SANDY STORIES

I was interested in Dave Bell’s letter in RC214 about sand racing at Redcar. I particularly loved his championship-winning KSS. Keith Stephenson made some remarkable bikes. He once made a slider with a Kawasaki 500 triple motor, but the power came in so suddenly it was difficult to stay upright.

The race secretary at Redcar was the late, great, Derek Dixon, who tragically lost his life racing there. He was unbeatable on his Triumph-engined Ariel, a most unusual special. The only time I bested him was when he fell off at Ainsdale in Southport, which was a very rare occurrence.

Sand racing was a great sport, with some terrific characters: it was cheap (ish) and great fun. Strangely, on the east coast they raced anticlockwise, whereas in my area on the west coast we raced clockwise. As Dave said, everyone was a volunteer and they didn’t get the recognition they deserved. My racing career ended when I broke my leg at Wallasey, and SWMBO decided for me. Funnily enough, she only ever watched me race once and it frightened her too much.

She was the same with my grandson when he raced motocross, 30-odd years later.

Terry Gaunt, member 10,905

Sand racing? Brilliant to watch; too terrifying to attempt! Others are plainly more brave than I…