Top Ten Grasstrack Sidecar Brother Rivalries

Words: Gareth Bemister
Images: Alan Whale

Grasstrack Banter, along with Alan Whale Photography, take a trip down memory lane with this Grasstrack Banter Top Ten List...
Top 10 Sidecar Brother Racing Rivalries

Ahhhhh, Grasstrack...the family sport. And in this list it’s that brotherly love can be demonstrated in no better way than piling a grasstrack sidecar outfit into your sibling at top speed. These are all sidecar drivers who drove different outfits...not brothers who teamed together, although some of these did that too! This list compiles our Grasstrack Banter top 10 brothers who raced against one another in one of the sidecar classes...

Who have we missed? Let us know either in the comments or on Grasstrack Banter Facebook group by commenting on your most memorable duelling sidecar brothers.

10. Justin and Wayne Westaway

Perhaps these Cornish brothers’s father Ken and his brother, the late Dave Westway, should be the siblings focused on here. They were tremendous racers and legendary in the Cornwall Centre. But Justin and Wayne sit in the more recent memory. Older brother Justin started his racing career as passenger to his step-brother, the late- great Phil Pitman. After several successful seasons as passenger, Justin turned to the bars with younger brother Wayne as passenger. And it wasn’t too long before Wayne was lining up against Justin. From there, Westaway-the-younger went from strength to strength, once again taking the Westaway name to the national sidecar racing scene. Of all of the results of Westcourt Racing (an amalgamation of Westaway and long-serving passenger Mark Courtney’s name), the most memorable must surely be a tremendous 4^th place at the International Grand Slam at the famous Rhodes Minnis. Sadly now none of the Westaway family are in action, but Mark Courtney still competes in the fledgling ‘old and new’ sidecar class.

Phil Pitman and Justin Westaway

9. Pete, Rick and Eric Colvin

Pete Colvin with son Steve in the chair (Image: Methanol Moments)

Another famous Grasstracking name, though this time in the South Eastern centre. Rick and Eric’s racing careers are now over, although they are still heavily involved in the running of Frittenden club, as is younger brother Pete. Rick and Eric made good club racers throughout the 70s, 80s and early 90s, including two South Eastern centre championships for Rick,  but Pete really has taken the name to new levels. Having made a return to racing in the early 2000s after a fairly innocuous run in the 80s, this second incarnation of Pete Colvin has grown into one of the best sidecar racers in the country. Passengered by his son Steve, Pete’s greatest achievement must surely be his fine top 8 placing in a memorable Masters performance in 2014. Pete is now also considered one of the finest engineers on the sidecar circuit, with his PCR Engineering being used by several top riders.

8. John and Vic Hiscock

John Hiscock pictured with Symon Wall in the chair.

These southern centre brothers also spent some time racing as driver and passenger, with elder brother Vic driving. But it is during the mid 80s that racing fans will remember John and Vic lining up against one another. At the end of the 80s, Vic rarely raced, whereas John went on to become something of a sidecar Grasstrack legend. South Eastern Centre Championships and national wins, including a Champion of Champions victory at Swingfield, are some of John’s most illustrious accolades of a career which spans 6 decades. It wasn’t until 2013, at Wimborne, that John picked up his first top 6 British Masters placing. Other notable successes include two rostrum spots at the International Ace of Aces and two at the Bonfire Burnup. Sadly we lost Vic last year. John has been threatening retirement for several seasons now, but promises racing fans that if he has an outfit in his garage, he will still race it. He still mixes it with the best!

7. Steve and Gary Wright

Steve and Gary with Battle of Britain spoils

This is a unique choice because these two technically didn’t go up against each other, but were both top drivers at the same time, throughout the nineties. And this is because they did something really special; they swapped driver and passenger throughout the season. One week Steve would drive whilst Gary passengered, and the other week Gary would drive and Steve would passenger. Neither of the Nottinghamshire brothers looked any worse or better than the other. Steve drove the pairing to a tremendous Masters Qualifier win in 1996 whilst Gary raced to a superb victory in a memorable final at the Battle of Britain at Collier Street.

 6. Martin and Shane Baker

The Somerset brothers were at the top of the sport in the early nineties. They both possessed fast, aggressive racing styles and were both always considered exciting underdogs.

Both Shane and Martin seemed to just vanish from the sport in 1992, but have left an impressionable mark on this racing fans memory with their exploits in the early 90s.

Martin Baker/Shayne Cann leading at the Masters '92

5. Dave and Mick Steer

These brothers are unique to sidecar racing in that only one of them competed. Dave and Mick’s son  Jason raced at the same time during the nineties, with Dave going on to really establish himself as a top Grasstrack racer throughout the decade. Although he didn’t race, older brother, the late (and very much missed) Mick Steer must be mentioned on this list as he is a Grasstrack sidecar legend. Mick’s interest in sidecar racing was first ignited by a 16-year-old younger brother Dave bringing home a sidecar Grasstrack outfit. Fast forward twenty years and Mick became one of the greatest sidecar frame manufacturers of all time. It’s hard to measure the impact that Mick had on the sport, but around the time of the millennium, it was hard to find a sidecar outfit that was not a Steer frame. 

Jason Steer and Ian Whale

Team Steer at the peak of Steer Frames success. Dave is 2nd left and Mick is far right.

4. Mark and Tom Cossar

We come to modern day racing for these brothers. Older brother Mark has now firmly established himself as one of the finest sidecar drivers of all time, with four Masters titles to his name, and he is still only 31. And his first Masters title was won memorable in 2009 with his younger brother Tom in the chair. Since then, Tom has gone on to dabble with driving an outfit himself. In 2016, he began to put some results together, winning meetings at Ledbury and at Chelmsford. Now planning a good run at a racing season, Tom looks set to burst into the upper echelon of the sport, joining his brother. Presently, Tom would admit that he is not quite ready to challenge the sheer speed of his older brother...but he has time on his side and it is definitely an interesting brotherly rivalry to keep an eye on the coming seasons.

Tom Cossar pictured with Adam Cowper-Smith (Image: Les Rumsey)

3. Rod and Chris Winterburn

Chris Winterburn

The spectacular Rod Winterburn (Image: Lawrence Hammonds)

These Yorkshire brothers raced together for many years, with Rod as driver and Chris as passenger. After a relatively successful solo career, Rod turned to three wheels fairly easily, but it wasn’t until the mid 00s that he really got into his stride. By this time, brother Chris was racing his own outfit and was also very quick. In truth, Chris perhaps never reached his full potential for one reason or another, and hasn’t been seen driving for a few years- a shame for a driver with clear talent. But Rod has become one of the best ever. His three British Masters titles have been hard fought and gutsy- a true reflection of Winterburn’s racing style.

                                                                             

2. Roger and Jeff Measor

Roger and Jeff at the first British Masters in '82

Roger Measor in action in 1994.

These two Oxfordshire brothers raced together, most notably aboard the Hughenden BMW through the late 70’s. This was monumental in bringing a new, professional edge to Grasstrack sidecar racing. The image of Roger and Jeff racing the Hughenden BMW outfit is etched in the minds of many hundreds of seventies Grasstrack fans. Jeff turned to racing his own outfit throughout the eighties and had some success. Roger became a racing legend, winning two British Masters titles and countless other championships and meetings. He made sidecar racers seem like superstars, with immaculate presentation and ingenious technical knowhow. After retiring, Roger went on to become a top clerk of the course. Jeff made a surprise comeback to racing in 2014, and has been getting faster ever since.

Jeff on the bars with Dave Pope in the chair.

  .                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
   1. Mal and Lester Goodwin

Mal/Gary Rockell leads William Mattihjssen

A good day for the Goodwins at the 1998 British Championships

It is remarkable that Mal Goodwin is not in amongst the list of British Grasstrack Champions as a driver (He was champion passenger in 1983). Since he began driving in the 500cc sidecar class in 1990, with younger brother Lester in the chair, he went on to become one of the country’s (and indeed Europe’s) top sidecar stars. But the British Championship always eluded him. He actually came 2^nd four times, and the last time was to his younger brother, the late, great, Lester Goodwin. It’s fair to say that Lester had the lion’s share of British titles. His first was won in 1998, beating brother Mal to the championship spot. He went on to cement his name in Grasstrack folklore by winning a record equalling six British titles (seven including a title as passenger in 1995). Lester was cruelly taken from us in 2007, but his legend lives on. The Goodwin brothers’ (including Clive, who passengered Lester to three British titles, and Martin, a fine solo/speedway rider) legacy has continued with Lester’s son Josh the current and 4x British Champion. Add to this Mal’s son Ant and Clive’s son Scott, it is safe to safe that the Goodwin name will continue to reap success in the future.

A wonderful Alan Whale tribute to a great man; Lester Goodwin

Unless otherwise stated, all images provided by Alan Whale. Huge thanks to Alan, not only for support of this article, but of all of his images throughout the years.