A RARE OLD SCRAMBLE

Colin Allan has fond memories of tuning in to Grandstand to watch scrambling on winter afternoons in the sport's golden age of the 1960s

- Colin Allan

A rope festooned with flags is all that restrains 30 or so motorcyclists from charging up the first hill on the Canada Heights scrambling course. The sound of their engines revving fills the Kent countryside as thousands of spectators watch in keen anticipation.

Will Dave Bickers, twice European champion, prevail on his 250cc Greeves machine over the more powerful 440cc and 500cc engines? Can his arch-rival Jeff Smith spoil the day for the Suffolk star of scrambling?

Suddenly, the “gate” opens, the rope is released, and the competitors in this invitational race roar uphill.

I watched such scenes on my black-and-white television most winter Saturday afternoons on BBC’s Grandstand sports programme during the early 1960s. I still remember the thrill of seeing such skilled riders strain to negotiate the muddy, hilly courses. Especially exciting was when they crested the hills and were momentarily in mid-air before crunching down on churned-up earth. Even the bare, wintry country scenes added to the atmosphere.

Scrambling, or motocross as it was known on the continent, began in 1924 when a group of motorcycling enthusiasts in Camberley, Surrey began to race each other over rough ground.

This new sport needed a name which best described its unique nature. After all, it wasn’t simply a speed race. It was more a test of endurance between rider and machine over a challenging cross-country course. Finally, at one of the club’s meetings, a member remarked: “Whatever we call it – it’s going to be a rare old scramble.” Thus the sport of scrambling was born.