Pensioners sell farm, buy sidecar and enter the TT

GRANDPARENTS Robin and Annette Daykin have shunned a quiet life content with bus passes to sell their farm so that they can compete in the TT races.

Robin, 74, and wife Annettite, 62, sold their croft in Scotland eight years ago to buy an R6-powered sidecar.

The Daykins, who have six grandchildren, will take part in the Sidecar TT under the banner of Team Past-It, a name coined after a younger competiter told Mr Daykin that he was too slow.

The pair raced in the Sidecar TT as rookies last year, finishing in 27th in the second race with an average speed of 88.803mph.

Retirement rekindled the couple's passion for motorbikes, Mrs Daykin told the Daily Mail: "Neither of us wanted a quiet life. This is our time to go out and have fun." They first entered classic races with a Royal Enfield outfit, but soon became bored and upgraded to the 600cc-powered machine.

Mr Daykin first competed in sidecar racing at the Manx Grand Prix in 1957 at the age of 20. His return to racing was overshadowed when three years ago he found out he had prostate cancer and within weeks broke his neck in a highspeed crash.

He said: "I had a bit of a rough time. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and then I broke my neck in a racing accident in Wales. But despite all the pain, it’s safe to say my fortunes really turned around. 12 weeks later, I had fully recovered from both the prostate cancer and the broken neck."