Racing no drag for this Termownator

In the afternoon, 16-year-old Taylor Lynch, of Nowra, took pole position on the ''Termownator'' as the only female racer in the senior competition.

''It's been great,'' she told the Sunday Canberra Times.

''I won the drag race and I reckon I'll win again in my next race.''

Proud father Greg Lynch, who is also the president of ShowMow Racing, the lawnmower racing club in Nowra on the South Coast, said he was thrilled when his daughter took to the grassroots sport.

''I'm very proud of her,'' he said.

''I did my best not to push her into it or anything, but she really loves it, even though it's not the kind of thing most high school girls are into. She's showing most of the blokes how to race, that's for sure.''

But for those Canberrans thinking the custom ride-on lawnmowers would encourage regular grass maintenance, the modified mowers with engines up to 500cc are more likely to rip up the lawn than trim it as they travel up to 80 km/h - and blades are removed for safety reasons.