Grass Roots Motor Sport – UK

Early Life

I came from a non-motoring family. My parents had no interest in cars at all and I was instrumental in teaching my father to drive when he was in his fifties… I bought my first motorcycle the day after my 16^th birthday and got my uncle [with whom I was living at the time, because of my job] to sign the HP agreement; it caused a family ruckus once my parents found out when I blithely turned up on the bike for a weekend visit.

Later on I moved back home and worked for Lawton and Wilson, a major motorcycle dealer in Southampton. I joined a local motorcycle club and when we marshalled at Thruxton, I immediately knew that this was what I wanted to do. My bike at the time was a Royal Enfield Crusader Sports and with Lawton’s assistance I stripped and it and turned it into a racing bike. My first meeting was at Thruxton in a very wet National Event – in those days there were few Clubman’s events and in the first few events of my first season I competed against people like Phil Read, Tony Godfrey, Barry Sheen [much later actually] and many of the stars of the time.

Life Changing Accident

After nearly a decade racing 250cc motorcycles, including twice in the IOM Manx GP and just a few short months after retiring from the road racing scene; I was returning home one Sunday on a newly acquired 650cc BSA road motorcycle when, without warning, a car turned right in front of me from the nearside lane of a short length of dual carriageway. As I put it later: ‘I did a wall of death round his door handles but was thrown off the bike and slid backwards into the kerb.’ I suffered concussion, a fractured left arm [Ulna] and several fractured vertebrae. Fortunately, no attempt was made to move me before the police and ambulance arrived as any such movement may have caused damage to the spinal cord and resulted in paraplegia. I spent the next four months in hospital where I underwent several operations on my arm and back. My initial treatment for the spine fractures was to be placed in bed traction with weights around my ankles. After three months on my back I was placed in a plaster cast and it was then discovered that the spine had knitted together at an angle and I was never to walk straight again. The scoliosis was once measured at 40º and although I underwent a further operation some years later to try and remedy the situation, my back remains stubbornly bent. I was 5’9” [175.26 cm] before the accident but was recently measured at 5’7” [170.18 cm]

My life in Motorsport

Despite the injury and indeed my asthma and later onset of heart issues, I have refused to allow health concerns to interfere with my lifestyle and have managed to lead a full and useful life. Amongst other things, I subsequently owned several motorcycles, passed both the Institute of Advanced Motorists [IAM] advanced car and motorcycle tests, participated in the 1978 Motorcyclist of the year awards; competed in the 1976 Total Economy run and completed the High Performance Course for advanced road driving; subsequently being elected to the High Performance Club. Have driven most cars from racing karts to many modern Super cars. After my accident I competed in off-road motorcycle sporting trials and prepared a number of written-off cars which I drove in Banger racing for a season.

I have also successfully run several automotive businesses where I tuned [electronic engine testing] and road tested the majority of cars manufactured during the period 1960 to 1990. I authored about 15 automotive technical manuals [mainly published by Haynes], have written articles and provided photographs for many automotive magazines; sponsored a racing team of assorted cars, motorcycles and boats in which we won around 12 championships; driven virtually all of the racing circuits in the UK and a couple in Europe including Spa and the amazing Nordschleife… For five years I flew microlight aircraft as pilot in command. Currently I compete in Hill Climbs and Motor Sprint Races in my Lotus Elise. Oh, and I have driven many racing cars from Karts to Formula Ford and many modern Super Cars and once hit 206 mph at Kendrew in a McLaren 720S.

Never give-in to adversity…