How it all Began
Back in the early 60’s, prior to the mods and rockers era and very much to the extreme horror of my parents, I took to the road on two wheels with a power source; a motorcycle – well actually it was a scooter. I suppose like many mothers whose teenage sons get their hands on their first scooter or motorcycle they think and certainly hope that it will be short lived, but not for me. I have now been riding for over 50 years. I had several bikes in my teens and early twenties and would ride to Brands Hatch to watch the racing as often as I could afford; I was only earning £1.10 shillings a week as an apprentice mechanic. I used to love to go and watch all those early sixties racers battling it out on track together. It truly was incredible to watch. Names that immediately come to mind include Derek Minter, Dave Croxford, Dave Degens, Bill Ivy , Phil Read and of course the late great Mike Hailwood and the list goes on.
It was whilst attending those meetings at Brands that my appetite for racing initially blossomed. At the age of 23 I bought my first race replica bike; today it would be referred to as a café racer. The engine was a Norton 600, bolted into a slim line featherbed frame. It had aluminium wheels, clip-ons, single seat with a racing hump; it looked the business. It was quick and it handled; Oh! did it handle? Well I thought so. After a couple of months the initial excitement of cruising around town and doing a bit of posing had worn off. It was then that I removed the engine and stripped it completely. I replaced the piston rings, honed the bores, refaced the valve seats and valves and polished the inlet and exhaust ports; well that’s what the boy racers did so that’s what I did. Once rebuilt the engine ran like a Swiss watch and sounded a dream.
It was then that it occurred to me that I could take on the world with this bike. My mind was made up; I was going racing on this bike. There were no track days back then, but Brands did have what were called practice days. The idea was that racers could use the circuit to test their bikes and get them set up for future events.
This was my opportunity. No need to book just turn up and pay for your session and off you go. No briefing, no marshals, no ambulances (there may have been a first aid box somewhere), no flags, no licence needed to be shown, no forms or disclaimers to sign, no tyre warmers or even the need to take it easy to get your tyres up to working temperature, just pay your money get on track and go for it. Not like that at track days today with all the “elf & safety” whatsit!
Well here I am let loose on my first ever race track with a bike that’s going to beat the world, so let’s show them all. I did take it quite cautiously for a couple of laps, mainly to find out which way the tarmac went. Then thought, that’s enough of that, lets light this thing up. Around Paddock Hill bend and then up the hill towards Druids hairpin and hard on the brakes. Oh! my god I wasn’t slowing down quick enough and the hairpin was rushing towards me at what seemed like the speed of light. I didn’t manage to pull up in time and with no run off at the hairpin I just couldn’t turn in and take the bend. Pulling the front brake lever with as much force as I could muster I was still heading straight for the grass banking and so I did what most folk would do in such circumstances, I shut my eyes and hoped for the best. The angels were with me that day as I did manage to pull up just before launching myself into the banking. Still standing astride the bike and trying to hide my embarrassment, steady my nerves, gather composure and look nonchalant, I thought what happened there? Then it dawned on me, yes it was in part down to my over enthusiasm but also down to a serious lack of stopping power. There were no hydraulic braking systems, only cable brakes and no disc brakes on motorcycles either, but you could spend a fortune on twin leading shoe front brakes. My front brake was a single leading shoe brake, which wouldn’t stop a caterpillar on a charge. Totally inadequate for these sort of extremes and I needed to re-think things. After several more laps I really started to enjoy the experience but made sure I left acres of braking distance when approaching the hairpin to allow me to safely wobble around this bend. My pace was increasing and I was outpacing many on track; that was until I thought I had got the measure of the long right hander at Clearways. I was on the limit when a bike came passed me around the outside as if I was standing still; it was Paul Smart on the works Triumph triple. I felt completely disillusioned, so much so that I rode straight back to the paddock and went home. It demoralised me so much that I decided to sell the bike and reconsider my options.
Several weeks after I had sold the Norton I received a phone call out of the blue. It was a work colleague who had heard about my woes and explained that he knew someone called Jim who was seeking a sidecar passenger. My initial thought was, no thanks, that’s not for me. After sleeping on it I thought, well why not, it’s a chance to get into the racing world and gain some experience and then I can buy another bike and try again. Good plan me thinks, so I called this Jim and went to meet him. As they say, “the rest is history” but I’ll tell you anyway.
It was at the season opener in 1968 at the King of Brands meeting that I first stepped on to a racing sidecar platform. As I had never raced anything in my life before I needed to locate a set of racing leathers and an ACU approved helmet, so I embarked upon a search of the paddock. Some kind soul who took pity on me dug out an old very well used set of leathers and produced a suitable helmet.
Then it was down to race control to sign on. Jim’s current passenger was carrying injuries due to two heavy tumbles from the previous season and was unable to compete that year; that should have told me something! When entering the event Jim didn’t know who would replace his injured passenger so I was forced to enter under the name of his original passenger. Not good if something goes wrong….but we didn’t worry about things like that in those days.
Just before we went out for the practice session Jim explained there was nothing to it and I should just make sure I held on tight to the four grab handles and hung out of the outfit on left handers and sit over the back wheel on rights. That was it, the sum total of my training for my first ever national race meeting as a sidecar passenger with no racing licence.
During the short practice session, on the Indy circuit, I soon discovered that it is not possible to work against gravity when it’s pulling around 2g; I must work with it! The left hander at the end of the bottom straight followed by the right into Clearways meant that delaying the manoeuvre too long on the left hander would leave me battling with the physics of Isaac Newton’s discovery. Even attempting to stay with this bucking bronco and avoid being ejected into orbit I must release my vice like grip before Jim started his turn to the right. Clearly, the timing for this was crucial! This meant going into free fall and launching myself across the bike and back towards the two other lifesaving handles over the rear wheel. This was a scary moment for a novice passenger who wanted to see his kids grow up; not that I even had any at that time.
The first race loomed. Nerves; Oh! my God, they were in full flight. Push starts were the order of the day then. I pushed this monstrosity as hard as I could; Jim had not said how long it was necessary to keep pushing so I leapt on well before him; I had no intention of being left behind and being taken out by those coming up from the rear. The engine fired up and we were away surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of other machines all trying to occupy the same piece of tarmac. It was a ten lap race and apart from a lot of bumping and bashing by and from other machines, it all went very smoothly and was soon over. Oh! yes, and we finished second to Norman Hanks of the then famous sidecar racing family. A result I thought! And there I was still in one piece and I buzzing; my first ever competitive motorcycle race.
The Role of the Passenger
Sidecars are not designed to go around left hand bends and hence the need for some ballast to keep the sidecar from catapulting its occupants off into the hemisphere. The main aim of the passenger when entering a left hand bend is to get his/her weight well out of the chair and forward. In so doing this will reduce the down forces on the rear wheel and hopefully, if the passenger is doing the job correctly, will allow the rear wheel to break traction and drift. This is vital in sidecar racing. If the rear wheel grips the tarmac too much it’s curtains and over the top you both go.
Right hand bends are different. That rear wheel will break traction quite easily providing the entry speed into the bend it sufficient. This will create an oversteer situation where the driver then counter steers to control the drift with the throttle.
The passenger needs to fine tune both these situations to allow enough, but not too much, drift and will adjust position accordingly, as every bend is different e.g. circuit grip qualities, positive or negative camber or entry at the crest of a hill or in a dip.
The Racing
During that first year following a number of race entries with Jim and another local driver I really got settling into the role of sidecar passenger and yes, I did buy some leathers and an ACU approved pudding basin styled helmet. Does anyone remember them? Protection was minimal in those days. The helmet had a hard casing above the ears and sat on your head like the saying goes; a pea on a drum. As for the leathers they were quite thin and the only additional protection was a double layer of leather on the shoulders, elbows, knees and hips; no CE approved hard armour then.
Towards the end of that season and on returning home from work one af
ternoon I had a guest waiting to see me. I was introduced to Les Langridge (who very sadly has recently passed away) and that became the start of a long racing partnership. Obviously my name had been mentioned in the right quarters.
Les had a 650cc triumph engine outfit and for two seasons we entered many races around the country, mainly club events. We had many race wins and built up a cabinet of silverware.
Over the winter of 1969/70 Les built a complete new frame which proved to be a tremendous success from the outset; it handled impeccably. During the 1970 season we knocked up 14 wins and 6 places out of 22 starts. But it wasn’t these 14 wins that had the bike racing cognoscenti murmuring about us. It was a sixth place in a heat at Brands on October 4 that year when the full might of the International aces lined up for the Race of the South. We had a sensational start when we recorded an identical practice lap time to West German ace Siegfried Schauzu on his Rennsport BMW, which cost about half a red bricked semi in Brighton in those days, compared to our hand built Triumph outfit costing about £300.
Before the commencement of the 1972 season Ron Gardner of Gardner Racing Carburettor fame approached me with a proposition.
Ron is a local to the town where I live and I had known him for some years and had occasionally helped him with the assembly of his carburettors. He had developed a flat slide carburettor with a round brass needle that was milled with a flat section. His carburettors were a revelation at the time and are still available today and widely used in classic bike racing.
He knew of our successes on the Triumph outfit and wondered if we may be interested in testing another sidecar outfit. He had fitted 4 of his carburettors to a Hillman Imp powered racing sidecar, which at the time was raced by a well-known rider; Dick Hawes. Dick had other plans for that racing season and was looking to hand the reins over to someone else. The outfit had been built as a project by a number of businessmen with the backing and support of a large team.
A testing session was arranged at Brands Hatch where Les and I were introduced to the development team of the Rhombus Imp racing sidecar. The English Oxford dictionary describes a Rhombus as “a geometric shape which has four equal sides but is not square” and we had to admit that did just about sum the whole thing up.
We were advised to take things a bit easy at first as the outfits’ manners were not so well behaved. Having raced an outfit that handled with precision, no words could possibly describe how badly this thing compared – it really was from the sublime to the ridiculous. Really scary in fact! It needed stabilisers and we needed tranquilisers! The only positive thing to say about it was that we managed to keep it on the tarmac for the whole session, unlike our first serious attempt at racing it.
Yes, we were made an offer there and then to race it and yes we did agree to it; well we were a lot younger and more foolhardy then. We entered a club meeting at Brands soon after the test session. As we didn’t want to push our luck too much and we did want to come away alive, we just entered the one race. The order of the day was, take it cautiously; too right we would!
The power of the Imp engine was tremendous compared to the Triumph and we shot into the lead. I think it was on the second lap, you’ve guessed it, we lost control and spun off the track. We got back on the track after this little excursion and were quite a way down the field, but charged through the pack to take the lead again. After another couple of laps we were heading for the greenery again. This was getting monotonous. We re-joined well down the field but managed to use the power of the engine to pass many outfits along the straight and eventually finished in second place and what a relief it was to see that chequered flag.
The Team were ecstatic, although we were just happy to be in one piece. It really was that bad. During the de-brief with the team afterwards we explained that we couldn’t get the outfit to break traction on left hand bends and the coefficient of friction between the rear tyre and tarmac on rights gave up too quickly and without warning. Quite unexpectedly we were asked if we could spare the time at some point to go for a test session to see if we could make improvements to the handling.
Some weeks later we were on the road heading for a day’s testing at Snetterton. During that test day we did manage to make significant improvements to the bike and it was case, as always, try the simple things first. We found that experimenting with tyre pressures gave us the optimum results and a reasonable compromise.
We did enter a few more races that year with some successes, but we were always mindful of the unpredictability in the handling department of the outfit, but fortunately we didn’t make any more excursions into the undergrowth.
Being part of the Rhombus team we were fully sponsored and didn’t even have to arrange our own race entries. We would be given a schedule of meetings throughout the year, turn up and race and leave the entire spanner tweaking to our two mechanics. We were attracting start money and retained any prize money for wins or places, although that wasn’t in great abundance as we were now mixing it with the big boys in National and International events.
In the photo shot of us at Brands (No 20) it can be seen that the front wheel in use is a 16 inch spoked wheel which was the conventional sidecar racing wheel then for both front and back wheels, and a smaller wheel for the sidecar. The outfit was originally built using a combination of a spoked 16 inch wheel at the front and a mini wheel at the rear and on the sidecar.
Over the winter period of 1971/72 the team completely re-built the front end of the outfit. A new front frame and suspension set up was added using a mini wheel to match those of the rear and sidecar wheel. At a test session before the season started in earnest we were amazed at the difference in the handling. It did inspire so much more confidence and gave us a big motivational boost for the forthcoming season.
During 1972 it was still very much a development year but things were moving in the right direction.
Now with the newly configured front end coupled with the power of the 1000cc Imp engine (developed by Coventry Climax) we were getting some good placings and as a result the motorcycling press were starting to show an interest in the two Sussex lads. We were even being listed in the pre-race publicity materials.
All in all we had a good season and we had gained a lot more confidence with the handling characteristics and ended up with some decent placings and everyone was happy. In fact there were some discussions with the team that maybe for the following season Les and I may be interested in going semi-professional and entering the FIM World Sidecar Championship series. This was not an option for either of us as we both had secure positions and young families and it would have meant packing up our full time jobs and spending a lot of time away from home. The insecurities in entering an annual racing contract were just too great.
1973 did not start on a good note for us. Until now Duckhams Oils were sponsoring us by supplying us with their racing oil, Duckhams R, a vegetable based oil. However, they announced at the beginning of that season that they would only provide us with the ordinary mineral oil.
The Imp engine, being fundamentally a car engine, used a wet sump arrangement and was not modified to accommodate a dry sump setup. For racing purposes the sump was fitted with oil deflectors to reduce the amount of swill and surge of the oil due to cornering forces. The vegetable oil, having a more stable viscosity, was able to cope with this, but unfortunately not the mineral oil.
Consequently, we suffered numerous major engine failures during the first part of the season. Eventually, Duckhams agreed to join us at a national meeting at Cadwell Park. During the race the engine let go big time. The mineral oil was totally inadequate to combat the tremendous stresses in the engine. The surge of the oil away from the major components resulted in starvation of lubrication to the vital parts and ended with a complete major engine failure. Connecting rods broke and exited through the block along with the pistons. This had a devastating effect, leaving a trail of oil on the entrance to Charlie’s right hander. We spun off in a huge cloud of smoke and stuffed ourselves into the bank. The following lap around 6 other outfits hit the oil and joined us in an entanglement of metal, fairings and bodies. Fortunately no one was injured but we were not flavour of the day.
Duckhams agreed there was a problem and re-instated our supply of Duckhams R from then on.
The rest of the season went well. At a national meeting at Snetterton we clipped a second off Chris Vincent’s sidecar lap record, taking the speed up to 89.51mph. This resulted in some great publicity from the motorcycling press.
Later on that year we scored our first International win, beating George O’Dell to the line (see No 15). In the evening sunshine we set off in the second sidecar race of the day and during the race the Imp engine sprung an oil leak but we still managed to cross the line ahead of all the opposition and take our second win of the day only to find the sump dry of oil; one more lap would have meant another expensive engine re-build.
1974 was all about preparing for our first TT that June. The team were working on a sleeved down version of the powerful Imp engine. The TT regulations required that the engine capacity limit for sidecars was 750cc.
We continued entering races prior to the TT using the larger engine. During a meeting at Cadwell Park about three weeks before the TT both Les and I were testing full face helmets in readiness to use at the TT. Full face helmets were just starting to gain popularity with the racing fraternity. From memory they were Premier Helmets developed and produced by Phil Read of racing fame.
I had borrowed a full face helmet from a racing friend and aimed to use it in practice just to get a feel for how it felt. I liked it and decided to get one as soon as I could.
In the meantime we readied ourselves for the first race and I donned my open face helmet and clear visor. We were called to the pit area for the start of the race, but it was delayed. Whilst waiting I thought I would use the full face helmet again and asked the mechanic to fetch it for me.
During the race the engine developed an oil leak, which was spreading around the sidecar platform and covered the visor on the helmet. As we were approaching the left hander just before the infamous Mountain section I was adopting my usual MO for left handers. This involved me tucking myself behind the small screen in front of me, keeping my head low, and looking directly down at the platform. Les would hit the brakes to knock off some speed to take the bend and just before he released the brakes to enter the bend I would drop out of the sidecar to the left. On this occasion,I was not ready for what happened next.
Les hit the brakes and I slid forward on the oil covering the platform and went straight out over the top of the screen; did a complete somersault in front of the speeding outfit which then ran over the top of me and twisted me around underneath it. The next thing I remember, I was in the first aid cabin with a nurse attempting to remove my leathers. I had some nasty cuts and bruises under my leathers but considering the circumstances I got off lightly. Oh! but the helmet! It was wrecked. The visor and front chin bar had all but disappeared due to the contact with the tarmac and underside of the outfit. Had I been wearing my open faced helmet…. well I dread to think what I would look like today; no comments please.
I did buy a new full face helmet for the friend I had borrowed it from and repaired the damaged one with fibre glass and used it at the TT and for some time afterwards. What its impact strength was like after the crash I don’t know, but I am glad I didn’t have to put it to the test!
The 1974 TT
It was a good TT for us. OK we did have a few problems, but 37.75 miles of public roads is going to take its toll on any racing bike.
We spent a good deal of our time learning the circuit. We had taken a Norton Dominator over with us and used this to learn the circuit and covered many laps. We attended all the practice sessions we could to keep up the learning process and the outfit was performing reasonable well.
We only had one problem, but it was significant and would affect our race performance unless it was sorted. Every time we exited the Ramsey Hairpin and commenced our climb up the Mountain the engine refused to pull on all four cylinders. We couldn’t tie it down to any particular cylinder though. Once we reached the Bungalow section the engine performance return to full power.
The mechanics really struggled to find a cure for this one. The electrics were blamed as were the carburettors and numerous components were replaced but to no avail; we would have to live with the problem.
Saturday race day dawned. It was cold and wet and there was mist on the Mountain. Not unusual for the TT. As a result the race start was delayed for a couple of hours to see if the weather was going to improve.
The Team decided that they ought to start the engine to make sure everything was OK for the race. The outfit refused to start. It was pushed up and down the road but to no avail.
Electronic ignition circuits were in their infancy then and the problem was traced to that – no sparks – and no doubt the problem with the misfire we had experienced during practice.
Fortunately the weather didn’t improve and the race was postponed until the Monday. The mechanics removed the electronic ignition system and replaced it with the conventional system of HT coil, distributor and contact breakers (the younger members of the Club won’t remember such a basic means of creating a high tension spark).
Monday loomed bright and clear and we were looking forward to a good days racing. Being first timers at the TT we were given a high number and started towards the end of the grid. Whilst waiting for our turn to set off down the Glencrutchery Road toward the infamous and very steep Bray Hill, we were interviewed by the Blue Peter team.
Eventually we set off and all was going well until we reached Ginger Hall on the first lap. Three outfits had come together just over the rise passing the pub and the outfits and 6 occupants had somersaulted down the road. We came over the hill to be met by a complete meleé of metal and bodies. There was no way we could stop at the speed we were approaching but fortunately there was a small gap and Les aimed for it; I’m sure he closed his eyes and hoped for the best, I certainly did. For a moment I thought about bailing out but stuck with it and we made it without any incident. Phew! It was a close one though.
At various stages en route to Ramsey we overtook a number of outfits, gaining positions. However, when we reached Ramsey Hairpin we had dispelled any thoughts of the problems suffered during practice – well the problem had been resolved; hadn’t it? No it hadn’t, as before, the misfire appeared just leaving this section of the circuit. We were devastated and many of the people we had passed on the road were now overtaking us up the Mountain.
Apart from the misfire ascending the Mountain we completed the race and finished 13th. Just a great pity the engine problem could not have been resolved as I am sure we would have taken a position in the first ten. For our efforts we were awarded a silver replica.
Oh! yes, that misfire. It turned out to be the airbox around the carburettors was not adequate in size to accommodate the thinning air as we climbed the Mountain. Had some more holes been drilled into the box it would have cured the problem! Oh! well the whole week was a great experience and I can tick that one off now.
With the 1000cc engine re-installed we entered the Post TT meeting at Mallory Park. I couldn’t believe how fast the race pace felt compared to the TT. All those other outfits around; scratching, shoving and pushing into each other whilst travelling at warp speed.
The End of an Era.
Next on the agenda was the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Nothing much to report other than to say we were holding a good position and mixing it with the best when pop or should I say bang went the engine. A valve head had broken off and wrecked the engine.
Unfortunately, that was a bridge too far and losing the outfit sadly spelt the end of our racing careers.
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