Authors: Peter Lynn
Date Submitted: May 31, 2004
Article Type: Journal

Daughter Kerri Lynn, home from Wellington, decided to organize some extertainment down on the back paddock. Originally it was just to be a race between the old’s mobility scooter and our ride-on lawn mower, but entry was soon opened to include a tractor, another lawn mower, Chris’ derelict “push-me” motorcycle, a replica of the firstever motor car, a bicycle, and, wait for it, a gas turbine-powered kite buggy. By the form card, the tractor had 65 horsepower, the buggy 60, motorcycle 15, lawnmowers 14.5, Benz 3/4th, and mobility scooter ½.

A crowd had gathered by mid-afternoon but the start was long delayed when the 1886 replica Benz wouldn’t start (no spark and a stuck exhaust valve). These problems were eventually overcome and there is no truth to the suggestion that this delay on the Benz team’s part was just an attempt to further confuse and befuddle the opposition by causing them to hang around longer in the “refreshment area.”

The start was chaotic to say the least and there was no clear consensus, amongst spectators and competitors, even after the event, as to whether there had actually been one race or two or what the course had been. Nor was crowd control perfect, with the very young and the very old persons wandering amongst entrants even during racing, and disruption by rowdies encamped beside the track.

PDF Link: Journal Issue