Pedal power!

From the Echo, first published Monday 16th Jul 2001.

THE BATTLE between Schumacher and Hakkinen may have dominated the minds of most motorsports enthusiasts yesterday.

But in Ringwood, attention was turned to a race much closer to home than Silverstone.

Homegrown heroes outpaced some serious competition to win the Ringwood Pedal Car Grand Prix on Sunday.

Carrying the number one plate, the Spirit of Verwood car, designed and built by Verwood engineer Adrian Wareham, completed 66 laps of the tricky street circuit laid around the town centre to take the laurels for the third time in a row.

But before the start of the two-hour marathon, team manager Adrian admitted he was not confident of completing the hat trick in a line of 25 wacky and hi-tech racers, including two cars entered by the team which had won the national pedal car championship for the past three years.

And true to the form book it was the Great Central Racing duo who made the early running after Mayor of Ringwood Cllr Danny Cracknell flagged off competitors on a rolling start at the end of a parade lap led by a 1932 Invicta sports car.

As the two-hour endurance marathon ground on around the cobbled streets thronged with thousands of cheering fans there were thrills and spills galore, especially during the pit stops in front of the Market Place "grandstand" as teams swapped drivers and made running repairs.

Gradually the technical and physical expertise of the local favourites wore down the champion challengers and the Spirit of Verwood finished a full lap ahead of the New Milton-based Royce UK car with third-placed Superior Seals of Three Legged Cross a further lap adrift.

Prize for the best turned out car went to Ringwood Junior School, which also pocketed the £100 prize for the best school entry.

Organisers Ringwood Round Table earned the sporting endeavour prize for battling to the finish despite losing one team member in a nasty crash.

The event is expected to have raised around £5,000 for the Salisbury Hospice Care Trust.

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