Sidecars at the TT

Inherently unstable, dangerously fast .... And then there's the bikes. The sidecar crews are a breed apart ;-)

From the outset, three wheeler racing in the Isle of Man proved popular with the spectators. The crews acrobatics were particularly enjoyed, but the papers went berserk in publishing terrifying pictures of the passengers hanging out. Trade busy-bodies put paid to the event for three decades from 1925, presuming adverse publicity for the important sidecar business, whose customers were seen as staid family men.

• Freddie Dixon and Walter Denny in the 1923 Douglas outfit
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  There were some interesting moments when the combinations started in their first ever TT in 1923, for the Lightweight race was still in progress. After what 'The Motor Cycle' described as - The most spectacular and genuinely thrilling struggle to be witnessed in the Isle of Man. Freddie Dixon (Douglas) won the three lap race from Graham Walker (Norton), averaging 53.13mph. The winners were at work for an exhausting 2 hours 7 minutes 48 seconds, the passenger having the tough job of hauling on levers to control the angle of lean on Dixon's ingenious design of banking chair. Second and third placed men used the stylish TT Hughes sidecars designed by Walker himself. At that time there was little difference, Dixon's device apart, between sports chairs and the racing variety.
  

• Mick Boddice and Chaz Birks on Yamaha TZR - 1989 winners
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• Dave Molyneax and Craig Hallam - 1998 and 1999 winnners
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• Rob Fisher and Rick Long - 1997, 1999 and 2000 winners
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Links

• The TT Racers page
  
• The Isle of Man index page