Sidecar racing passenger Pete Rutterford lost his battle against cancer on November 24, 2019.
Pete entered the bike racing world by scrambling various machines before switching to sidecar passengering.
He had a lot of success as a passenger to many, including Colin Golesworthy, Georg Auerbacher and Siggi Schauzu, who Pete had much regard for and kept in contact with.
Pete’s biggest achievement was winning the world championship in 1971 on the Fath four URS outfit, ridden by Horst Owelsle.
After racing, Pete took up aerobatic flying with a Pitts Special, before a crash in foggy conditions ended his competitive flying days.
Pete and I met at the Saltbox motorcycle cafe in the early 1960s and we remained friends ever since. He kept riding right up to the end.
He will be much missed, not least, of course, by his wife and daughter.
