It’s all systems ‘GO’ for this weekend’s big Ovenden British Grasstrack Grand Prix hosted by Dirty Racing Events at Dig Dog Lane, near Frittenden, Kent, TN17 2AX. And, what a fantastic entry the event has attracted, with racing for 250cc, 350cc, 500cc, GT140s, Upright solos and 500cc, 1,000cc Right-Hand, 1,000cc Left-Hand and Clubman Sidecars. Racing starts on Sunday at 12.30pm with admission prices of £20 Adults, £15 Concessions and Under 15’s FREE. There’s even action on the evening before the main event with Dirty Racing also staging the Revi Grand Prix for the stars of tomorrow and it’s just £5 for them to enter, fantastic value!
Preview and Images by Mike Wood
So, on Sunday, starting with those ultra-competitive GT140’s who will be contesting a special Gold Cup competition. Attracting a truly super 22-strong rider line-up, this should ensure that this class will be extremely intriguing in the battle for eventual podium places! With so many riders coming to the tapes, it’s very difficult to predict the eventual victors, but some of the stand-out names certainly look like being Ian Clark, Wayne Broadhurst, Mark Scopes, Kevin Gwillam, Connor Sargeant, Duncan Burton and Steve Newsham.
Having finished 4th in the recent ACU 250cc British Championship, Luke Wicks leads the line-up in that class at Dig Dog Lane. The entry in that one also features Ben Ilsley, who scored a fantastic 5th at the Championship event despite only being initially named as the meeting reserve before getting a late start due to speedway commitments for Ollie Binns. Youngster Thomas Vining, having already scored 250cc victories this season, will also surely be a challenger on Sunday, as should the likes of Ben Phillips, Karl Beddingfield, Richie Knight and Shane Knight.
Dave Mears, Jamie Fenn-Smith, Tim Curnock and Karl Miles, all finalists in the 2026 350cc ACU British Championship, start this Sunday and look to be in contention for an eventual top placing again. The 350cc class at Dig Dog Lane also features riders such as Will Thurlby, Max Broadhurst, Luke Clifton and Chris Brook.
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With a high-quality line-up coming to the tapes in the 500cc class at the Ovenden British Grand Prix, it’s certainly going to be extremely difficult to also pick out a potential winner in this one! Mixing up their grass racing with plenty of speedway action, Edward Kennett, Max Perry, Darryl Ritchings, Luke Harris and Ryan Ashcroft are joined in the star mix by names such as Jordan Derrick, Liam Ashcroft, Jake Breeze and Thomas Vining amongst others! Doubling up in this one after his 350cc outings will be Will Thurlby.
The final solo class is for the Uprights, and in that one Dave Mears, Jason Prynne and David Hollingsbee should be right in contention as they are joined by Jack Westbrook, Tim Mount, John Shipley, Nickolaj Kennett, Kevin Beer, Barry Coates and Robbie Higgins.
Over to the sidecars and the 1,000cc Right-Hand class is absolutely stacked and promises to be a thriller! All of the finalists at the recent Steer Trophy will be present, so that means that Mark Cossar/Carl Blyth, Terry Saunters/Liam Brown, Neal Owen/Jason Farwell, Dale Fish/Jordan Fish, Simon Beaney/Brook Fowler and John Hand/Adrian North are ready to go at it again! Then, adding even further to the quality on view, you can throw in 2025 British Masters Champion Gareth Winterburn with Frankie Courtney in the chair, Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb, Peter Lloyd/Andi Wilson, Clint Blondel/Lewis Davies, Tom Marvell/Stephen Russell and Mark Warren/Ryan Barker into the mix; what a line-up that is!
Having recently been crowned the 2026 ACU 1,000cc Left-Hand sidecar champions, Danny Hill/Callum Ray will be after more glory at Dig Dog Lane. Having finished 3rd in that ACU final, Joe Holland will be in the line-up but this time with Adrian North as passenger. Also featuring a different name in the chair following the ACU event are Michael Phillips partnered by Ryan Barke and Josh Penfold with Sam Black.
Five crews have entered the 500cc sidecar class with Richard Webb/Antony Goodwin looking like the crew they will have to beat! This line-up also includes Shane Freeman/Tobias Vere, Chris Neame/Zoe Pay, Mike Skelding/Louis Skelding and Butch Jenner/Liam Ryaner.
The final class at Dig Dog Lane is for Clubman sidecar, and the pairing of Mark Courtney/Leon Torres are the stand-out names in that one. In an entry which pits experience up against youthful exuberance its certainly going to be interesting to see how the young ace pilots of Luca Whitelam, Frankie Courtney and William Offen fair against the likes of Paul Jasper and Jim Penfold!
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