A sport with its origins in Europe is coming across the ocean to make an appearance at Cornfest.
Fans of the demolition derby will get a chance during intermission to see a demonstration race of lawn mower racing out by the Agri-Plex on Cornfest Sunday at 1 p.m.
“In Europe they called it grass-kart racing. It has been in Bow Island for the last two years, but we’ve (Canada) had it longer than that. They’ve had it in Saskatchewan with some of those guys racing in the States and they have really fast ones,” said Luc Regnier, an organizer with the lawn mower races for Cornfest.
There were six racers confirmed as of mid-August for the demonstration. The sport was “invented” in 1973 in The Cricketers Arms pub in Wisborough Green in West Sussex, England, by a group of young men bemoaning the prohibitive costs of getting involved in any kind of motorsport.
They formed the British Lawn Mower Racing Association, and shortly afterwards, a northern equivalent in the form of the North West Lawn Mower Racing Association was formed.
“It’s fun. It’s like stock car racing. We’ve never had pile ups. There are breakdowns and we’ve ran into each other, but it’s nothing serious,” said Regnier as the lawnmowers race. “It’s not a straight oval. There is a little bit of skill involved too. Experience helps, you start slow to get used to your tractor. It’s regular lawn mowers that you have to take your deck off.”
Other safety features riders must adhere to are having a kill switch on your mower, a helmet and long pants, as Regnier noted speeds reach around 15 miles per hour, with classes in regular and modified with youth and adults able to participate.
“We’d like to get it going for more than once a year. There’s a lot of old tractors out there. Just like the old cars, they are all over the place,” said Regnier.
Anyone wanting to race in the demonstration event can show up the day of the race with their lawnmower, provided the deck is off.