Sidecar racing, what’s that all about then? We caught up with F1 sidecar Team Skint at the last meet of the 2009 season at Lydden to probe the minds and souls of these strange people...
Wesley Pettman is the driver and Guy Pawsey the passenger. We wanted to find out why they raced sidecars and what they got from it.
What inspired you to start sidecar racing as opposed to any other activity?
Wes - My dad has raced sidecars since the 80’s so it was a logical step for me. Guy - I was working on a building site in 1992 when a mate’s wife asked if I was interested in being a passenger on an outfit. She wanted to do it but he wouldn’t let her. I said yes and that was that. We didn’t hit it off that well though.
Did two wheels not attract either of you? Wes - No I can’t even ride a bike! Guy - I have ridden bikes on the road but now this gives me all the thrills I need. Riding on the road is too dangerous.
Have you tried or thought about swapping roles? Wes - No way! Guy - Wes won’t let me, he wouldn’t trust me (Wes doesn’t disagree)
How did you get together as a team? Guy - Wes advertised for a passenger in 2001 and I went for it, this was about ten years ago, I did a season then ran short of cash and had to stop. Then we met up again through Facebook and Wes asked if I fancied another go and here we are!
What’s the most important aspect of the team, what makes it work? Guy - Total trust and belief in each other. That’s what it’s down to, if that understanding’s not there, it won’t work.
What’s the atmosphere like in the paddock, is it very competitive? (Guy answers mainly from here, Wes is prepping the sidecar.) Everyone helps each other out, it’s like a big family we all rally round if someone has a problem. What’s your favourite track? Thruxton probably, Brands GP is great though, it’s legendary. Furthest north we go is to Cadwell.
What’s it like at tracks at like Cadwell Park? It’s all part of the challenge adapting to different circuits and surfaces, that’s what makes it interesting. Too much weight on the back and the front wheel will come up at The Mountain at Cadwell!
How do you communicate? We don’t communicate much off the track let alone on it! No we don’t have any signals, though some crews use a knocking system. I will let Wes know if there’s a technical problem of some sort. I will lay over the front as much as possible as we go into a corner, then put as much as possible over the rear as the power comes out and the power kicks in as we exit.
Have you ever fallen off? Yes at the Gooseneck at Mallory doing about 90!
How do you afford to do it? Each meeting probably costs us around £250-£300 provided nothing major goes wrong.
Tyres can last up to season and cost around £160. (We mentioned theirs look a bit ragged around the edges). Yeah we’ve picked up some gravel over the season! We have had some prize money this season but some of the sponsors have been hit financially like everyone else and had to pull out.
You’re running 5th (which is where they finished) in the championship, are you happy with that? We would have settled for that at the start of the season, higher would have been great but we’ve done ok with the resources we have (Done brilliantly in our book!). We missed the first round so have done well enough.
We had a couple of DNFs.
Do you do the spannering yourselves? Most of it, we have some help with the engine tuning though. In the winter we totally strip the machine down and rebuild it.
Do you have pre-season testing? Guy - There isn’t much for sidecars. You can only test at Mallory on certain evenings so basically it’s straight out and get on with it. We don’t do much in the way of physical training though some do a lot.
You’re running 5th (which is where they finished) in the championship, are you happy with that? We would have settled for that at the start of the season, higher would have been great but we’ve done ok with the resources we have (Done brilliantly in our book!). We missed the first round so have done well enough.
We had a couple of DNFs.
Do you do the spannering yourselves? Most of it, we have some help with the engine tuning though. In the winter we totally strip the machine down and rebuild it.
Do you have pre-season testing? Guy - There isn’t much for sidecars. You can only test at Mallory on certain evenings so basically it’s straight out and get on with it. We don’t do much in the way of physical training though some do a lot.
I want to go faster, I want to go faster..
