Long before the modern rally cars, Woodhouse motorsport history was being written on three wheels. From grasstrack and sidecars to the Isle of Man TT, big-power sprint cars and today’s rally stages, competition has run through generations of the Woodhouse family.
The Woodhouse competition story reaches back beyond the famous road circuits. Grasstrack GB's British Championship archive records Roy Woodhouse and Doug Woodhouse taking third place in the 1962 British Right-Hand Sidecar Grasstrack Championship at Evesham.
That result gives the family history a much earlier starting point: loose-surface sidecar competition, years before their Isle of Man TT appearances. It also shows that the partnership between Roy and Doug was already operating at national championship level.
Archive note: We know from family history that grasstrack formed part of their racing life. The 1962 British Championship podium is the earliest result we have independently verified so far; further individual meeting results will be added as they are found.
By the mid-1960s the brothers were also appearing in tarmac competition. A 1965 period report records Roy and Doug making their hill-climb debut on a 650cc Triumph sidecar, fresh from competition at Crystal Palace, and setting a 69.13-second run despite gearing that left them climbing in bottom gear.
Surviving programmes then place the Kidderminster pairing at major British circuits: Brands Hatch in March 1968 and Mallory Park in August 1968 on a 650cc Triumph, followed by a 756cc Honda at Mallory Park in 1971. A 1974 Silverstone programme lists them on a 736cc Honda.
The brothers' Isle of Man record is now documented across several seasons. Official TT results show four consecutive top-ten finishes from 1970 to 1973, including a remarkable fourth place in 1971.
The TT story continued beyond those four consecutive top-ten finishes. In 1974 Roy finished 19th in the 750cc TT with Dave Houghton as passenger. Roy and Doug were back together in 1976: they did not finish the 1000cc race, but finished 17th in the Sidecar 500cc TT on a Yamaha at 79.30 mph.
A surviving 1977 TT race card goes a step further and names their machine as a 746cc Woodhouse Yamaha, entered with Roboserve Ltd. That programme confirms the Woodhouse pairing were still part of the TT field seven years after their 1970 top-ten result.
The story later moved onto four wheels. Specialist chassis research records Roy racing March 772/782 chassis 6 from 1984, fitted with a turbocharged 3.5-litre Rover engine. He continued with the car through 1985 and 1986 before transferring the Rover engine into a newer March 822 for 1987–88.
After the 822 was wrecked, Roy returned to the earlier March for 1989–91. A surviving 1990 Brighton Speed Trials programme lists Roy Woodhouse — March F2 — 3500cc turbo in the over-2000cc racing-car class.
Roy and Doug later retained the damaged March machinery. OldRacingCars records that the cars eventually passed through Doug's son Chris; chassis 772/6 was subsequently reconstructed and returned to historic competition.
Grasstrack GB records Roy and Doug third in the British Right-Hand Sidecar Championship at Evesham.
A period report records the brothers' hill-climb debut on their 650cc Triumph sidecar, setting 69.13 seconds.
Surviving Brands Hatch and Mallory Park programmes list Roy and Doug from Kidderminster on a 650cc Triumph.
Roy and Doug Woodhouse finish ninth in the Sidecar 750 TT on a Honda.
The brothers return to the Mountain Course and finish fourth in the Sidecar 750 TT.
Eighth in the Sidecar 750 TT on the Honda, averaging 81.93 mph.
Ninth in the Sidecar 500 TT completes a documented 1970–73 run of top-ten finishes.
Roy finishes 19th in the Sidecar 750 TT on a Honda with Dave Houghton as passenger. A Silverstone programme from the same year lists Roy and Doug together again on a 736cc Honda.
Roy and Doug finish 17th in the Sidecar 500 TT on a Yamaha at 79.30 mph. They also appear together in the 1000cc TT and in the Race of Aces programme that season.
The official TT race card lists Roy and Doug on a 746cc “Woodhouse Yamaha”, entered with Roboserve Ltd — a valuable surviving detail about the outfit itself.
Roy competes in sprints and hillclimbs with March single-seaters powered by a turbocharged 3.5-litre Rover engine.
Monoposto records show Chris Woodhouse heading the 1200 Free standings with 146 points; the club's champions archive lists him as the 2006 class champion.
Chris appears in the 2007 Formula Renault BARC season records, extending the family story into modern single-seater competition.
The Monoposto Racing Club champions archive records Chris Woodhouse as the 2009 MotoMono class champion.
Chris Woodhouse and Rachel Inns compete in a Peugeot 106 under the Woodhouse Brothers Garage name.
On their first outing in a Darrian T90, Chris Woodhouse and Rachel Inns take victory on the Get It Sideways Rally by two minutes.
Chris Woodhouse and Alan Gilbert win the Abingdon CAR-nival Stages overall in a Darrian T90 GTR, finishing 11 seconds clear.
Cambrian Rally results record Chris and Alan Gilbert competing in a 2.5-litre Ford Escort.
Chris and Lucy Wilding are listed in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 for the Dukeries Rally under Woodhouse Brothers Garage. Motorsport News also reported Chris acquiring the ex-Jon Armstrong Fiesta Rally2.
Current event records list Chris Woodhouse and Lucy Wilding in a Peugeot 208 Rally4, with Woodhouse Brothers named on the entry.
From historic sidecars to modern competition cars, the machinery has changed dramatically. The connection with motorsport hasn't.
Chris's competition record is unusually varied. Public records connect him with Monoposto and Formula Renault single-seaters, Peugeot 106 rallying, Darrian machinery, Ford Escorts and, more recently, Rally2 and Rally4 cars.
That breadth is what makes the Woodhouse heritage page worth telling properly. This isn't a garage borrowing motorsport imagery for its branding — the family has competed across different eras and disciplines, and the Woodhouse Brothers name still appears on current event entries.
See Current Racing Rally Updates
The key milestones above are supported by public race results and specialist motorsport archives. We've kept the links here for anyone who wants to explore the history further.
It's part of the Woodhouse family story — from the TT Mountain Course to today's rally stages.
