Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126930
.... v ..c o .... u o Sidecar speedway New Zealand style; going clockwise without brakes at Ascot's South Bay Speedway. SidecarS~edway The Kiwi invasion By Paul Carruthers . (Above) The "chairs" are powered by 1000cc Suzuki and Kawasaki fourstrokes. (Below) Rider Cliff Tolley and "swinger" Bill Sanders. A few weeks ago eight New Zealanders invaded Ascot's South Bay Speedway. They came armed with funny looking sidecarsbig erigined four-strokes mounted in near rigid frames - and proceeded to do laps around the small oval raceway. Backwards. The wa ter goes down the drain the opposite way in, the southem hemisphere and so do the Kiwi racers, Riding in the unusual clockwise direction, the eight foreigners have been making their way around southern California doingexhibiLions at speedway events and more recently AMA/Camel Pro din track races. Founeamsoftwo pitching the lOOOcc Kawasaki and Suzuki-powered "chairs" sideways - the rider sitting upright while the "swinger" hangs off the bike and gets dragged around the corner, "You've just got to be crazy," Cli[[ Tolley, one of the four riders said in summing up sidecar speedway, The trip to the U.S. has been a two and a half year dream for the eight racers. Two and a half years and $75,000 later the eight were at Ascot practicing and were just happy to be Im'e. "I sold my business and all the e boys have given up their jobs to be here," Tolley said. The Kiwis are planning to do the speedway circuit in southern California through the rest of the season before heading to the East Coast ~here they hope to perform in Flori?a' . We'll go wherever we can ride,' IS the attitude Tolley and the other seven have. Someday the group would like to see a world series where they could compete against Americans, Brits and Australians. The speedway sidecars themselves are a little diHerent then the average sidecar - no rear suspension and a deliberately bent sidecar axle that causes the outside wheel to lean at a 45 degree angle. Once the race starts the rider is not allowed to downshift and the bike doesn't have any brakes; most of the bikes have been handbuilt by riders. "It gets pretty aggressive at ti nil's,' , Tolley's swinger Bill Sanders said, ''It's a lot of fun for you and your buddy. It's a magic pon." Sanders, who is 38-years-old, has "had a go at everything, but this is theonly spon that's held my interest. You've got to work and both read the track the same way." Tollev, Sanders and the rest of the Kiwi invasion are here to try and get the U.s. involved in sidecar speedway and hopefully make the \ rong-way spon catch on. "We want to put on a good show and get America into it," Tolley said. •