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‘No Ordinary Passenger’

By CABELL HOPKINS


This Op-Doc tells the story of Stan Dibben, a fascinating British man who won the World Sidecar Championship in 1953. Sidecar racing is an extremely dangerous, three-wheeled motor sport that was particularly popular in postwar Europe. Now, at age 87, Mr. Dibben recounts the thrills and perils of his profession, and we see that he is so much more than a mere “passenger.”

In Mr. Dibben’s heyday, sidecars were one-wheeled devices that were bolted onto motorcycles, with top speeds reaching around 95 miles per hour. Riding a racing sidecar requires great physical fitness and stamina, an accurate sense of timing and remarkable self-discipline. The sidecar racer and motorcycle driver work together as a team to keep the machine balanced and control traction, performing tight turns at astonishing speeds.

A world championship has been held each year since 1949. (Sidecars were widely used by militaries during World War II; until the 1950s, they were also a popular form of civilian transportation, as an alternative to passenger cars.) Today, the sport still has devotees in Europe, and a smaller fan base in the United States, but the modern version of the sport has never achieved the popularity of its traditional counterpart. The latest machines typically fuse the motorcycle and sidecar into one unit, made out of carbon fiber, which can reach speeds of 190 miles per hour. But these new high-tech vehicles still need the services of a skilled sidecar rider.

Ultimately, my film is more than a look at a bygone era of motor racing. I have found great inspiration in Mr. Dibben, who has approached life with an understated spirit of bravery, adventure and humor (as chronicled further in his autobiography, “Hold On”). He is a testament to how a daredevil attitude can propel an individual to great heights.


Cabell Hopkins is a London-based filmmaker and producer of television commercials. “No Ordinary Passenger” is his directorial debut.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/opinion/no-ordinary-passenger.html?hp&pagewanted=print