By Douglas Whitbread via SWNS
A pair of “thrill-seeking” best friends have become the youngest riders ever to set a land speed record on a motorbike with a sidecar.
Alfie Barraclough, 10, and Jack Taylor, 11, clocked 49mph in a 1km dash on their custom-built bike on Saturday (May 25).
The boys, who were already world record holders on their individual bikes, are the youngest ever to hold a sidecar record.
In total, they broke three records for 1km and 500m standing start runs and 100m flying run at Elvington Airfield, near York.
Jack, from Leeds, who controlled the bike’s steering and acceleration during the epic challenge, described the experience as “exhilarating.”
He said: “It feels amazing to have set the record with my best mate Alfie… We plan to go faster.”
Alfie, from Bradford, said the bike’s thin base plate had ‘tickled his tummy’ from its vibrations while he was laying on it during the speed runs.
He added: “I want to go even faster next time.”
The daring lads both developed a “passion” for drag racing at a young age and have each individually set land speed records on their custom-built motors.
But after Jack’s engineer dad, Dave Taylor, 43, made a sidecar out of an old 1970s sprint bike last year, they became “hooked” on the idea of making history together.
Dad-of-two Dave said he had struck upon the idea of turning his old sprint bike that had laid dormant in his garage into a sidecar racer as “a bit of fun” last year.
But when he took the two lads out on it for some test runs at a race track, they began to ask if they could use it to break records.
He said: “It used to be an old sprint bike from the 1970s, and the chassis was laid up in a garage until last year.
“We put a modern 125cc engine in it and added the sidecar – and this was just going to be for a little bit of fun.
“Last year, I took both Alfie and Jack individually down Elvington raceway to ride.
“I took them from the start line of the runway up and down a few times each, and then they were hooked, and they wanted to ride it themselves.”
Crowds who gathered to watch the boys on Saturday went wild with delight each time they managed to break a record.
But Alfie’s dad, Karl Barraclough, 43, said the pair had remained complete professionals and were unphased by the challenge they had set themselves.
He said: “I don’t think they really get nervous. They’ve got a really, really close relationship, and they’re very supportive in each role.
“Considering they’re very young, they’re very professional about it.
“When Jack’s driving, and he gets into top gear, he taps Alfie on the shoulder. That means ‘get tucked in, get your head right down’ as that makes him more aerodynamic.
“They’re like The Two Ronnies, everybody just loves them because they’re characters and they are well-liked in the pits by the senior racers. It’s just really good.
“I’m definitely very proud. It’s nice that two best friends can go out and achieve three world records on the sidecar together.”
Dave said he was equally thrilled with his lad’s achievements and expected him to set further records in the future.
He added: “They are thrill-seeking daredevils, they are full of it, absolutely no fear.
“They just absolutely thrive on the speed – they just want to go faster and faster all the time.
“I’m absolutely so proud. I’m a martial, so I never see them pass the finish line. But I was so proud of him. It’s brilliant what he’s achieved at such a young age.”
