The mild-mannered Michigan Madman
Seeing EJ Potter (the Michigan Madman) on the front page of OBM’s June issue took me back to that day in 1966 when a party of us from the Clacton MCC were making our first visit to the
Santa Pod raceway, and witnessed his runs on his eight-cylinder Chevrolet special and the dramatic crash. Remembering it all these years later, I recall there were several suggestions as to what actually caused it. As he got under way – as spectacular as an Apollo launch – the machine veered violently towards the side barrier and Potter was ejected seemingly in front of the bike which cartwheeled and flung itself into the air. For a while, I was convinced Potter had been crushed by the monster. However, as the marshals went to his aid before he was carefully lifted and taken to Bedford Hospital, I saw he seemed to be conscious and actually giving out a rueful smile. One or two of my colleagues felt he had simply lost it, but I wondered if something structural at the rear of the bike had given way, the twist off-line having been so violent. Whatever it was, the incident shook us all and we were very worried for him. The following day, I phoned Bedford Hospital to be told he had – thankfully – been released.
Santa Pod had not been open for long and was still showing its ancestry as an ex-airbase from the war. It has developed tremendously since then, as has the sport itself. We were intrigued to see the American style of our British ‘sprinting’, and we were not disappointed. As ever, the Yanks put extra showbiz and glamour into the sport, as well as some impressive engineering.
Potter had come over with a party of American four-wheeled dragsters – Gil Mudrak being the only one I can now remember, with his famous car named ‘The Runt’.
As for the man himself, the Michigan Madman was anything but! He looked more like a polite, bespectacled student, who happily answered our questions about his awe-inspiring bike and seemed a most likable individual. You could go up to the competitors and their machines in the paddock in those days and we peppered him with questions about his awe-inspiring bike. Some dragsters today have developed so much that one can only imagine them being used in specially prepared circumstances, whereas Potter’s mammoth machine still had some resemblance to a motorbike you could ride (very quickly!) down to the shops. Indeed, I am pretty sure it had Royal Enfield front fork tubes and front wheel, which led the monster’s way – wherever it ended up.
Sidge Kenny, St Osyth, Essex