Maidenhead downhill go-kart race postponed until 2022

The first-ever Maidenhead Downhill Races has been postponed until 2022 after the organisers could not risk losing money it ‘desperately’ needs.

Hosted by Andrew Ingram and the Rotary Club of Maidenhead, the event was due to see competitors in homemade go-karts race against the clock to complete a downhill course in a similar style to Cookham’s Gravity Grand Prix.

The races were due to be held on Sunday, July 25 along a 500m stretch of Grenfell Road finishing near to ICON gym at the bottom of the hill.

A family fun day had also been planned in Grenfell Park.

Prizes were due to be given to the top three gravity karts and bikes, as well as the funniest kart, coolest bikes and best fancy dress.

In a statement, the club said: “It is with sadness that we have made the hard decision to postpone the Maidenhead Downhill Races that were planned for July 25, 2021 until next year.

“This is due to the uncertainty around the June 21 lifting of lockdown restrictions and therefore being able to operate a safe event for the Maidenhead community.”

The club also confirmed that it was looking at a location away from the Grenfell Road course for next year’s edition.

“We want to ensure that we can operate the safest and most exciting event for Maidenhead so are also reviewing an alternative location to Grenfell Road that would meet our needs better and cause the least amount of disruption to residents and the emergency services,” the club added.

“This is based on advice from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and other external professional advisers.

“We have done this with the best interest of everyone involved including our chosen charity Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service, as we only want to host a safe and successful event for everyone to enjoy.

“We were starting to incur costs that would not be refundable should we cancel the event due to COVID-19 restrictions and therefore we could not risk losing money that the charity so desperately needs.”

Andrew Ingram, the founder of the event, was optimistic for a more successful 2022 edition, and said: “My hope is that, because 90 per cent of the work is done, we can just get it out of the box next year.”