THOUSANDS of people flocked to Ringwood yesterday for the Daily Echo-backed Magna Mazda British Pedal Car Grand Prix.

Crowds lined streets lit by brilliant sunshine to roar on the 54 teams vying for victory over an extended 1.4km lap around closed town centre streets.

After two-hours of wheel-to-wheel racing, Apollo Racing 1 was declared the winner, having clocked up an impressive 46 laps.

Race director, Jim Stride, said: “I’m so pleased it came off. Everybody had such a fantastic race. Extending the course was unknown territory, but everybody has been coming up and saying they had a fantastic race and are thrilled to bits.

“We’ll definitely be back in 2012 – the same size but definitely no bigger, otherwise we’ll end up in Bournemouth.”

Charities, Help For Heroes, Tenovus, and Wave 105’s Cash For Kids, will all share in an estimated £20,000 raised from sponsorship. Donations collected during the day will give a further boost to good causes.

The race will return to Ringwood in 2012.