Petpals franchisee wins sidecar racing trophy!

11th July 2016

Keen sidecar racer, Alfreton-based Dave Wallis, owner of Petpals Amber Valley, has recently won The Robin Daykin Memorial Trophy at the Oliver’s Mount, road races in Scarborough, in his fully branded ‘Team Petpals’ LCR Suzuki.

The Trophy is named in honour of Robin Daykin, a popular character on the sidecar racing scene for many years, who sadly died of cancer in 2012. The Memorial Trophy was commissioned by Robin’s wife Annette, who was also his sidecar passenger.

L to R: Harry Payne and Dave Wallis winning the Robin Daykin Memorial Trophy

Dave (56), who has been racing sidecars since 1994 and passenger Harry Payne (24) won the trophy based on their overall performance after three races spread over two days.

For those not familiar with it, sidecar racing is a sport using 3-wheeled motorcycles that can hit speeds of 260kph. This is the only form of motorsport where the passenger and driver both have input into steering the vehicle and, between the incredible cornering speed and the acrobatics of the passengers, sidecars are an impressive sight on the racing circuit.

Race one on the Saturday saw Team Petpals in 3^rd place for the early part of the race before eventually claiming a nail-biting victory over their competitors, beating them by a mere 0.021 seconds.

Race 2 on Sunday saw a win for the ‘on form’ Ramsdens team forcing Dave and Harry into 2^nd place.

The third and final race on Sunday afternoon was to be the decider; Team Petpals slotted into 2^nd place from the start and had taken the lead before the end of lap one, never to be threatened by the competition again and winning with more than a four second margin.

Dave and Harry not only claimed overall victory, they also set the fastest lap time for the weekend.

Dave, who has owned Petpals Amber Valley with his wife Fiona since 2007 said,

‘I have been involved in sidecar racing for over 20 years and get so much enjoyment from it and find it fits really well around running my Petpals business. During the week I am out walking dogs and visiting cats, guinea pigs and rabbits in their homes around Alfreton, Matlock and Heanor, when their owners are on holiday or at work, then at the weekends it is either fine tuning the sidecar engine to get it through pre-race scrutineering or climbing into my leathers to race; they couldn’t be more different but I love them both. Winning the Robin Daykin Memorial Trophy was fantastic; Harry and I had some nail-biting moments and some really close finishes so we were thrilled with the final result.’

ENDS
JULY 2016

Notes to Editors

• Petpals (Amber Valley) is owned by Fiona and Dave Wallis
• Petpals (Amber Valley) was started in April 2007
• Petpals (Amber Valley ) offers the following services: Dog walking, dog home boarding, pet sitting, cat sitting, puppy care visits, elderly care visits
• Petpals (Amber Valley) services the following areas: Alfreton, Belper, Matlock, Tibshelf, Heanor, Duffield, Ripley, Somercotes, Crich
• Petpals (Amber Valley) can be contacted on:
  • 01773 831318
  • [email protected]
  • https://www.petpals.com/area/alfreton