c.2001 Gravity Racer
No Reserve

Registration No: Unregistered
Frame No: N/A
MOT: Exempt

• Part of the Pip Higham Collection
• Built together with Ford and the RCA
• Supplied with a good history file

Pip Higham is a highly respected former motorcycle dealer, classic magazine columnist and record breaking drag racer who was inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2017 after his exploits throughout his career. The background for all this success was Pip’s own business, the ‘Village Bike Shop’ in Manchester, where he provided a service for those who wished to go that little bit quicker than the rest. The quest for more performance saw him develope mainly Suzuki based specials, racing in the Streetbike class across Europe and ultimately America, becoming the first European into the ten second bracket and then the first rider ever into the nines. ‘The Deuce’, a VBS development producing 160 bhp using Pip’s own tuning parts, ran in the nine second bracket many times at terminal speeds up to 154 mph for the quarter mile. A lifelong motorcycle enthusiast Pip has created many one off specials and restored bikes to a very high standard, sometimes incorporating subtle little modifications to improve performance.

Pip has often been called in the offer his expertise on unusual projects, this gravity racer being no exception. As he explains... 'This bogie was built by me at VBS (The Village Bike Shop) for the Ford Motor Company in conjunction with students from the RCA (Royal College of Art) under the wing of Peter Stevens, the co-designer together with Gordon Murray of the McLaren F1 road car. We had previously built another bogey under similar conditions which was raced down the hill at Goodwood the previous year with moderate success. Tiff Needell drove this one in a ‘best of three’ against Vicky Butler Hendersen in a Honda sponsored bogey. We won, I’m pleased to say but sadly pictures of the machine with Tiff in it have gone missing. Subsequently, Andy Anderson from FoMoCo drove the bogey in the inaugural Red Bull event at Roundhey Park Leeds, although this time we were beaten by a machine disguised as a cow! Otherwise we ran it at the Mansell Lacy downhill race, then at Goodwood once again, and last year it made a guest appearance at the Longridge downhill event, it always draws a crowd! All chassis, suspension, uprights etc were made in house at VBS with the seating and body covering, plus many other detail items by the super enthusiastic bunch of students from the RCA, what a fantastic time we all had with this mad little machine! It will be supplied with a large file of letters, sketches and a few photos together with 4 Continental S Lick tyres suitable for smooth surfaces, the Michelins fitted are better suited to poorly surfaced tracks'. A rare opportunity to acquire a unique machine with a good history.

For more information, please contact:
Ian Cunningham
ian.cunningham@handh.co.uk
07415 871189