The smell of fuel, dust and rubber tires have been dominating the Inverell speedway in northern NSW, but it is not the cars that are drawing the cheering crowds. The North-West Lawn Mower Racing Association has hosted its first ever endurance pace, ‘the ivy 500’, spanning three days and 50 kilometers.
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00:00Fuel, dust and friendship took over in Varel on the June long weekend for the Northwest
00:12Mower Racing Association's first ever endurance race spanning three days and 50 kilometers.
00:21Gordon Jones is the club president and the race winner of the Outlaws division.
00:26He's been racing mowers for more than 10 years.
00:29I saw a demonstration at an agricultural show which I thought the guys were having
00:35too much fun for them to have it all by themselves.
00:38A lot of it's been the fun of racing because it's all about fun here, there's no big prize
00:45monies usually, it's bragging rights and the camaraderie and friendship is second to none.
00:52Craig Wilkins is the man behind the Invie 500 race, organising every detail from the
00:5814 laps across three days, equalling 50 kilometres, down to the track corners themselves.
01:052023 January, I thought of this and said this is what I want to try and do.
01:11I approached as many clubs and industry members as possible, write the rules and regulations
01:17and it's just built from there.
01:20The town has now got behind us, it's great to see, it's an absolutely magnificent event.
01:27This track is designed for the entertainment, not so much the speed and power of the mower.
01:35The track has got tight turns, long straights where if you make a mistake you will not win
01:41the race, it's more of a competitive atmosphere.
01:45For the local mayor Paul Harmon, the race represents more than just weekend fun, but
01:50good community spirit.
01:52It is absolutely sensational and I'm just blown away by the fact of who would have thought
01:59changing a lawn mower and then turning it into a race, that's got to be the oddiest
02:03thing to do that you can imagine.
02:05Absolutely sensational, it's been a great weekend, so good for our community here, great
02:10organisation, supported really well, NV500, inaugural event, want to see it back here
02:16bigger and better next year.
02:18For the organisers and the racers, the weekend is about more than just trophies and winning,
02:23it's an irreplaceable connection.
02:25The racing on the track is about 5% of the atmosphere of mower racing.
02:31It's all in the camping, in the pit areas, it's the camaraderie of everything.