Grassroots champions

othing says Britain quite like the scent of freshly cut grass. And in a round-about way, that’s how lawnmower racing began – although the sport has very little to do with mowing or lawns. The germination of this novel motorsport began 49 years ago in a West Sussex pub, the Cricketers Arms in Wisborough Green. An Irishman named Jim Gavin was just back from an endurance rally in the Sahara and bemoaning the “horrendous cost” of any form of motorsport. As the pints flowed, Gavin and his friends brainstormed a new initiative, something that would be free of cash prizes, sponsorship and commercialism. They came up with combine harvester racing – but as there were only three in the county and the farmers refused to let them use them, they had to think again. On that summer’s evening, the inspiration came from the warm air alive with the whirr of people mowing their gardens. Gavin, who died earlier this year, lyrically described it as “lawnmowers buzzing like bees in a jam pot”. Nearly