THE D&S reported 100 years ago that in the summer of 1921, farmers had successfully petitioned Thirsk Rural Council to “prohibit the use of Sutton Bank for other than legitimate purposes of passing to and from the towns to which it leads”.
This was aimed at preventing motoring enthusiasts from using the one-in-four bank as a time trial for their spluttering vehicles.
It looks as if the earliest organised time trial on the bank was held in 1908, and in 1919, FW Dixon, on a 7hp 994cc Indian motorbike set a record of one minute 22.20 seconds for the climb. His record stood for quite some time.
This was “Flying Freddie” Dixon, the Stockton motor ace, who won the Isle of Man TT races in 1923 and 1927 on a bike and with a sidecar – he’d developed a lever in the sidecar that, when pulled by the passenger, allowed the sidecar to lean with the bike during cornering.
Freddie Dixon with his innovative leaning sidecar at the 1923 Isle of Man TT race, which he won
In the 1930s, he moved on to cars, winning notable honours at Brooklands and Le Mans. In 1935, he was involved in a curious plane crash: he flew in a hired Gypsy Moth from the Londonderry Aerodrome (one of the first private flying clubs in the country which became RAF Leeming) to his home at Linthorpe, waved at some friends and then crashed onto the Linthorpe golf course. The plane was destroyed but miraculously he escaped.
His antics on Sutton Bank were too much for the farmers, though, who in July 1921 persuaded the council that such carryings-on should be banned. But 100 years ago this week the council was presented with a petition in favour of the hill climb.
“These motors bring in a fair amount of money, which is distributed between the hotels and the tradespeople of the district,” said Cllr A Pearson. “The slight damage to the road and the small amount of inconvenience is outweighed by the advantages.”
The council agreed that for one day only that April, the hill climb up our area’s most famous road could once again be held
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