Girls kickstart their ‘low emissions’ go-kart Grand Prix with Isle of Dogs street run

A fleet of zero-emission vehicles driven by children takes to the streets before racing on the Isle of Dogs tomorrow—but outside central London’s new ‘ultra low’ emissions zone launched this week.

Youngsters like these in 2017 ready to race go-karks in their own Grand Prix on the Isle of Dogs. Picture: London Play - Credit: London Play

Nine teams of girls are taking part in London Play charity’s Girl Kart Grand Prix now in its fourth year, supported by the Manufacturing Technologies Association.

They parade their self-made go-karts along Pier Street in Cubitt Town at 3pm, before returning to Mudchute Park to race them, having spent all morning there banging them together with hammer and nail.

The youngsters are building their own karts from scratch out of a pile of wood and wheels in just four hours.

The budding automotive designers, engineers and racing drivers could one day be designing the zero-emission cars of the future.

Many come from polluted areas where traffic fumes are worst, such as neighbourhoods next to the A12 Blackwall Tunnel Approach and the A13 East India Dock Road, which isn’t covered by the new emissions zone until 2021.