TT ace Chris Vincent’s name was synonymous with sidecar racing, but he was British champion on two and three wheels in the-mid-1960s.

Originally a grasstrack and speedway rider), he won the National Sidecar Grasstrack Championship in 1958 before switching his attention to Tarmac on the UK short circuits.

He made his TT debut in 1960 on a home-built bike and sidecar integral chassis with rubber rear suspension and leading link front forks. It was powered by a 500cc BSA twin-cylinder engine.

On the first lap of the race, the BSA factory tester from Birmingham held on to an impressive fifth place with passenger Eric Hardy on the first British machine behind four BMW flat-twins. Unfortunately, they were forced to retire on lap two.

Another retirement followed in 1961, but it was third time lucky in 1962 when he and Eric Bliss won at an average speed of 83.57mph.

Max Deubel and Emil Horner established the first 90mph sidecar lap of the course from a standing start, with Florian Camathias and Horst Burkhardt second and Vincent/Bliss third.

Camathias crashed at Kerrowmoar on lap two and Deubel’s BMW failed on the final circuit, enabling Vincent and Bliss to record BSA’s first full victory in a world championship TT.

Vincent made his solo debut in 1963, but retired from both the Lightweight 250 race and the sidecar event.

By now a regular on sidecar Grands Prix scene, he and passenger Keith Scott made a special journey back from Belgium the following month to contest the Southern 100.

The BSA pair led the nine-lap race from start to finish to win at an average speed of 75.33mph and set a fastest lap of 3min 16.2sec (77.980mph). It was Vincent’s only appearance on the 4.25-mile Billown Course.

He continued to race each year in the TT until 1972, but his finish rate was not particularly impressive. From four starts in 1964 he registered one finish, on a 125cc Honda in the Ultra-Lightweight race won by Luigi Taveri, beating the likes of Joe Dunphy, Jim Curry and Tommy Robb.

Switching to BMW, Vincent was fifth in the 1965 Sidecar TT with Terry Harrison in a race dominated by the crack West German and Swiss stars.

The same year he retained the British Sidecar Championship title and uniquely also won the British 50cc Championship.

His only race in the delayed 1966 event was on a 50cc Suzuki, but that ended in retirement.

In the first Production TT in 1967 he recorded his best solo TT finish of eighth aboard a 250cc Suzuki twin in a race won by Bill Smith, but DNF’d in the sidecar race.

More non-finishes followed in 1968, 1969 and 1970, with his only other result being sixth in the 1971 Sidecar 500cc TT partnered by Pete Casey, won by Siegfried Schauzu and Wolfgang Kalauch.

His final TT was on a 500cc URS Munch-powered outfit in 1972, again partnered by Casey, but once more ending with retirement. He then switched to Yamaha-powered machines but finally retired from racing in 1974.

He died on February 18 at the age of 86.