Interview – Dave Dawson

Age/live 47/Worcester, England

Years raced BMX 1980–1985

How did you get started?

I can’t remember how I first heard about the race in the UK that took place at Redditch, but David Duffield was employed by Halfords and they were going to import the Puch Murray bikes into the UK. They funded the Redditch track, which was very close to the Halfords head office. They arranged for some guys to come over from Holland and allowed some local kids to use a fleet of Puch Murray bikes and Protec helmets for a demo race.

My dad had been involved in motorcycle trials and knew Steve Wilson, who was then a trials star in the Midlands and a good frame builder. Steve had made a few BMX bikes and on that day he loaned me one. I recall finishing 2nd place to a Dutch guy.

I soon bought a bike off Steve and then helped develop it over the next year or so until I was picked up by Hotshot towards the end of the ’81 season. The original Wilson team included Dave and Adrian Jessop, Dave Westwell, Simon Ryland and Mark Butler.

How was your local scene?

The local scene was generally centred around Redditch, where we met with a load of the Midlands racers pretty regularly. It was normal to ride the 10 miles each way from home to the track and practice all day. No need to train back then.

My local scene in Bromsgrove involved a few guys who were pretty good. Anthony But was in my year at school so we hung about together a fair bit, plus Dean Bateson and Chris Lawther from Birmingham Wheels were local, so there were always a fair few guys about and we had some decent riding spots.

I remember Anthony Sewell spent quite some time staying with Chris when he was in the UK, so we rode together a fair bit too.

Who influenced you back then on a BMX?

Like most guys in the early days of BMX in the UK, most influences came from US magazines, so the likes of Stu Thomsen, Harry Leary, Greg Hill etc featured heavily.

I was into motocross and saw Tim March race a few times at schoolboy nationals and he was bloody quick, so when he started racing BMX it gave the sport a bit more credibility in my eyes.

Towards the mid-80s I’d say Geth Shooter was an influence, and it was good to see someone with less ego beat the so-called ‘stars’ of the day.

Earlier tracks you rode and raced on?

Most of the Midlands tracks as they were easy to get to. Redditch, Wordsley, Bromsgrove, Derby, Cocksmoor, Birmingham Wheels, Hereford, Deddington etc. But we did a fair bit of travelling in those first couple of years to places like Ipswich, Nottingham, Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Wigan, Chorley, High Wycombe, Peterborough, Bradford, Buckmore Park, Margate, Southampton, Bournemouth, Poole, Hounslow… quite a few when you start listing them.

Who did you ride and race with?

Through most of the time I raced with a lot of the same guys and there really wasn’t much between any of us. On the day, anyone could win. There was a change after 1981 when they changed the classes based on date of birth, so some riders moved classes.

The main at most Nationals would have included riders like Nicky Matthews, Fenwick Carr, Gary Fenwick, Terry Lloyd, Chris Simmonds, Dean Scott Webb, Anthony Butt, Keith Wilson, Tony Slater, Andy Ruffell, Mark Cracknell, Geth Shooter, Ian Mason, Harvey Monkton, Simon Bailey, Paul Miller and Martin Jose.

Teams you rode for?

Halfords/Wilson, Hotshot, Patterson, Vector.

Your dad Pete was Team Manager for Redline when they had a powerhouse team. Tell us a little about his history.

He had always been involved in bike sport and was a pretty good trials and motocross rider from the 50s through to the 80s.

When I signed for Hotshot I also went to work for Les Windle and lived with the family down in Oxford. Eventually my dad came to work for the company too, in sales, and as part of that role he looked after the race teams. It was around the same time that Hotshot started to import Redline and Patterson, and he was tasked with building a team.

He had been commentating at Redditch for years, so he knew a lot of the riders. When he started building a team, he already had a good idea who the talented riders were in each age group.

The Redline team consisted of Geth, Tim Print, Nicky Dalton, Paul Ray, Mike and Sarah-Jane Nichols. The Patterson team was me, Tom Lynch, Gary and Mark O’Connor. It was a strong group of riders, and the Hotshot team acted as a feeder group from what I remember.

Seemed like you raced NBMXA a bit more mid-80s. Why did you prefer it to UKBMX?

I just went where the team rode. I think we tried to have a presence at both NBMXA and UKBMX, but I don’t really remember why I ended up doing more NBMXA. It may have been because there was a bigger NBMXA presence in the Midlands, so it was cheaper to race.

Highlight of your career?

NBMXA British Championships 1983, I got 3rd. In 1984 I was NBMXA National No.2 and also 2nd at the British Championships in Cruiser behind Geth.

Why did you stop racing?

I found other things to do and got fed up with every weekend being the same. I joined the Army in 1985, so that was probably the main reason. I did take my Patterson with me and rode a few races in Belgium and Germany where I was posted in 1986/87.

Do you still follow racing these days?

Only through Facebook and YouTube. I would have loved to have started racing later and be around now to ride today’s tracks, but I’m pretty sure I’d hurt myself if I made a comeback, even though I still ride my road and mountain bike regularly.

Did you ever think 30-plus years ago BMX would become an Olympic sport?

Never. It was just a bit of fun for us in our teens, but now it’s a proper professional sport. The commitment from British Cycling and the work riders like Liam Phillips put in is light years ahead of what we did back then.

Could today’s BMX racing learn anything from the early days?

I don’t know. Apart from the wheel size, I wouldn’t even call it the same sport. BMX in the 80s was more like 4x is today, with more natural terrain, all-weather racing, loads of mud, and plenty of pedalling, especially at tracks like Peterborough and Bradford.

Anything you want to add?

I made loads of friends back in the day and I’m still in touch with many of them on Facebook. The sport taught me lessons I’ve carried through life and gave me experiences I wouldn’t change.

I’m glad it’s become more professional, but I still remember the party at Geth’s house between the two days of the British Championships. At least six of us slept on the floor in the lounge in a drunken state, then raced the finals the next day and a number of us made the podium. Doubt that would happen today.