Isle of Dogs pop the lemonade to win kids Go-Kart grand prix

Young speed racers from the Isle of Dogs have beaten tough rivals from all over London in a grand prix staged on their home turf.

Nails hammered into rough slabs of wood for a frame and bits of string for steering is what made things go with a bump through the long grass.

It wasn’t exactly Formula 1 when the teams turned up for Sunday’s Go-Kart Big Race at the East End’s Mudchute Farm.

But it was fun, nailing their ‘karts’ together then racing them down the muddy slopes behind the horse stables.

Teams from adventure playgrounds, play schemes, schools and community projects in 12 London boroughs competed in this annual race, each given just four hours to build a Go-Kart from scratch, then putting it to the test on the grassy circuit.

Mudchute Farm was up against tough competition in the 2013 All London Go-Kart Grand Prix from rivals including adventure playgrounds at Weavers Field in Bethnal Green, at Hackney Marshes and as far afield as Ladywell and Catford in south London, Muswell Hill to the north and Ealing in the west.

But the champagne—or rather, fizzy lemonade—was popped by the home team, no doubt having taken advantage of their thorough knowledge of Mudchute’s rough terrain, with Ladywell carted off into second place.

Hackney Marsh won ‘best kart’ award with their gold ‘Vipero’.

But winning wasn’t as important as what really mattered—having a great day of fun.