A man who died after he and his daughter were involved in a sidecar racing accident on Sunday was a cautious rider who did not "live on the ragged edge", a family friend says.
Alan Satherley, 58, died after an accident at the Yamaha Battle of the Streets meet in Paeroa, which he was competing in with his 28-year-old daughter Shona.
The father-daughter team were toward the back of a bunch, with Shona Satherley hanging off the side as "swinger" as they neared a 90 degree turn, when they were struck from behind.
Mr Satherley suffered a fractured hip and was airlifted to Waikato Hospital, where he died after a team of 15 surgeons spent two hours trying to stop the bleeding.
His daughter suffered two bruised ribs and a broken toenail.
"We can't fathom how she walked away with a couple of bruised ribs and a broken toenail," family friend Alastair Ritchie told the New Zealand Herald.
Mr Satherley was always concerned with safety, he said.
"It wasn't like he was the sort of guy who would live on the ragged edge and hang on for dear life, it was the total opposite," Mr Ritchie said.
"He bought a machine that had a bit of horsepower and speed on the straights, but he was always very cautious when it came to cornering or braking, never wanting to slide the machine."
Mr Satherley, a maintenance man and painter, was stoked his daughter discovered a passion for the motorsport about two years ago.
"He just loved the fact that they'd found something they could do together."
His family and racing friends were devastated by the death, Mr Ritchie said.
Mr Satherly, who was to have walked his daughter down the aisle at her wedding next month, is survived by wife Judy and son Scott.
