Littleborough autograss driver shares success story and need for local racing track

Date published: 03 June 2023

A rising autograss star from Littleborough has shared her success story of competing – and the need for a local racing track, as her club enters a third year without its own.

Hannah Mallinson joined Leewood Motor Club in March last year, being named ‘Rookie of the Year’ and ladies’ champion.

She met her husband, Stephen Mallinson – twice European Champion in Brisca F2 stock cars – through racing, and their daughter, 10, has just started racing this year.

Autograss is a non-contact hobby motorsport which takes place on an oval (approximately 400 metre) track using a natural soil surface. It’s made up of 10 different classes: class 1 is usually the cheapest and class 10 features open-wheel buggies with an unlimited engine size, often using twin motorcycle engines.

“It’s a real family event,” Hannah explained. “Autograss is a real family affair. There are often bike races for children, and the social side is great meeting friends from around the country and often making it a weekend by camping over.”

She continued: “I met my husband through racing and my dad also raced, so I’ve always been around the scene.

“When Stephen decided to retire from F2 racing, he wanted us to move into something more family-oriented. I had followed him around the country for years and he wanted me to have a turn at racing.

“With our eldest daughter turning 10, it meant she could start her racing career too, so we decided on autograss.”

The nature of the sport means the whole family can race in the same car on the same day, with Stephen in the men’s class 1, Hannah in ladies’ class 1, and their daughter in the junior saloon category (10-16 years).

Hannah races most weekends between March and November, but the lack of a permanent track for Leewood means she, and other club members, have to travel around the country to race.

Leewood’s previous track was near Manchester Airport where it had raced for 20 years. Prior to this, the club mainly raced in the north Manchester area. Leewood itself was founded in the 1970s and was an amalgamation of Lancs & Cheshire Autograss and Leesona-Holt rally club.

“Due to not having a track, Leewood currently has to race at several different tracks around the country. Some of these can be up to two hours away. This year, we must travel to Scunthorpe, Scarborough, north Shropshire, Sturton by Stow, Pennine, north Wales and Nottingham,” Hannah explained.

“We’re grateful for these clubs hosting us but having our own track would be advantageous. There’s a lot of organisation needed in advance for Leewood to race at other clubs’ tracks, and the fuel costs are higher too. Many of our drivers live in Heywood but we have members dotted around the north west.”

Leewood is wanting to rent 15 acres of grassland in Greater Manchester, Cheshire or Lancashire for a new location and be able to host up to 10 race meetings each year. Its drivers are fully licensed and it has liability insurance in place.

If you think you can help Leewood find a new home, please email: newvenue@gmx.com