TRIBUTES have been paid to a renowned motorcycling enthusiast who passed away on Sunday.

Derek Yorke, of Sible Hedingham, died just short of his 89th birthday.

Sidge Kenny, archivist for ACU Eastern, the governing body for motorcycle sport in the area, said it was “a sad loss”.

Few riders achieved such a successful and lengthy career, virtually entirely on sidecars, as Derek did.

A founding member of the Eastern Sporting Sidecar Association in 1954, Derek was already a top-flight sidecar performer in grass track racing.

A mechanic by trade, he worked with the late EJ ‘Dusty’ Miller at Chelmsford, before going on to form his own business, Essex Wheels, specialising in spoked wheel repairs and manufacture.

He worked from Sible Hedingham, and countless Eastern Centre riders and racers would have taken advantage of his specialist knowledge.

Halstead Gazette:

Unsurprisingly, Derek’s passion led him to modifying his own machinery.

One of his winning combinations led to the ‘Trudge’, a mixture of the Triumph and the Rudge using a JAP engine.

Derek also had a long spell in road racing, including many appearances over three decades at the challenging Isle of Man TT.

In 1960, he was part of the ESSA team to win the team prize at the TT, and in the 1973 event, along with Roger Dutton and Mike Potter, the team won both 500cc and 750cc team awards.

He retired from his business in 2011.

Derek’s health deteriorated over a period of time, before he passed away at Colchester General Hospital.

Arrangements for his funeral are yet to be announced.