Photography

Photos: A Century of Sidecar Racing

Images from the past century of motorcycle racers and their sidecar passengers performing acrobatic maneuvers to stay balanced on the track, and their ever-evolving rigs

By Alan Taylor
Sidecar racers lean into a turn in a race in 1965.
Keystone-France / Gamma-Rapho / Getty
Sidecar racers lean into a turn during a race in the United Kingdom on October 6, 1965.
Two men sit in a motorcycle-and-sidecar after a race in 1923.
Topical Press Agency / Hulton Archive / Getty
Original caption from June 1923: “F W Dixon, winner of the Tourist Trophy sidecar race on the Isle of Man, on his Douglas motorcycle.”
Two people ride a streamlined motorcycle-and-sidecar in a race.
Julia Hoyle / PA Images / Reuters
Bryan Peddar and Rod Steadman go on to win the MotoSix Open Sidecars Six Nations Championship at Donington Park, Castle Donington, England, on March 29, 2009.
Racers on a motorcycle-and-sidecar take a jump off a hill during a race.
Imago / Grant Hubbs / Steinsiek.ch / Reuters
Tim Prümmer and Jarno Steegmans take a jump during a race in June 2025 in Schopfheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
People on a street corner take photographs of a motorcycle and sidecar passing by, during a race in 1956.
Keystone Pictures USA / ZUMA Press Wire / Reuters
Original caption from June 6, 1956: “Photo shows F. Hillebrand (Germany), riding a B.M.W., with M. Ghunwald, as passenger seen at speed during the T.T Sidecar International race at Douglas, Isle of Man, yesterday. They won the race.”
Two motorcycle-and-sidecar racers lean into a turn in 1950
AP
Original caption: “Varied techniques in motorcycle combination racing were shown as the Swiss team of Florian Camathias and Horst Burkhardt (32) led the Germans, Max Deubel and Emil Hoerner (31) in the sidecar event of the West Germany Grand Prix at Stuttgart, July 15, 1962.”
A passenger on a motorcycle-and-sidecar rig leans far over, hanging off the side, during a race.
Guenther Iby / SEPA.Media / Getty
Lukas Erlecke and Leon Freygang of Germany ride during the FIM Sidecarcross World Championships GP1 Czech Republic on May 11, 2025, in Kramolín, Czech Republic.
The passenger on a motorcycle-and-sidecar rig leans far over during a race, grasping beside of the vehicle.
Nuno Reisinho / ZUMA Press Wire / Reuters
Original caption from April 26, 2025: “Lisbon, Portugal—Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement Team Yamaha competes in the sidecar category during the FIM sidecar World Championship qualification at the Estoril Circuit, Portugal.”
A large crowd of people stand on either side of a rough mountain road as a motorcycle with a sidecar passes by during a race in 1927.
Autocar / LAT Images
Original caption: “A motorcycle and sidecar in action on the trial during the MCC London to Land’s End Run on June 10, 1927.”
A motorcycle racer and passenger in a sidecar lean into a turn during a race.
Imago / Klaus Rainer Krieger / Reuters
The winners Markus Venus and Markus Eibl race in the European Sidecar Championship in Augsburg-Haunstetten, Germany, in September 2025.
Two racers on a motorcycle-and-sidecar rig are briefly airborne during a race in 1970.
National Motor Museum / Heritage Images / Getty
Original caption: “Sidecar TT race, Isle of Man, 1970. This motorcycle and sidecar combination are airborne as they cross Ballaugh Bridge on the TT circuit.”
A cyclist takes a jump during a race as his passenger falls from the sidecar, landing behind him.
Justin Setterfield / Getty
Brett Wilkinson of Great Britain takes a jump as his passenger, Daniel Chamberlain of Great Britain, crashes out during the Sidecarcross World Championship on July 1, 2017, in Iffendic, France.
A motorcycle racer wearing a streamlined helmet, sits on a modified and streamlined motorcycle-and-sidecar rig.
Fox Photos / Hulton Archive / Getty
Original caption: “Australian motorcyclist Alan Bruce posing on ‘Leaping Lena,’ a streamlined Brough Superior J.A.P. 1000 motorcycle and sidecar, at Victoria Station, London, 1932. He and fellow Australian Arthur Simcock (at back, with pipe) took the motorbike to Vienna, Austria, where Bruce broke the 200km/h speed record for sidecar motorcycles.”
The passenger in a motorcycle sidecar leans so far over their face almost touches the ground in a photograph from a race in 1928.
AP
Original caption: “Action during the Bristol Cup Race for motorcycles with sidecars, showing F.R. Blackpeel cornering, March 20, 1928. Note passenger’s face is almost touching the ground.”
Two racers in motocross gear lean hard into a turn on their motorcycle-and-sidecar rig.
Ramsey Cardy / Sportsfile / Getty
Gary Moulds and his passenger, Steve Kirwin, race in Round 5 of the Ulster Quadcross & Sidecarcross Championship at Seaforde Motocross Track in Seaforde, County Down, Northern Ireland, on August 3, 2019.
A 1936 photograph of a motorcycle racer with his sidecar passenger hanging off the outside of the far wheel during a sharp turn.
S&G / PA Images / Getty
Original caption from June 1936: “Brian Ducker and his passenger navigate the corner in spectacular style to win the sidecar scratch race.”
A motorcyclist and his passenger race, with the passenger appearing to hang onto the back of the vehicle, gripping a fender.
Howard Boylan / Getty
Original caption: “Steve Webster with his sidecar passenger Gavin Simmons rides the #2 Silkolene LCR-Krauser during the FIM Dutch motorcycle sidecar Grand Prix on June 26, 1993, at the TT Circuit Assen in Assen, Netherlands.”
Two pairs of sidecar racers lean into a turn during a race in 1965.
Keystone-France / Gamma-Rapho / Getty
Two pairs of sidecar racers lean into a turn during a race in the United Kingdom on October 6, 1965.
A motorcycle racer and his sidecar passenger, covered in mud during a race
Michael Kienzler / Bongarts / Getty
A driver and his passenger, covered in mud during a race in Rudersberg, Germany, in 2000
About a dozen motorcycles with sidecars are lined up at the start of a race in 1924.
Autocar / LAT Images
Original caption: “Motorcycles and sidecars line up on the grid ready for the start during the Essex Club Meeting at Brooklands on October 4, 1924 in Brooklands, United Kingdom.”
A motorcycle and his sidecar passenger lean hard into a turn in 1956.
Keystone Pictures USA / ZUMA Press Wire / Reuters
Original caption from 1956: “Siegfried Schauzu of West Germany, riding a B.M.W., won the Sidecar T.T. at Douglas, Isle of Man, yesterday, despite the fast that his passenger fell out of the sidecar within sight of the winning post. Schauzu stopped for a split second to pick up his partner, Horst Schneider, at Governor’s Bridge, before racing on to win by 19 seconds.”
A motorcyclist and his sidecar passenger raise their arms as they race past over muddy ground.
Andrew Matthews / PA Images / Reuters
David Gray and Les Mudie race in the HydroGarden Weston Beach Quad and Sidecar Race in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, in October 2016.
Racers on motorcycle-and-sidecar rigs leap over hills on a dirt track.
Lee Smith / Reuters
Riders compete during the NETT British Sidecar and Quad Bike Championships at the Iron Works Moto Park in Middlesbrough, England, on April 14, 2024.
An early 20th-century black-and-white photograph of a motorcycle racer and his sidecar passenger leaning in a tight turn.
Hulton-Deutsch Collection / Corbis / Getty
Original caption: “E.S. Oliver, along with his sidecar passenger, practice for the afternoon Coronation Trophy race at Crystal Palace.”

About the Author

Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.
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