Bikers pay tribute to track hero Phil Dongworth

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By Lucy Tatchell

A POPULAR mechanic and successful sidecar racer was escorted by hundreds of fellow bikers as he made his final journey through the streets of Worcester. Hordes of bikers joined the cavalcade as it slowly made its way to Worcester Crematorium for the funeral of Phil Dongworth. Once there they were joined by hundreds of fellow mourners, most of whom had to stand outside in the rain, for the touching service.

Yesterday’s funeral was a mixture of laughter and tears as friends and family paid their respects to a man they called “hero” and “ace dude”. Bikers wearing pink stickers spelling Mr Dongworth’s nickname ‘Dongo’ and holding a banner reading ‘RIP = Racer In Paradise’ followed his coffin from the WAS Autocentre in Bath Road, which he co-owned, accompanied by police outriders.

At 11.30am a low rumble could be heard in the distance and the rideout slowly appeared as mourners dressed in team race wear stood in silence. Friends wearing Team Dongo t-shirts carried Mr Dongworth’s coffin in to the song The Ace of Spades by Motorhead.

Mr Dongworth’s friend and business partner John Luebke paid tribute to the 43-year-old, who died following an accident during a sidecar racing practice in the Isle of Man on Tuesday, July 14.

“Life is short so you have got to live it,” he said.

“I think Dongo got it pretty sussed, he worked hard, played long and he was always there for his family.

“He was a hero, so modest. A totally ace dude.”

During the humanist ceremony the congregation were told about Mr Dongworth’s mischievous streak.

Once in Belgium he left a bar and shot off into the darkness. His friends saw him minutes later clinging onto the towbar of a moving car skiing along the road. As a youngster he enjoyed newt racing and doted on his younger sister Lynne and would haul her onto his shoulders so she could reach his father’s secret stash of homemade wine.

He quickly developed an interest in mechanics and got his first motorbike when he was 14-years-old. When he was 18 he decided to re-spray his latest bike, but instead of doing it outside he took the bike to his sister’s bedroom and did it there. In 1985 Mr Dongworth, of Stanford Bridge, near Worcester, met his wife-to-be Teresa and proposed on Christmas Day. The couple had two children, 19-year-old Corin and Chloe, 11.

A tribute written by Chloe was read out at the service and said: “That everlasting hero that touched our hearts, he is the legend we will never forget.”

She then sang a song called Great is He, which when she performed it at school Mr Dongworth would point to himself until Chloe was laughing so much she could no longer sing.

Humanist leader Dorothy Quail said: “The family do not seek or want any blame attached to the accident. He died doing something he loved to do.

“On his last ride he was with someone who he had the greatest respect for as a friend, as a race mate and as a man who he loved and would have done anything for.”

As his friends filed out of the hall to Redline’s King of the Mountains, they patted his coffin, which stood next to a black and white chequered flag.