A TRUE petrol head who lived life quite literally in the fast lane with a love of all things motor sports, and a loving husband and father has died.
It’s hard to quite pin down what Keith Whipp was best at. The former Poole Pirates racer enjoyed a successful career in speedway, showed prowess at sidecar racing and even dabbled in windsurfing.
Or perhaps most extraordinarily was that he managed to keep his exploits in the high-risk motorsport world as a complete secret from his mother.
He was also a much-loved husband, father of four and grandfather to eight.
Keith Whipp was born on the September 7, 1941, in Surrey. As a young man, his talents were immediately clear as he threw discus for the county. However, he had an unrequited appetite for motor racing.
It didn’t take Keith long to fully explore this passion when in 1961 he got his hands on his first speedway bike after spending time riding motorbikes and sidecar trials.
His mother may have been in the dark about what Keith was doing with his midweek evenings, but his vision was clean when he joined Poole Pirates – most notably as a member of the 1963 Provincial League side.
Prior to this, however, Keith had made two challenge match appearances for Poole in 1962, before making his official debut for the Pirates on April 13, 1963, when he rode at reserve in the Southern League fixture against Exeter at Wimborne Road.
The first of six meetings in that competition, Keith made a further thirteen appearances in the Provincial League, in a year when the Pirates finished a respectable third out of 13 teams.
He ultimately joined Wimbledon Dons in 1964 and spent two seasons at Plough Lane, helping the side win the London Cup in the same year.
Despite his love of the sport, Keith ultimately decided to stop racing at the encouragement of his first wife so they could start a family. They soon welcomed two children, Carl and Susan.
While not a speedway star anymore, that failed to slow Keith who also tried his hand at road motorbike and side car racing at Brands Hatch and Castle Combe.
Not limited to just land, Keith also liked the sea and enjoyed windsurfing and water skiing along the coast.
As well as bikes, Keith loved cars and owned a garage and later in life had a used car dealership on Hayling Island called Hayland Cars.
Keith tragically lost his first wife to cancer.
He was able to find love again and married his second wife Janet in the mid-1990s. He also welcomed stepchildren Julie and Richard into the family.
His bike obsession continued right up to his final days and he had mentioned about having another bike at the ripe old age of 80 – but wife Janet wasn’t so sure.
A reading written by stepson Richard, and read at Keith’s funeral said: “Some of my best memories of Keith are the times we went on bike rides down the Hayling Billy line.
“One such time whilst I was on my mountain bike doing what boys do best, going fast and stupid. Who was right behind me also going fast and stupid over the lumps, bumps and jumps, Keith. The only difference was he was on a fold up shopper bike. The end result was me hearing a thud and the ding of a bell followed by chuckling. Keith had fallen spectacularly.
“The bars went left the wheel went right he ended up in a heap. When I looked back he was covered in grass stains and blood, ‘just a scratch’ he said. When mum finally caught up and saw the aftermath she said ‘that shirt was clean and those stains will never come out’ – which made Keith and I laugh even more.”
Keith was stricken with Parkinson’s Disease in his later years, however even then the ‘speed demon’ within him refused to be contained and his mobility scooter was always driven on the highest speed setting.
He suffered a stroke on June 21, before passing away in his sleep at hospital in the early hours of Wednesday, June 29. He was 80 years old.
His funeral was held on Friday, July 15.
Poole Pirates paid respects to Keith in their official 2022 season programme, recognising his achievements within the team and offering condolences to the family he left behind.
Keith Whipp is survived by his wife Janet, his son Carl, daughter Susan, stepchildren Julie and Richard, their spouses, his eight grandchildren, three great grandchildren and Poole speedway family.
Have you recently lost a loved one? Email andrew.goldman@newsquest.co.uk if you want to celebrate their life with the community.
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