WATCH: Mower racers ready to bring their A game

There will be plenty of family rivalry at play in Round 8 of the Queensland Mower Racing Series this weekend

REVVED UP: Rockhampton’s Rick Ryan will be among the competitors hitting the Yaamba Raceway for Round 8 of the Queensland Mower Racing Championships tomorrow.

THERE will be plenty of family rivalry at play in Round 8 of the Queensland Mower Racing Series at Yaamba this weekend.

About 25 racers aged 10 to 67 from Townsville to the Sunshine Coast will hit the track in the race for series points on Sunday.

Among them will be locals Rick Ryan, his partner Sharon Dean and his son Quillin who will race together for the first time in D-grade.

 

Mower racer Quillin Ryan.

 

Another family combination - brothers Warren and John Kennedy and John's son Caleb - will be strong contenders in A-grade.

Sixteen-year-old Slade Rawlinson is sure to be in the mix in C-grade, and his father Chris Rawlinson will be in the hunt for the outlaw trophy.

Rick competed in mud racing years ago but gravitated towards mower racing after attending a couple of race meetings in Rockhampton and Bundaberg.

He had also watched countless clips of mower racing on YouTube.

"I just loved the atmosphere and the racing," he said.

"I bought a mower off another bloke who no longer had use for it.

"It's a relatively cheap sport too so it means all the family can do it.

"Once they're up and going, the mowers only need a bit of fine-tuning here and there."

 

After buying his mower in March, Rick then bought one for Sharon and one for Quillin.

Rick said it was exciting for them all to be racing together this weekend.

"It should be good and we should all go pretty well," he said.

"The Rocky track is great. It's a big open track with a lot of straight runs and tight corners to test your skills.

"It's a really good track to race on, nice and fast."

Rick has built a practice track on his Rockhampton property, and he is keen to work his way up the ranks as he gains race experience.

There will also be dirt karts in action on Sunday, with about 25 entries received across the junior and senior divisions.

Jessie and Ellie Watson, Chantelle Barnes and Aspen Andrews will be among the competitors showcasing their talent.

Racing starts at 9am on Sunday. Entry is $5 for over 14s.

The event, which is being sponsored by SMW, Kerr Solutions, Rockhampton Building Approvals, The Caves Quarry and JAG Drilling, will be a great forerunner to next year's All Australian Championships.