Torbanlea’s Paige Francis loves racing on her Rover Ranger lawnmower.
SHE can barely reach the pedals, yet rising lawnmower racing driver Paige Francis is having no trouble cutting down her rivals.
The fearless Torbanlea teenager recently made it a hat-trick of wins in the D-grade series, racing to victory at the Sunshine Coast round of the SEQ Ride-On Lawnmower Racing competition.
The victory means the Aldridge State High student has yet to be beaten since she first donned the helmet in February.
Paige and her mother Valerie are the only women in the Wide Bay area competing in the sport.
But that hasn't slowed the 14-year-old from quickly making her mark in the lawnmower racing scene.
"Every time we head out to the race meets, other drivers look at me and think I'm little," she said.
"But when I go out and beat them, they can't believe it."
Paige, whose bladeless machine of choice is a Rover Ranger, fitted with a 725cc Briggs and Stratton motor, grew up watching her parents race before she cut loose on the track.
Her father Fred said he was surprised by how quickly his daughter had mastered the sport.
"She'd been hounding us for months to have a go," he said.
"She's learnt pretty quickly.
"Her lines on the track make it hard for people to pass her.
"She's also confident and likes to go hard."
Paige, who races against up to 20 mowers on dirt, bump-ridden circuits, is lapping up her short time on the track.
"It's scary in a way," she admits.
"These things can throw you around, especially when you go into the corners sideways.
"Because I'm so light and I don't fit in the seat properly, I tend to bounce a lot when I go over a bump.
"But it's a huge adrenalin rush, I love it."
Fred said lawnmower racing was slowly growing in interest.
He cited the fact it was easy on the pocket as the main reason more people were joining the sport.
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