Filtched from Bookface

[Greybeard]

One of the legendary characters of Australian Speedway Sidecar racing, was Charles ‘Chook’ Hodgekiss. He was one of the best riders of his era. The highlight of his career was winning the 1952 Australian Championship. Aussie Speedway racers build some crazy rigs and Hodgekiss's ride has to be one of the most famous builds. His twin J.A.P. engined sidecar rig was often called the ‘Hodgekiss Horrors’ by the racing press because of some spectacular crashes on the track. The two 500cc J.A.P. motors coupled in tandem are impressive even sitting idle. the Sydney Sports Ground Speedway was world famous as the venue for Australian Championships where all speedway divisions of both solo motorcycle, sidecar and speedcars (midget autos) were raced in contests between Australia and England. In an era when death was an accepted risk of the sport, 12 competitors lost their lives while racing at the Sydney Sports Ground. In the most tragic accident, close friends off the track Norm Clay and Ray Duggan both died after crashing together in a Solo race at the track on 21 January 1950.

Photo via Steve Margo who got it from Barbara Keir "Ckook's" daughter
Check out Steve's Blog
https://www.facebook.com/groups/184768618290981/

[Swarfcut]

GB  You do find some hidden gems. Makes Perry Barr and Cradley Heath look positively tame. Yes,  brought back the memories of the smell of Mazola (old brand of cooking oil) used as a lubricant and petrol fumes on the wind. My dad's shed looked like that, made from an Anderson Air Raid Shelter.

 Brave blokes and very mechanically innovative by the look of it, thanks for posting a little bit of history for the wider world.

 Swarfy.

[muskrat]

As a kid I loved going to the showground to watch the speedway. I remember one solo race where a rider fell on the second lap. The bike did a few donuts and jumped up running straight into the fence. It then did a few more donuts, jumped up and ran the full length of the showground infield flat out. Hitting the wall at the other end. What a BANG.
Cheers