
Sidecar Speedway is a
motorcycle sport
Motorcycle sport is a group of competitive sporting events that involve motorcycles, where riders participate in various disciplines such as racing, stunt riding, trials, and endurance contests. These sports test speed, skill, endurance, and con ...
involving 4 crews of a rider and a passenger competing over 4 laps on an oval shale surface. Rules are governed by the national
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida.
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta.
*Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
federation and are not dissimilar to conventional speedway rules.
Sidecar speedway is most popular in Australia although in Great Britain it also has a strong following. Sidecar speedway events are also held in New Zealand,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and United States of America. Because of the nature of the sports
hotbeds being spread so wide across the globe, organising an official World Championship has been an arduous task, though in 2006 the first successful
Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
The International Motorcycling Federation (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) or (FIM) is the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing. It represents 123 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six continent ...
World Track Racing Sidecar Championships (Sidecar Gold Cup) were held at
Isle of Wight Speedway stadium. Queenslanders
Scott Christopher aka Carson, whom most recognise as the leading host of 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' and
Trent Koppe collectively aka the honda boys were crowned the first ever official World Sidecar Champions. The event was screened live on
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
.
Nature of the sport

Racing
sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, Scooter (motorcycle), scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. The combination of a motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''rig'', ''outfit' ...
s on speedway involves a rider and a passenger mounted on a 1000cc purpose built, three-wheeled sidecar outfit. The passenger of the machine is as much involved in the race performance as the rider. The two members of the sidecar crew work in unison to ride the outfit as best they can. Speedway circuits are a loose shale surface and therefore traction is all important. The passenger plays a major part in controlling the amount of traction being created on the rear wheel. He does so by moving his weight forwards, backwards and sideways (either into or out of the machine). The outfit only ever turns right so the passenger only finds himself on the right hand side of the outfit.
Sidecar speedway is much less popular than conventional speedway, though by no means less spectacular (in a survey of speedway fans taken during the 1970s, Sidecars were actually voted as the most popular class – which included car racing – in Australian speedway). Like conventional speedway, the machines are equipped with no brakes or traction control systems. However, they are powered by huge 1000cc engines, taken from
roadrace superbikes
Superbike racing is a category of motorcycle racing that employs highly modified production motorcycles, as opposed to MotoGP in which purpose-built motorcycles are used. The Superbike World Championship is the official world championship series, ...
. Therefore, power output can be anything up to 180
bhp and top speeds can reach up to 80 mph. Sidecar speedway is also very similar to sidecar
Grasstrack and many crews race both disciplines. For example, the 2007 British Sidecar Speedway Champions
Gary Jackson and
Carl Blyth are also regular competitors in Grasstrack racing, Jackson being a former British Grasstrack champion himself.
One main difference between sidecar speedway and more conventional speedway is the rule of contact. In solo speedway, any contact is strictly forbidden, and this rule is enforced strongly by
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
s. However, due to the nature of sidecar speedway outfits being much larger, contact is inevitable between machines. Although if a machine is deemed to take an advantage by 'barging' another competitor off the racing line whilst 'under power', then they may be excluded. This rule is very difficult to judge and enforce and therefore is often the cause of controversy.
Crews can also be excluded for losing their passenger.
Similar rules to conventional speedway include
*running off the racing circuit (surprisingly easy on a machine that will only turn right).
*touching or breaking the starting tapes when under starters orders (again, easily done with a clutch holding back 180 bhp).
*Being unable to make the start within a 3-minute time allowance.
Also in British Speedway the
SCB enforce the use of dirt deflectors on the rear of the machine.
Events
Sidecar Speedway is believed to have originated in Australia and has been popular there ever since with the first
Australian Championship taking place at the
Exhibition Speedway in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
in 1931. Ever since, sidecar speedway has been one of the most popular categories in Australian speedway at both capital city tracks such as the
Sydney Showground Speedway,
Brisbane Exhibition Ground,
Rowley Park Speedway and the
Claremont Speedway, while country tracks such as the
Broken Hill Speedway,
Olympic Park in
Mildura
Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red ...
and the
Riverview Speedway in
Murray Bridge have involved sidecars since the 1940s.
Motorcycling Australia
Motorcycling Australia is the governing body for motorcycle racing in Australia, covering road racing, motocross, Motorcycle trials, trials, supercross, Race track#Surfaces, dirt track, supermoto and Motorcycle speedway, speedway. Motorcycling ...
have also allowed riders from England to compete but no recent success has been recorded. Another big event is the Australian Pairs title, where the best riders from each state pair up and compete against other states. The Australian Pairs championship and the 'individual' championship are usually run on the same track over consecutive days. The 2013 Australian title was run at one of Australia's premier motorcycle speedway tracks, the
Gillman Speedway in Adelaide with Sydney's Darrin Treloar winning his record 7th national crown, while the 2014 event at the
Loxford Park Speedway in
Kurri Kurri
Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,174. Kurri Kurri is the largest town in a group of towns and hamlets, including Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, We ...
in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
saw first time winners Grant Bond and Glen Cox. The 2015 Australian championship was scheduled to be held at the
Arunga Park Speedway in
Alice Springs
Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...
on 4 and 5 April.
Sidecar speedway received a boost from the 2011/12 Australian season with the first running of the Speedway Sidecar Grand Slam series, the first of its kind in Australia. Running from October to April, the series included such riders as Treloar, 5 times Australian champions Glenn O'Brien from
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, as well as the 2011 World Champions Mick Headland and his partner, former champion (2009) Paul Waters. The seven round 2013/14 Sidecar Grand Slam series concluded on 22 March 2014 at Gillman, with British Champions Mark Cossar and Darryl Whetstone winning the night, but Darrin Treloar and passenger (swinger) Blake Cox won the series.
In the UK, sidecar speedway has had more of a troubled upbringing. In the early 1990s the 'World Of Rebels' series was run, involving sidecars from England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This event eventually died out, with cost of travel and track wear being fingered as problems. A British Championship was run at
Coventry Speedway every year, mostly involving
Grasstrack machines. However, in 2000, the Supercup Qualifier was run at
King's Lynn
King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...
and it sparked a new era for sidecar speedway. The 'Supercup' ran for a few years, bringing with it many sidecar stars from Australia, New Zealand, and USA. During this time, the British Sidecar Speedway Championships were made official, again another big landmark for sidecar speedway.
In modern times, the Supercup has since diminished but the British Championships still run strong. They run over a series of rounds at different speedway tracks. The Supercup was re-established in 2008 as a one night event at
Isle of Wight Speedway and was won by World Champions
Darrin Treloar/Justin Plaisted.
The 2010 World Championship was won by Australian father/son tea
Mick and Jesse Headlandat the
Brandon Stadium in
Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
, England on 14 August 2010. Jesse Headland substituted for his fathers regular partner Paul Waters who was still recovering from injuries sustained earlier in the year in New Zealand. Mick Headland was the defending World Champion having won the 2009 title in France with Waters.
The 2011 World Sidecar Speedway Championship took place on 12 November 2011 at the 360m long
Riverview Speedway in
Murray Bridge in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
with Darrin Treloar and Murray Bridge's own Jesse Headland taking the title.
The other major event in world sidecar speedway is the
FIM Track Racing Gold Trophy. It had a troubled start, being cancelled due to rain at its
Wertle venue. Since then, the event has been a success. Riders from Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and Holland have competed, though the Australian teams have dominated the events to date.
See also
*
Auto Race (Japanese sport)
*
Dirt track racing
Dirt track racing is a form of motorsport held on clay or dirt surfaced banked oval racetracks. Dirt track racing started in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 1930s using both automobiles and motorc ...
*
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
*
Grasstrack
*
Ice speedway
Ice speedway is a developed form of motorcycle speedway racing, featuring racing on frozen surfaces. The sport uses bikes enhanced for the terrain. Participants can compete at international level.
Outline
The bikes race counterclockwise arou ...
*
Outline of motorcycles and motorcycling
*
Track racing
References
{{reflist
Motorcycle speedway
Sidecar racing