Son pays tribute to racer and founder of Wigan tyre dealership after his death aged 92

Alan Bott established Pemberton Tyres 60 years ago, but tragically was forced to retire early after a serious road accident in October 1987 left him with life-changing injuries.

The business was then taken over by his 26-year-old son, also named Alan, and 36 years later he is still running it.

Alan Snr was a big motorsports enthusiast and his help and sponsorship would see Alan Jnr become one of Britain and Europe’s most successful moto-cross (also known as scrambling) bike racing stars, eventually becoming a rider for top German bike makers Maico.

Alan Snr’s own specialty was go-karting, and among the places where he raced in his earlier years was the Burtonwood air base, near Warrington, which was then home to many US service personnel. The base closed as a military facility in the 90s.

Amazingly Alan Jnr, who is in his early 60s and has recovered from numerous bike crash related injuries himself, is still racing moto-cross on his beloved Maico in the Vets’ class. He grabbed a third place in one of America’s biggest races as recently as November.

Alan said: "The racing started through my dad - he was a go-kart racer in the 1970s. As a family we were always competing in something - if it wasn’t two wheels, it was four. We're speed freaks.

"He was the best dad in the world. He could never do enough for anybody. I had to grow up very quickly when he had his car crash and I took over the running of the tyre business."