It was great to see Sidecar Period 3 action aplenty at the All Historic Racing weekend at Pheasant Wood Circuit on the weekend.
There were five outfits, three of which were Annandale-Leichhardt members and the other two made the journey from Victoria to take part.
Club members were Greg Freeman and Kayla Dodds on the number 50 ’62 Triumph Tiger 110, Scott and Billy Freeman on the number 51 ’62 Triumph Tiger 110, and Rod Anshaw and Glen Rolfe on the number 162 ’62 Norton Atlas.
Mick Large was joined by Jack Petith on the number 74 ’56 Triumph Thunderbird, and Dave Large had George Blade in the chair of the number 79 ’56 Triumph Thunderbird.
All five outfits had relatively smooth running on Saturday despite the damp conditions. The practice session had to be red flagged when George was overcome by fumes and had to be attended by track medical staff, but everyone was happy to see him get up and remain at the track for the weekend. Rod and Glen took out fastest outfit for the day with a 1.19.593 and Kayla was recognised as the fastest female on track.
On Sunday the weather may have cleared up but the sun seemed to bring with it some issues for the sidecar class. Greg had to retire the number 50 outfit which didn’t take to the track at all that day. Rod and Glen were leading the first race but with the white flag in sight they had to withdraw due to an engine issue that was not rectified before the next race.
Due to the decreasing number of outfits running the passengers took a chance to share experience by swapping rides throughout Sundays events. Race four was the handicap and only three outfits took to the grid, unfortunately this event was red flagged when the Freeman brothers on number 51 rolled at the back of the track. Both rider and passenger were conscious when tended to by track medical staff, but passenger Billy was transferred to NSW Ambulance who took him to Goulburn Hospital with concerns about his leg. He was discharged later that day after scans cleared him of any major damage.
The final race for the day saw more musical passengers, with Kayla jumping on with Rod on the number 62, and the surprisingly unscathed number 51 outfit went out with Greg as the rider and Scott jumped on the side. The Victorians pulled away during this final race, with the timing in Rod’s engine off after the points had to be replaced (thanks to a car competitor who shared spares that could be filed to suit) and Greg having to take it easy with Scott feeling some fatigue and stiffness from the earlier incident.
All in all it was a fun weekend of racing, despite the incidents that did occur, and a great opportunity to see the outfits in action.
A word from the racers;
“Started off as a great weekend, a little wet on the Saturday meant for some careful racing with my brother and I. The end of Saturday came out as a good day with sidecars still running and everyone having a blast. Sunday came to be a beautiful day at Pheasant Wood. First half of the day was awesome. One of the sidecars had to pull out due to underlying issues bit that didn’t stop us from having a great time. Midday came and we went out smoothly having fun, until the third lap and things didn’t go as planned. My brother and I cam in a little too hot into the corner and lost control, causing us both to come off. The sidecar went back out and both the rider and passenger were ok. We cant wait to get out there again. It was an amazing weekend and event which was really well run and organised. Thanks to everyone at Pheasant Wood track and everyone that came to watch and support these amazing old machines. All competitors were great to talk and get along with, and it’s great to see so many old bikes, sidecars and cars back on the track.” Billy Freeman (Triumph Tiger #51)
“My weekend at Pheasant Wood was nothing less than thoroughly enjoyable, the weather on Saturday was icky but made for exciting racing on the sidecar. We were fortunate enough to have two wins from two races on Saturday, but alas on Sunday we were leading out third race quite comfortably and then drama struck on lap four which forced us to retire with a DNF. Then panic set in chasing the problem which was well hidden but with many eyes on the case (a special thanks to Charlie Geanellous) we found the problem. Then the pressure was on Rodney Anshaw to resolve said problem in time before our next race, which was the handicap event that we wanted most – to chase down our rivals, but despite all of Rodney’s best efforts to adapt a foreign set of points we missed our race. Not to be deterred though he persisted, and we got the old girl running, albeit on one cylinder, so he took young Kayla out in the last to have some fun and support the event, knowing a place in the top three was completely out of the question.
The weather was magnificent on Sunday as was the crowd, competitors and the meeting was a brilliant unequivocal success thanks to Scott and all his workers. These people have such a positive can-do attitude, the meeting was always either on time or ahead of schedule despite the accidents and the inclement weather. Hats odd to all that had a hand in putting together and running this meeting. I for one will certainly be heading back to Pheasant Wood, congratulations to all who attended, assisted, worked or supported this meeting and if this is any indication – classic racing in the future looks very bright indeed.” Your forever enthusiast geriatric passenger Glen Rolfe (Norton #162)
“Had an amazing time on track at Pheasants Wood Circuit over the weekend. Met some really incredible people and made some new friends. My outfit decided not to run on the Sunday but I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to try some more powerful sidecars. Came home with holes in my leathers which shows I had a great time.” Kayla Dodds (Triumph Tiger #50)
“Great company. Very enjoyable weekend. Fantastic race meeting and look forward to the next. Learnt a lot,” Scott Freeman (Triumph Tiger #51)
ALMCC 