Model Jodie Kidd was the official race starter of the 12-Hour Lawn Mower Race 2016 in the English village of Five Oaks on Saturday.

Forty- three teams lined up for the highlight of the lawn mower event of the year in West Sussex, the annual 12-hour endurance race, with the winning entry completing 415 laps of the 1.41 kilometer circuit.

Kidd said she thought the race was a great initiative.

"I think it is fantastic way of getting into motor sport whether you are doing go-karts or whether you are racing your lawn-mower, as you said it is inexpensive, it is a way of getting your foot in the door and starting young, you know, so lovely seeing all... as I walked up the pit lane seeing how many young kids are there and the families are there and they are all involved and they all have got their tools, you know, it is brilliant," she said.

The race was started by Kidd at 8 pm  

12 hours of racing is hard enough, but the majority of the race is completed in darkness, which makes it technically more of a challenge, with each team fielding three drivers who swap around to combat fatigue.

Weather also plays an important part in the race.

"So the conditions have been pretty good. It got a little bit chewy through the night, so a little bit slippery so, so it is quite nice to slide down at the back end and then about couple of hours ago a little bit of rain turned into glass, so it really really... everyone was pitting turning tire pressures down and then back out again. So it has been a bit of a mix bag," said one of the drivers.

For the fourth time in succession, "Northerners Kick Grass": Mark Rostron, James Pawlwy and veteran racer Darren "Daz" Whitehead, were the winning team this year.