CRMC Classic Sidecar Championship
Sponsored by Gristwood & Toms
A Note from our Sponsors
This is the second season of Gristwood and Toms sponsoring the Classic Sidecar Championships.
It is good to see that during this time the number of outfits entering has increased to the point of even having reserves for the grid.
Simon and myself would like to thank all of the sidecar teams for the generous help that has been offered over the last two years, which not only has moved us up through the rankings, from wobbling around last to, at the moment, third in the Championship.
Promoting the classic sidecars has been a pleasure and we look forward to helping secure their place at CRMC events for a long time to come.
Dave Gristwood
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Early Days of the Sport
Brands Hatch 1952
Jack Surtees Vincent Outfit
and below
a very modern F1 Sidecar Outfit
Members Comments
In 2009 I carried on passengering Nige, but was also passengering Eddy Wright (step dad) on the classic outfit which opened my eyes a lot and I learnt so so much. It was a shame we didnt win the championship in 09 but was very pleased with 2nd and also receiving the Novice of the Year trophy.
This season I have carried on passengering Ed with the CRMC and we hope to win the championship this year. I have also been passengering Nige Mayers in the British Formula 2 championship.
Next season, I hope to do both the TT and pre TT with Ed.
Friendships made - well bloody loads really. Special thanks to Rick Long who has given me loads of advice and Stuart Bond who has done the same really
Vicky Cooke
Classic Sidecar Racing
Sidecar racing is visually one of the most spectacular forms of motorsport. The Driver and Passenger can be seen working together as one, to propel these highly competitive racing machines around the race track at breath-taking speeds.
There is no other class of motorsport that relies on the 100% effective team-work between the two people on the outfit to get these beasts in and around corners.
The history of racing sidecars started shortly after the Second World War, Championships started in 1949 with Sidecars entering the International Arena. The early years of the sport was dominated by the Brits with racers like Eric Oliver and Denis (Jenks) Jenkinson the famous motor sports journalist won the first ever crown on their Watsonian - Manx Norton Outfit.
A good reference guide in 3 parts to the history of Sidecars can be found HERE on the FIM World Sidecar Championship Website.
Over the last two years the CRMC has seen a huge resurgence in Sidecar entries with grids filling up fast. The action on track is spectacular with close battles being contested between several groups throughout the field. This is in part down to the efforts of a few individuals as well as securing some solid sponsorship which will hopefully guarantee the inclusion and growth of Sidecar racing with the CRMC for many years to come.
#73 - Simon Smith & Dave Gristwood - #11 - Damien Perilleux & Nancy Detournay (Belgium)
A Note from Nick Robinson
I first raced with the CRMC in 1989, campaigning a Hindmarsh Imp with
my ex-wife in the chair.
We raced that until 1993, when we bought a Formula 1 outfit that we
raced for two seasons.
When we ran out of serious money we returned to the CRMC 1994 and raced
another Imp, the Windle that is now owned by Ian Johnson.
We stopped racing at the end of that year.
That was it until early in 2007 when i went to buy some gloves from
Earnshaw's in Hudderfield, when Jerry Lodge offered me one of his
MT125's. Quite why he thought an ex-sidecar racer would be a good bet on
a 125 solo is still a complete mystery!
I thoroughly enjoyed that season on the MT, but to be fair I couldn't
get on with it, it was nothing to do with the bike, that was great, but
I have a complete lack of talent when it comes to solo's. Some would
argue that the same holds true on 3 wheels as well!
I think my season on the MT is best summed up by my long-time friend,
Barry Gooding, who said of my attempts on the poor little Honda: "You
weren't crap, but with a lot practice, you could be!"
At Donington 2008 Shelli and I agreed to buy the Lynx Imp from Ray
Reeves, and picked it up at the end of the season.
Just bear in mind the following. Shelli had never been to a race meeting
until Snetterton 2007, when she came to watch me get lapped on the MT. I
really know how to impress a girl! Until then, she hadn't even seen a
racing sidecar outfit, but Andy "Bludge" Smith was kind enough to show
her what is required of a passenger, and she wandered off convinced that
he was having her on.
She then proceeded to watch the sidecars racing and was convinced that
all charioteers are certifiable! However, after copious amounts of Pino
Grigio she eventually agreed to let me buy one and to jump on the side.
We had a great first season on the Imp on 2009, finishing every race we
started and finishing 7th in the P3 championship.
Since I returned to the CRMC it has been great to meet up with Den &
Christine Etheridge and Mike Bellaby who I raced with first time round,
as well as making friends with all of the other sidecar crews,
especially Andy Rayner & Loraine Brown, our
team-mates and Reg & Kerry Charlesworth, who are based a couple of miles
down the road from us in South Yorkshire.
Of course, nothing to do with classic sidecars would be possible without
the hard work and enthusiasm of Ian Johnson and Dave Gristwood and his
entourage, but; to be fair; every single member of the sidecar community
have been absolutely fantastic and very supportive, especially Eddy
Wright, who has helped remind me of how much I have forgotten about Imps
since I first raced them, and never seems to be pee'd
off when I ring him with daft questions.
Away from the chairs, particular friends have been Paul Allender, who
lent me his awesome TZ750 at Pembrey and Tony Dunnell and Mike Carter
who lent Shelli the beautiful 350 Manx at the same meeting (Not many
people would lend a 30K+ bike to a sidecar passenger who has never
ridden a solo on a track!) Following me managing to avoid crashing the
TZ, Steve "Gremlin" Walls has offered me his beast of an XR69 for
Snetterton........what a guy! Now we just need to find a G50 for Shelli.
All-in-all, everyone at the CRMC has been fantastic, the best bunch of
mates you could wish to have.
I'd also like to mention John "Wilkie" Wilkinson, without a doubt the
best unpaid spanner-monkey there is.
Nick Robinson
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If you fancy getting involved with British Classic Sidecar Racing then please contact Ian Johnson (Sidecar Eligibility) who will only be to glad to offer advice on how to get started.