ever gone. It handled well, and seemed almost as quick as the Tecumseh powered group 3 mowers (mine has a Briggs & Stratton engine). Pete showed how it should be driven, and it went really well. I wasn't quite as fast. Now I know it's really up to me to drive quicker to get better results. I can't blame it on the mower any longer.

We finished down the field...but we finished! I've never driven the mower for so long. I was a bit bruised & sore afterwards, but I had a brilliant time & I've learned a lot from Pete.

Meeting No4 - Heddington & Stockley Steam Fair 1st July

The steam fair is a huge event near Swindon in Wiltshire. We built a smallish course in a field recently cleared of cows.

I missed the first race as my drive belt came off when I dropped a glove that fell into the drive and went round a pulley. There wasn't much of the glove left..good job my hand wasn't in it! The mower ran well. It's still under powered with the Briggs & Stratton engine. The Tecumseh engines seem much quicker, but the handling is now good, & I feel like I'm getting the hang of driving the mower.

We finished the day with a figure of 8 race. The course was adapted to include a cross-over. The rules were that one way over the crossing had right of way, in the other direction you had to stop to give way to any other traffic. All the classes of mower were in the same race. I entered thinking ' this is nut's..if anyone starts getting silly I'm going to pull out'. It turned out that everyone was careful..we had a good race really good fun, but some serious racing.

I had another brilliant days fun.

Meeting no 5 - Dorking - 19/20th August

A great location at the rugby club. We had a very large, beautifully smooth circuit. Very fast for racing. I had two great days racing, with no major problems. I came off the mower once, missed the start once, but otherwise uneventful. I'm still underpowered, and will get a new engine.

The Season Ends Abruptly

I've fallen off my mountain bike & broken my arm. I'll be off racing until the end of the season. I will be back next season...maybe with the tractor?

To see official BLMRA race reports go to: Race Reports

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