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#421989
.... in lawn mower racing

EAT your heart out, Lewis Hamilton.

When it comes to racing at speed around a track, we already have a world champion – none other than Caterham osteopath Chris Thompson.

His success was not achieved at a top Formula One circuit such as Silverstone however, but in a muddy field in West Sussex, the sport's national heartland.

And the high-speed thrills and spills which led to his world crown was in the sport of lawn mower racing.

Lawn mowers may evoke images of elderly gentleman slowly cutting the grass in their back gardens.

But Chris, 26, said: "The mowers can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.

"The grassy courses can often be bumpy so mowers can overturn. We all wear crash helmets, and some competitors even put on body armour."

Unlike the mega-millions of Lewis Hamilton and co., there was not a sniff of any financial bonanza from Chris's triumph on October 5.

Chris, of Stanstead Road, Caterham, said: "There was no cash prize – just a perpetual trophy and the glory of winning.

"It's quite hard. The mowers can rattle a round a bit.

"And I bruised my elbow in a crash."

The whole thing is conducted in a friendly but competitive spirit.

Chris added: "Other drivers will help you out if you have mechanical problems, and we could all enjoy a beer together afterwards."

Drivers, wearing crash helmets and knee pads, completed laps of a quarter mile course.

More than 40 competitors took part, tackling 18 heats over two days of lawn mower action.

Chis's memorable weekend was rounded off when his father Matthew, also of Stanstead Road, came third overall.

Both father and son work at Caterham Osteopaths in Westway.

Chris was in the Caterham-based Average Joes team which two years ago won a 24-hour lawn mower race in France.

Their prize was some local cheese, a bottle of bubbly – and a duck.

This month's triumph was the perfect swansong for Chris.

Next week he is off to New Zealand for two years to continue work as an osteopath.

Read more at http://www.surreymirror.co.uk/Caterham- ... DsOBVAB.99
#421999
They better not let a redneck within 50 miles of that competition next year, otherwise they'll never get the world championship back from Lubbock Texas.

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