Motorcycle sidecar driver Tony Baker calls the Isle of Man TT the Mount Everest of sidecar racing.
“It’s the highest high and the lowest low here,” he told us after placing ninth in the event’s second sidecar race. With his daughter beside him as the sidecar passenger, Baker has had highs more plentiful than his lows. He’s an expert motorcycle chassis builder who’s raced the Isle 24 times. He also competed twice in the World Championship for sidecars at Laguna Seca some two-plus decades ago.
But when the lows strike at the Isle of Man TT, they tend to strike right at the gut. We’re reminded of this upon hearing the news that sidecar driver Ian Bell was killed during the second race of the event. His passenger and son, Carl Bell, survived.
There aren’t many souls crazy enough to compete in sidecar racing, so the sport’s community is rather tight-knit. In fact, first-time Isle of Man TT competitor and sidecar driver Peter Essaff spent part of the early ’90s as Tony Baker’s passenger.
“I think the best drivers have been passengers,” Essaff asserted. “Because you have to get the skill set behind your head [first].”
The three-wheeled machines don’t handle like ordinary motorcycles, and almost every team we speak with at the Isle of Man TT reminds us of this: Lateral grip differs drastically from left to right, and the vehicle tends to pull to one side or the other during acceleration and braking. The role of the sidecar passenger is to help compensate for these quirks by moving his or her body to the left, right, front, or rear of the bike depending on the three-wheeled contraption’s dynamic needs. A lightweight, aerodynamic body covers the chassis and engine, making the vehicle look like two-thirds of a DeltaWing race car.
“You have to believe in your driver,” Essaff’s passenger and team owner, Jeff Gillard, remarked. “Because they’re the ones with the throttle and the brakes.” Gillard came to the TT last year with another driver and completed eight practice laps, but the pair failed to qualify for the race.
Likewise, the driver has to trust his or her passenger to correctly engage in the role’s dangerous dance, which can lead to injury or worse if either party fails to do their job correctly. The symbiotic relationship between the two teammates is part of sidecar racing’s appeal. Like any team sport, communication is essential to success: Teams will discuss problem areas and develop track strategy after a run. Memorizing the track’s details, including the turn-in and braking points, is key, especially when competing at the Isle of Man TT.
It’s a task made all the more difficult by the course’s 37-mile length and 200-plus turns, and it’s a circuit that leaves little room for error. Run-off space is practically nonexistent; fall off the line, and your day—or worse, your life—is over. For the North American team of Essaff and Gillard, this deviates from their regional norm—sidecar circuit racing.
READ MORE: The Isle of Man Race Course Is the Greatest—and Most Dangerous—in the World
“When you’re circuit racing, when you have four or five bikes on the track at the same time, you can’t always be in the perfect line,” Essaff stated.
At the Isle of Man TT, though, there is very little interaction on the course between sidecar teams. Run as a time trial, sidecars are sent off at 10-second intervals. Since each team has to qualify for their position, the fastest sidecar theoretically is released first and the slowest last. Success at the Isle of Man TT is thus determined by maintaining a near-perfect line and carrying as much speed as possible through turns—many of them blind—not playing cat and mouse with competitors.
“It’s hard for me to get my head around this,” Essaff acknowledged.
The sport takes its toll on competitors’ bodies, too. Knees ache and arms hurt, and the rough roads and long laps at the Isle of Man TT exacerbate the battering to both driver and passenger.
Like scaling Everest, sidecar racing at the Isle of Man TT requires determination and fortitude. The event demands teammates have previous seat time together, as well as meet specific license requirements. Engines are restricted to 501–600-cc four-stroke four-cylinders and 675-cc four-stroke three-cylinders and must be positioned behind the handlebars but in front of the driver (“Formula 1” sidecar motorcycles position the engine behind the driver).
Despite the sport’s inherent danger, the allure of sidecar racing is hard to ignore. Most racers start their careers as team crew members, move up to sidecar passenger, and eventually become a driver. While the Isle of Man TT may be the premier event for sidecar racing (and motorcycle racing in general), North Americans interested in the sport can find more information about how to watch or participate in local sidecar racing events via the Sidecar Racers Association and Sidecar Racers Association–West.
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