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.
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