The Place

Re the mini wheeled outfit, was it not Paul Crossley and ? Stockdale that were first with a mini wheeled outfit.

sidecarcop wrote:Remember a guy at north glos meetings in early 80's, bit of an eccentric, smoked a pipe and wandered around the paddock in slippers, looked like Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull. The motor used to jump around the frame when revved. Last i heard it was sold to someone to go classic racing, they put a head steady on it and the frame fell to bits.

MikeB wrote:I did my apprenticeship with a bloke whos brother Phil Davies used to ride a Vincent outfit, he went on to ride TZ750's I think.... It was way before we got into sidecar racing. Thinking about one of the previous comments he had a bit of Jethro look going on. Not sure if he is on the site, but he was a good bloke who lent us his trailer when we first started.

Phil Davies was an old mate of mine, haven't seen him for years - someone mentioned he'd emigrated - we were both GPO Telephone Engineering apprentices in the early 70s in Brum. He later went to work for Honeywell.
Always was a sidecar man. He built some very nice BSA A10 engines at the time and ran a chopper style outfit on the road with a box sidecar. (Happy memories of coming back from the 'Ship' in Solihull at 11 pm one night, A10 on full chat with open drag stacks and Phil with his woolly hat, me in the chair and Blakey's Alsation on me lap.......don't ask!)
My missus learned to ride a sidecar on Phil's Series B Rapide road outfit along a quiet lane at the back of Stourbridge!

He had a garage absolutely full off A10 stuff, then went into Ariel Square 4s and then Vincents.
He later went into sidecar racing sometime in the very early 80s. Last time I saw him racing was at Donington around 1986, on a TZ750 outfit. The engine in this chassis was the one from the solo that Phil Bosco was riding when was killed at Croft.

Phil did look very much like Ian Anderson, from Jethro Tull, at the time - all hair and beard and wild eyes!! lol

Happy days!

Bob B wrote:Two pics of a Vincent at Chimay 2009

Bob, that outfit is Chris Chant's old sitter from VMCC and pre-kneeler classic club days.
Now trundling round Belgium, I believe.

Happy Daze

sidecarcop wrote:Remember a guy at north glos meetings in early 80's, bit of an eccentric, smoked a pipe and wandered around the paddock in slippers, looked like Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull. The motor used to jump around the frame when revved. Last i heard it was sold to someone to go classic racing, they put a head steady on it and the frame fell to bits.

That guy was Martin Davenport from Coventry, passenger was Bryan Sutton (also Chris Chant's passenger), he used a Pete Russell chassis and was obscenely fast (all self tuned by Martin) and safe with it, he used it to repeatedly beat other more powerfull outfits, a fantastic driver. The outfit always looked a disgrace but it was fast and safe.

He sold the outfit in the early 1980's to Dave Mellows from Norfolk (Suffolk??) because Dave (an ex-grass racer) wanted to win at classic road racing. The engine was stripped and eventually declared "slow" - really??, sold and the chassis went somewhere as Dave reckoned "it didn't handle" - really??. Don't know where the chassis went or is now. Last I heard Martin Quirke has one of Martin's old engines (that was with the outfit that Dave bought) in his current kneeler.

Martin is a top, top, top person and was my mentor into the sport. He would help anyone, anytime.

Martin eventually built a conventional GSX Suzuki outfit that he raced for a few years, but I think he always wished that he could have just have got a lot more umph out of the Vin!!.

Here is an image of my old sitter, pic taken in about the year 1735 (well it seems that long ago!!).
Poor old girl is still waiting for the engine to go back in again.

Loved riding it, taught me a lot and prepared me well for getting on a TZ750 (which seemed like a walk in the park by comparison!!).

Martin - the TZ was not out of Phil Bosco's wreckage, Phil sadly passed a while before I started and I still remember him well.

And I didn't emigrate, racing always pulled me back to the UK, and when I did want to REALLY go and had the where with all to go, the Aussies wouldn't let me in (sensible people) as they said I was too old - weeelll I mean, really!!.

Just an aside - Dave Mallows was also national Sidecar Moto-Cross champion on at least one occasion

Phil Davies wrote:Here is an image of my old sitter, pic taken in about the year 1735 (well it seems that long ago!!).
Poor old girl is still waiting for the engine to go back in again.

Loved riding it, taught me a lot and prepared me well for getting on a TZ750 (which seemed like a walk in the park by comparison!!).

Martin - the TZ was not out of Phil Bosco's wreckage, Phil sadly passed a while before I started and I still remember him well.

And I didn't emigrate, racing always pulled me back to the UK, and when I did want to REALLY go and had the where with all to go, the Aussies wouldn't let me in (sensible people) as they said I was too old - weeelll I mean, really!!.

Great to hear from you Phil.
How's things?
Last time I saw you was in Lloyds Bank in Redditch about 1988! Just before I started racing outfits.

I was always under the impression that you had Phil Bosco's engine - can't remember where I was told that, but I seem to remember it was from what would appear to be an authoritative source, possibly Claude?

Cheers - Mart

Nice to hear that the Aussies have still got some common sense! LOL

A photo from Steve Kirby

The only photo of martin davenport i can find we are on the imp
next to him mallory park championship1977.
regards Steve Kirby

Another one for you Bob, were you there..

Ron Smith & Dick Fiddes Vincent/Norton winning an event at Charterhall 1959, these boys did the IOM a few years later (on a triumph)

Great photo Phil Unfortunately not there, in fact have never been to Charterhall.

Bob B wrote:Great photo Phil Unfortunately not there, in fact have never been to Charterhall.

Erm.... I just assumed that by virtue of your venerable age you had been everywhere , so the rumours aren't true then!!!

Very polite thank you Phil Never ventured further north than Silloth IIRC

Bob got another one for you - no image though

Ted Davies (employed at the Stevenage factory) short circuit raced a 16" wheeled sitter outfit in the mid to late 50's

I might have a photo I can scan ....somewhere.

Yes, remember Ted Davies, he was a tad quick IIRC

I think the outfit that Les Hosegood and Bob Swain raced was bought off Dennis Keen.