UK OPEN GO-PED CHAMPIONSHIPS

BLACKBURN'S Ross Walker is the new king of the Go-Peds.

Walker was crowned British champion at the UK Open Go-Ped Championships which were held in Blackburn on Sunday.

Walker, who organised the first major national Go-Ped competition, won the Modified Big Foot section.

The Modified Big Foot section is regarded as the fastest of all the race categories with Go-Peds reaching speeds of up to 40mph.

However Walker almost had to pull out of the competition after a new engine he fitted into his racing machine blew up.

Walker and his team worked late into the night on Friday to fit the new engine only for it to blow up in practice on Saturday.

That meant the team then had to work around the clock to make sure the machine was race worthy for Sunday.

But it did the trick as Walker won both heats in the section to win the event, beating Dave 'The Wave' Whigham of Accrington into second place.

He said: "It was a bit of a nightmare. We got this new engine to improve the machine and it nearly cost me the chance of racing. We ended up working until 1am on Sunday to fix the Go-Ped but it was fine and now I am British champion." More than 30 racers from across the country took part in the event which was held at Blackburn Indoor Go-Kart Centre.

And over 200 spectators attended the event which is now set to become part of a British Race Series to be launched next year.

While the four race categories - Sport, Modified Sport, Big Foot and Modified Big Foot - provided some action packed racing, it was the Big Air jump competition which proved to be a real crowd pleaser.

Riders got the chance to show their skills over the jumps and, while they provided plenty of thrills, there were also a few spills as they lost control of their machines.

Walker added: "There were plenty of spectacular crashes and wheels falling off and things but it all adds to the excitement of the sport. Now we will be looking to restructure the event for next year and hold the championship over a series of races rather than a one off.

Next year, Blackburn will be part of the race series which will also include events at Edinburgh, Doncaster, Wolverhampton and Gloucester where Walker will kick off the defence of his title in January.

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