Paul Jenkins, of Staplefield, drove The Dilly Rocket to first place at the Hyde Estate in Handcross, narrowly defeating last year's winners Hinchey's with an average time of 15.69 seconds.

As news filtered down the course of his winning time, Mr Jenkins said "This is in memory of Enrico Mariotti, who is in jail for a murder he did not commit. He designed the original kart The Dilly Flyer and this cart has been built in his memory.

"The Rocket was designed by John Stevenson, and as you can see he's a great engineer. I wouldn't go down a hill doing 30mph in a cart that wasn't built to do 30mph, but this can, and it's quick and it's fun!"

Paul worked with Enrico Mariotti at Pav IT in Sayers Common, who was forced to leave his home of 14 years in Nye Road, Burgess Hill, in May 2007, and return to Italy after being sentenced to 26-years in jail for a murder committed more than 30 years ago.

Mariotti continues to protest his innocence and is still in contact with friends in Mid Sussex.

While The Dilly Rocket set the pace at the Derby, organised by Getaroundcars.com, the used car dealer based in Brighton Road, Handcross, there were plenty of other noteworthy performances.

Two teams - Rhamps & Mhamps and Eco-GF - shared what was arguably the most impressive looking kart, while The Three Amigos treated fans to the most comical crash of the day, with Neil Mitchell of Handcross behind the wheel.

As the name suggests, team Double Bubble showered hundreds of spectators with bubbles as it strolled leisurely (and backwards) down the hill, but a puncture meant they missed one of two runs and therefore finished last.

That was one more run than Shark Attack, made up of Horsted Keynes youngsters Harvey Webster and Henry Macinnes, managed. They suffered a big crash in testing which destoyed the kart and left Team Bolt, made up by Joel Green of Warninglid and Louie Derham of Handcross, to take the under-12s title in an impressive time of 17.13 seconds.

Two Idiots on a Chariot, namely Fred Spyer of Cuckfield and Matt Watson of Pease Pottage, had little trouble in winning the 12-17-year-old title, as rivals Road Rats hit mechanical trouble and needed to be pushed down the hill.

For a full report see the Mid Sussex Times. Click on the green 'play' button to view our video report from the day.