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My introduction to the sport came in 1964 when, as an impressionable youngster, I was witness to the sight and sound of the US drag racing team pounding down Blackbushe runway at a fearsome rate. The spectacle of these cars and bikes left an indelible impression on me. Don Garlits was an instant racing hero for me, while the wild Gassers and the quick bikes all interested me. As for Drag-Waye, that was a sight to behold! Just wish I had owned a camera in those days, but film was expensive at that time, and my income was non-existent. The second dragfest in 1965 was a soggy affair, but I managed to get the autographs of all the US team dragster drivers after getting in under the rear of the marquees in the pits. Incidentally, my father gave me my first driving lessons at Blackbushe that same year - charging round the rough perimeter track at a very early age. I persuaded my father to take me to Santa Pod when it opened in 1966, and later that same year I was making my own way the tortuous 100 miles there at the age of 14. Would parents let their kid do it now? A four mile cycle ride, or lift, to Wokingham, was followed by the train to London. Then it was the underground across the city to catch the next train or coach to Bedford. Finally hitch hike to the Pod before getting to see some racing. All too soon it was time for the reverse journey on what was a very, very long day! Timetables were tight, and one time I misjudged my leap from the still-moving train coming into Waterloo - resulting in a gashed leg, and a very painful day! Can you believe that at one point Santa Pod said they would pick up those who came from London via coach, and were dropped off on the A6. I rang up, and Ann Bennett duly appeared in her monster American motor - just for me! Once I had my own motor bike, travel became easier, but still resulted in some rather eventful visits to the races. Waterproof riding gear was anything but in those days - and a soggy rear end and feet on a long ride is not fun. I became involved with the BHRA, and got to know Peter and Erica Bartlett well, who were Treasurer and Secretary respectively for many years. It is Peter I have to thank for getting me started in the scribbling department, when he offered me the chance to do the race reports in the early days of Drag Racing News. Just before that I started making my mark on the track. To be more precise, my Triumph-powered scooter and its intrepid rider made a couple of marks when trying to loop the loop away from the start line! It was a unique machine, but its successor - a blown Triumph rear-engined dragster – did not get completed. I spent many years writing for DRN, and soon branched out to many other publications covering both cars and bikes. One of the most enjoyable magazines to work for was Speed and Power, which was aimed at children. They loved the spectacle and power of the sport, which was a natural fit. Due to my long association as drag racing correspondent for Motor Cycle Weekly, I became more involved in the two-wheeled side of my writing and photography, which included Big Bike magazine in America, and a number on mainland Europe. Somehow along the way I ended up commentating at Santa Pod for many years, alongside Brian Taylor - and also John Price when he first got into the sport. I think John was very grateful to my wife Annie in the tower, as she kept a lot of timing information on a card system, and could feed him with info. Meetings were busy for me, and I still do not know how I managed to combine commentating, writing and photography at the same time. Then there was the fun job of stopping on the long drive back to Dorset to phone in a race report, which was a story in itself. Oh for a mobile phone - shame it had not been invented. Ironically, the main part of my career was spent as a mechanical designer, and I went on to design mobile and satellite phones for Ericsson in my day job! The commentating ended rather abruptly in somewhat unfortunate circumstances, and contributed to my eventual departure from the scene. My last race for many years was the 1985 Transatlantic meeting at Long Marston, when the late, great Elmer Trett made his second appearance. The sport had reached a point of stagnation by that point in hard economic times, and a number of magazines had ceased publication. It was time to disappear from the sport, although I kept an occasional eye on events, and stayed in touch with a few racers over the years. Brian Johnson persuaded me to come and see his last race at Santa Pod, which was an eye-opener. The sport was so much more professional - a different world altogether. I always had it in mind to write a book on the sport, dating back to the late 1970s. It was something I did not pursue further at the time, and then the Drive It book appeared. When Brian started on Crazy Horses he knew I had some good pictures, and got me scouring through my haphazard archives for suitable material. That slowly re-awakened in me the desire to write my book, and culminated in the first book covering the bike side of the sport in this country. I am very pleased that I did undertake the task, which I completed in only 6 months. It will not trouble the best seller ranks, but I believe it is an enjoyable read, is highly visual, and does justice to those who pioneered the early years of the sport. For the past 7 years I have worked as a professional photographer, having played with digital photography since 1992. It is a world away from my first Kodak Instamatic in 1966 (my father's actually), but the picture I am probably most proud of is one of my front cover shots for the On Two Wheels part works, picturing Alf Hagon and John Lloyd. That colour shot was taken on the Instamatic, as was the action shot of Alf in my book. It only had a sunny and cloudy setting - great for slide film - not! In the past year, besides going to Shakey for the first time in 25 years, I have enjoyed going along to a number of NSA sprints; and Annie and I are now members. I still enjoy action photography, and it has been great to catch up with some old faces - plus meeting a few new ones - while enjoying the banter in the pits. We will hopefully get to a few drag races in 2011. It seems the bug has bitten again!
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