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For someone used to monitoring and mitigating risk for a living, the idea of hanging off a sidecar as it tears around a racetrack is bound to raise a few red flags.
During the week, Lynne Herring is Health and Safety Advisor for Western Bay of Plenty District Council. Come racing weekends however, risk takes on a whole new meaning, as grit and mettle leave care and caution in the pits.
To the uninformed, sidecar racing is a motorsport where two people – a rider and a passenger on the side – go as fast as possible around a track, or street circuit. Negotiating corners is the tricky part and that’s where the passenger, or ‘swinger’, becomes invaluable. Lynne’s job is to swing from side to side to distribute her weight as the sidecar rider – partner Darren Pate – takes a corner. A right corner means standing up over the rear wheel; a left, leaning out horizontally mere centimetres from the ground. There are handles, of course, but a wrong move at the wrong time is likely to spell disaster – not much fun at speeds of up to 70km/h around corners and 170km/h on the straight.
FROM SPECTATOR TO SWINGER
When Lynne, 56, met Darren 15 years ago, she quickly realised she would have to enjoy riding pillion because he owned four motorbikes. Luckily she did and loved the speed, as long as someone else was driving; she never had any interest in riding a bike herself. She would go to events and support Darren racing a modern sidecar with a friend but wasn’t particularly interested in the whole racing scene.
In 2015 some women swingers encouraged her to have a go. Three days later Lynne and Darren had bought their own sidecar, a classic (slower than a modern), and she was committed. Facing her fears however was another thing entirely.
“I was really nervous and scared the first time we raced,” says Lynne. “Darren said he would take it easy round the track, but he went ballistic. I was so scared I couldn’t move and was screaming at him in my helmet to slow down but he couldn’t hear me. I just hung on.”
Lynne was grateful for the support and encouragement from other women swingers as she learnt the ropes, and says the close-knit group of racers look after each other. “I would talk to the other women if I was struggling with something physical or emotional. It’s a dangerous sport, so I’d be stupid not to.
“Even now, though, the adrenaline kicks in before a race. I start to feel a bit dizzy and lightheaded and I know it’s my body getting ready to go out and do something dangerous. As we do our warm-up lap, I tell myself, ‘This shit’s getting real’, and then we’re off. All of that nervousness and all the ‘what ifs’ just go and I’m focused on the job I have to do.”
THRILLS AND SPILLS
A year after that first shaky start, Lynne and Darren were back at Hampton Downs to enjoy their first win. For Lynne it was also her first ever medal in the sporting arena, yet despite feeling exuberant by their success, Lynne admits she didn’t love the thrill of racing initially. Last year however they moved up a gear, as confidence, skills and speed improved. Battling against other competitors during the five minute races is now all part of the thrill and she loves it.
“When I’m leaning out over the track it’s like the sensation of flying, and battling with other sidecars just inches away from you is really exciting. As soon as the race ends we jump out and talk with the other competitors about what happened; it’s awesome.”
Last year Lynne and Darren also made some significant life changes – fitness programmes and healthier eating meant they lost a combined 37 kgs of weight between them, making a huge difference to the speed of their sidecar. Improved core strength also helped Lynne’s agility as a swinger – lurching from left to right in a heartbeat certainly requires a level of fitness, but as she was soon to discover, using your head is even more important.
“As a learner you’re fighting against the bike because your timing is out, but as you get more confident, you learn what the bike and your rider are going to do. So if I’m doing my job correctly, the bike throws me where I need to be and I use less strength. I still feel exhausted after a race but a lot of that is the adrenaline, because it’s pretty full on.”
And yes, things do go wrong sometimes, despite good planning and intentions. In 2017 Lynne was lucky to walk away unscathed after she was flung from the sidecar and thrust down the track.
“It was a wet day and we were trying out a modern sidecar which is faster and wider and a completely different set-up to the classic so I was having trouble getting over. Darren went slow on the first qualifying lap, then took off. I missed the handgrip on a corner and went for a slide. My helmet was damaged but luckily I had no injuries.”
Hmmm, men and their toys! I wonder whether there are a few post-race domestics back in the pits? “Not arguments,” says Lynne, “but discussions, especially in early days when I was learning because it was about racing to our ability, not his ability. He had to slowly bring me up to speed, literally, rather than scare the pants off me.
“And I think because it’s so challenging it automatically brings us closer together. We have to trust each other; if one of us stuffs up it’s going to put us in a compromising position. When I was a spectator I didn’t really enjoy it, but now it’s so exhilarating when we finish a race, and if we win a trophy we know we both worked hard for it.”
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