I remember in the autumn of 1958, after several deaths during that season, the FIM banned sidecar racing for 12 months to allow for a full investigation as to whether sidecars were in fact the work of the Devil...the hooved one...the necromancer...he who walks in darkness. Anyway, there was now a gap in the racing calendar and something needed to be done.....as I was chief scrutineer for the ACU at the time I was given the job of coming up with ideas for a new racing class to replace the sidecars.
I teamed up with the editor of Motorcycle Pipe Smoker, Bertie Bassett. I only had one idea but he had all sorts.......after what seemed like 3 minutes we came up with the idea of pillion racing....this would utilise both the redundant sidecar driver and also the passenger which was quite handy as they were making the paddock look untidy. What we needed was lots of publicity to get the series off the ground so we decided to make the opening round a celebrity special. We had many stars of radio and TV, VIPs and dignitaries taking part...
Eric and little Ern were going to race but Ern pulled out amid fears his legs wouldn't reach the footrests. Little and large were there too.....Supersonic Sid was at the front as he had experience as a butchers delivery boy but Eddie wasn't sure at first....the leather outfit he had was ill fitting and he was concerned that he would be laughed at....I assured him that no one would ever...ever laugh at him....!
Listed in the race program as riding number eight was an unknown pair called Keith Harris and Orville....at the paddock office during signing on a very young man arrived and said 'I'm keith Harris'.....he was holding an egg....!
There was also the husband and wife team consisting of the former Austrian 250cc champion Kodin Batta and his wife ...Fanny........Now, I have to say that she was somewhat on the plump side...in fact when she bent down it looked like a truck reversing....she wore continental style thong underclothes and as her buttocks protruded over the top of the Barbour trousers it looked like cheese wire slicing through a hairy beachball.....oh dear me....
I have no idea who won the race as I went to the pub with Flanagen and Allen and got rather merry.....the next thing that I remember is waking up in a nearby field in the dark.... with damp trousers and Barbara Windsor...hey ho
