Motorsport: Sidecars get their day in the spotlight

When George Roper drove off on his motorbike, leaving wife Mildred behind in the sidecar, they produced one of the classic moments of television comedy.

Sidecars have been good for a joke since Keystone Kops days. But when cars were out of the working man's budget, the sidecar made a very serious contribution to family mobility.

You couldn't sell a motorbike in Britain in the 1950s unless it had the potential for a sidecar. So it is entirely appropriate that sidecars get their time in the limelight at the Classic Motorcycle Festival at Pukekohe next weekend.

Ready to race will be 44 competitive rigs from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, with 16 of these arriving from Britain and Australia for the event. Unlike the cosy setups provided for road machines, these racing rigs provide little more than a platform for the passenger to hang on to.

Yet in the spirit of the classic motorcycle movement, the passengers in many cases match the age of their machines.

The star import is a 1972 Konig-powered rig from Britain to be demonstrated by its designer-builder, John Renwick.

The machine was a winner at the Isle of Man and was raced with success in the world championship by brothers Gerry and Nigel Borret.

The sidecars are classified as "classic", that is, pre-1963, and "post-classic" pre-1976. Enthusiast Mark Halls is looking forward to tackling Pukekohe's hairpin three-abreast with his Norton-powered rig.

Also featured next weekend will be the centenary of the BSA motorcycle, which was the world's biggest-selling bike before Honda appeared on the scene. Famed for its Gold Star, Rocket and Bantam machines, it was every boy's dream transport to succeed his pushbike.

The original Birmingham Small Arms Company was formed in 1863, selling guns and ammunition before expanding into Raleigh cycles, BSA and Triumph motorbikes and Daimler cars.

The group expired in 1973, not helped by the earlier extravagances of chairman Sir Bernard and Lady Docker, who famously drove around in a gold-plated Daimler with leopard-skin seats.

Special guests at the weekend festival will be Peter Williams and Norman White, who were leading lights in the John Player Norton works team. Williams designed a 750cc monocoque bike, which he rode to victory at Le Mans in 1973. The bike was damaged in a fire at the Birmingham National Motorcycle Museum and has been restored by White, who had worked on the original.

Local Norton restorer Ken McIntosh will be represented by a Honda! Wealthy American collector Virgil Elings out of the blue sent him the Reynolds-framed version of the four-cylinder 500cc Grand Prix bike Mike Hailwood rode in 1968.

McIntosh has been working on it for about a year and hopes to have it in working order for a demonstration at Pukekohe.

* Classic motorcycle enthusiasts chuckled when they saw George and Mildred on their motorcycle sidecar. The unintended joke was that the bike was a Brough Superior, made famous by Lawrence of Arabia, and worth rather more than the cars of the Ropers' snooty neighbours.