Rounds four and five of the 2019 FIM Sidecar World Championship, held at Assen in the Netherlands and Grobnik, Croatia have been immensely challenging for the Mansfield-based Birchall brothers. Despite showing impressive speed at both events, bad luck and misfortune hampered the boys’ performance, resulting in less-than-ideal results from both venues. Never a team to give up, the Birchalls still gave 100 percent and will go into the final round of the championship with a fighting chance of victory.

Assen started well for the One Call Insurance backed team – fastest in practice, the boys went on to place their LCR Yamaha outfit on pole position for the race. After a strong start, heavy contact by a fellow competitor into the first corner pushed the boys down to third. With a damaged gear lever making shifting difficult for Ben, the pair nevertheless pushed on and moved into second. Further contact later in the race only made things worse and now with Ben’s shift lever almost unusable and one of Tom’s handles damaged, the brothers decided to settle for second. Having shown dominant pace throughout the weekend, Birchall Racing were unquestionably denied the win, but ever-determined, looked forward to Croatia in the hunt for more points.

With the championship moving on to the Grobnik circuit just one week later, the Birchalls once again impressed by topping both practice and qualifying. Heading the grid into Saturday’s sprint race, the Birchall’s got off to a great start and led into the first series of corners. Unchallenged on track, Ben and Tom increased their lead at the front – Ben driving superbly, the brothers looked to be on for a win. On lap four, the rest of the outfits appeared from the back of the circuit but no Birchalls. The team had been forced to pull off the track when a broken fuel pipe caused their machine to come to a halt. A devastating blow to both their race and their championship.

Sunday dawned hot at the Grobnik track for the Gold Race main event. With the championship at stake, Birchall Racing had no choice but to go for the win. Another great start took the boys into the lead, leaving their competitors to fight for the remaining podium places. Putting in a masterclass of driving on the Croatian track, Ben led the field from start-to-finish to claim valuable championship points and keep them in the hunt for the title.

Going into the two-race final round at Estoril, Spain on October 19, Ben and Tom trail their main championship contenders by just seven points. With 50 points up for grabs and the Birchall’s ‘never give up’ attitude, the title is far from decided.

Ben Birchall: “It’s definitely been a frustrating couple of weeks. We made some changes to the bike before Assen and they have definitely worked – we were easily the fastest outfit at both of the last two rounds, it’s just a shame the results don’t show that. Despite the bad luck, we’re still in with a chance at the title. It’s going to be tough, no question, but we’ll do what we always do – get our heads down and give it our all. I just want to thank the whole team and our supporters for everything they do. We’ve got a good break now before the final round so we’ll go away and get everything prepped before heading over to Spain and giving 100 percent.”

Tom Birchall: “Racing is full of ups and downs and we’ve certainly had our fair share. The last two weeks were tough but on the positive side we have shown that we definitely have the pace to win and the whole team have come together for us to achieve that. Thanks to everyone for sticking by us, hopefully we can get a good run in Spain in October and come away with the win.”

Birchall Racing’s next outing in the FIM Sidecar World Championship will be the sixth and final round held at the Estoril circuit in Spain from October 19 – 20.

Photo credit: Mark Walters

The post MIXED FORTUNES FOR BIRCHALL RACING AT WORLD SIDECAR ROUNDS FOUR AND FIVE. appeared first on Birchall Racing.

Just weeks following their record-breaking run of success at the Isle of Man TT Races, Birchall Racing were back to their winning ways at round two of the FIM world championship. An outing at Brands Hatch earlier in the month had unfortunately ended in incident with Ben and Tom thankfully ok, but their LCR Yamaha outfit sustained damage in the crash and needed some maintenance before its next race.

As always, the team came through, and with hours of hard work leading up to the Hungary event the Mitchells of Mansfield backed One Call Insurance machine was ready to take to the track for Friday’s opening session.

Practice went perfectly and as the teams completed the first qualifying session it was Birchall Racing who came out on top with a superb time of 1:59.885. For Q2, the sweltering temperatures at the circuit had risen even higher and it was unlikely that lap times from the morning could be beaten. With their outfit performing impeccably however, Ben and Tom went on to knock a further few tenths off their existing time and earn themselves pole position for the afternoon’s sprint race.

The nine-lap sprint race saw a closely-fought battle with series front-runners Reeves/Wilkes and Paivarinta/Veravainen. As the race progressed the Birchall brothers and Reeves/Wilkes gapped the third-placed outfit and took the fight right to the line. Ultimately, with a strong final overtake, it was Ben and Tom that took the chequered flag by just three tenths of a second.

The 15-lap ‘Gold Race’ saw another strong start by Birchall Racing and once again the three top teams jostled for position throughout the early laps. With the high temperatures and abrasive track conditions, tyre conservation was a concern for all teams. Ben, driving as smooth as he could, aimed to maintain the condition of his Avon rubber and keep some pace in reserve for the final few laps. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be – rather than risk a mistake, the Mansfield-based brothers settled for second place and with it, some well-earned championship points.

Ben Birchall: “The team and bike have worked perfectly all weekend and we ended up with a really good set up at the end of the event. I’m thrilled to take our first win of the season in race one. We did all we could in race two, but after a great battle we couldn’t quite make the top step again. We’ve moved up to second place in the championship now which is good, and things are looking really positive for the next round at Oschersleben – it’s another double-race weekend so hopefully we can come away with more solid championship points. Thanks to all the team as usual for all their hard work, looking forward to the next one now.”

Tom Birchall: “Overall I’m really pleased with how the weekend has gone. Pannonia is really hard on tyres, so it’s always tricky to find the perfect set up. It was great to have a good fight with Reeves and Wilkes in both races – we did enough in the first race to take the win, but perhaps just got held up a little too long in the second to hunt them down and challenge for the win. Congratulations to them for their result but with the TT done now we can really focus on the world championship 100% and hope to take more wins at the next round.”

Round three of the 2019 FIM Sidecar World Championship will be held at Oschersleben, Germany from 20-21 July.

Results: 2019 FIM Sidecar World Championship – Round two, Pannonia Ring, Hungary

Sprint Race
1. Birchall/Birchall, LCR Yamaha, 18:14.116
2. Reeves/Wilkes, Adolf RS Yamaha, 18:14.452 +0.336
3. Paivarinta/Veravainen, LCR Yamaha, 18:17.475 +3.309

Gold Race
1. Reeves/Wilkes, Adolf RS Yamaha, 30:41.947
2. Birchall/Birchall, LCR Yamaha, 30:45.657 +3.710
3. Paivarinta/Veravainen, LCR Yamaha, 30:48.811 +6.864

Photo credit: Mark Walters

The post DOUBLE PODIUM SUCCESS FOR BIRCHALL RACING IN HUNGARY appeared first on Birchall Racing.

The race started well for the One Call Insurance supported team with Ben taking the holeshot into the first chicane. Heading onwards, under the Dunlop Bridge, the Birchall’s momentum was halted when an impetuous attempt at a pass by the second-placed outfit caused the two teams to collide, forcing the Birchall’s into a near-spin. Using his extensive skill and experience, Ben was able to quickly regain control of his LCR Yamaha but the incident had dropped the team down to fifth place.

Immediately setting off to retake the lead, Birchall Racing broke the lap record on two consecutive laps as they fought their way back to the front. Unfortunately, a clutch issue had arisen, slowing the outfit and restricting the team’s pace on the second half of the race. Despite the handicap, Ben and Tom enjoyed a fierce battle with Paivarinta and Veravainen right until the final lap.

In their final attack for the lead, the two outfits came together, which resulted in Ben and Tom falling behind, their clutch issue becoming worse. The team were able to nurse their outfit across the line to claim fourth, salvaging 13 valuable championship points. Not the win they had been hoping for, but with their machine otherwise performing superbly, the brothers could only take positives from the weekend.

Ben Birchall:“Of course it’s a little frustrating not to have come away with the win, especially as we had a pace advantage all weekend. We had a great battle with Pekka, which was really good fun. Obviously if that first-lap collision hadn’t happened the race would probably have been a bit different but it’s a shame not to finish on the podium as I felt we performed superbly and deserved it. Nevertheless, we came away with some solid points and put on a good show for the fans. The upgrades to the bike we have made over the winter break seem to be working really well and I really enjoyed myself out there. I’m looking forward to Hungary now and hopefully a top result and more championship points.”

Tom Birchall:“All-in-all we’ve had a fantastic start to the year – to go fastest in every session and claim pole position on the new bike is great. The race didn’t quite go to plan, but we had a great battle that went right down to the last lap, it’s just a shame we couldn’t convert it into a podium. Congratulations to the winners, it was a great fight so thank you to the FIM for giving us the opportunity to race at Le Mans once again in front of such a great crowd. We’ll look on to round two now and hopefully take that top step of the podium.”

Birchall Racing’s next event will be the first round of the British Sidecar Championship at Oulton Park on 4-6 May, before heading over to the Isle of Man for the 2019 TT Races towards the end of the month.

Results – 2019 FIM Sidecar World Championship – Round 1, Le Mans, France

1. Päivärinta/Vervainen, LCR Yamaha, 31:46.526
2. Reeves/Wilkes, Adolf RS Yamaha, 31:57.466 +10.940
3. Schlosser/Fries, LCR Yamaha, 31:58.595 +12.069
4.Birchall/Birchall, LCR Yamaha, 31:59.756 +13.230

Photo credit: Mark Walters

The post POSITIVE WEEKEND FOR BIRCHALL RACING AT LE MANS appeared first on Birchall Racing.

The sun shone down on Assen for round five of the FIM Sidecar World Championship. Starting early on Saturday morning, Birchall Racing went out on track and after bedding themselves and their machine in immediately began to set the pace. At the end of the first qualifying session they were the only team to break the one minute 45 second barrier.

Qualifying two also went the way of the Mansfield-based family team, enjoying a trouble-free session, the brothers posted a time of 1:44.099 – over a second faster than their nearest rivals.

Finding even more pace on Sunday’s morning warm-up, the Birchalls went into the Gold Race feeling confident of a top result. Firing off the line and grabbing the holeshot, the boys took the early lead and immediately pulled a second over the following pack. With their LCR Yamaha outfit handling perfectly on the famous Assen circuit Ben and Tom looked set to claim another world championship win.

Several laps into the race unfortunately, Ben noticed an issue with the bike. Although seemingly running well, the pair lost point-seven of a second in one lap, enabling the chasing outfit piloted by Tim Reeves to catch and pass them. With the issue momentarily rectifying itself what followed was a titanic battle between the two world champion drivers with over half a lap completed with their machines virtually side-by-side.

Swapping positions with Reeves for the next five laps, the technical issue began to worsen – Ben was unable to maintain the pace needed to fight for the win and was regrettably forced to back-off, ultimately crossing the line in third, salvaging valuable championship points.

Although the team have thankfully diagnosed the issue as a simple faulty throttle position sensor, they are understandably disappointed not to have converted their superior pace over the weekend into a race win.

Ben Birchall: “I am gutted we couldn’t take victory at Assen. Third place is still a great result but after all the hard work the team have put in preparing the machine over the last couple of months its disappointing not to reward them with a win. We did everything right all weekend and had a good advantage over the rest of the field. Unfortunately, despite fixing one issue that has bugged us all season, another small problem arose and meant we weren’t able to perform at 100% when it mattered. On a positive note, the bike was handling superbly and I think we put on a good show for the fans on the packed Assen grandstands. We’ll go back now and start preparing the bike for Croatia and hopefully we’ll be able to carry the speed we had from Assen into the last two rounds of the championship and come away with maximum points.”

Tom Birchall: “Obviously it’s so disappointing not to have come away with a win, especially after showing such dominating pace over the course of the event. Ben was driving really well and the team have done a great job on the sidecar – we were just let down by one small part. I’d like to thank everyone for supporting us and we’ll be back even stronger at the next world round at the beginning of September.”

The next event for Birchall Racing will be round six of the FIM Sidecar World Championship from Grobnik, Rijeka in Croatia on September 8-9.

Results – 2018 FIM Sidecar World Championship – Round 5, Assen, Netherlands

Gold Race – 17 laps
1. Reeves/Wilkes, Adolf RS Yamaha, 29:59.042
2. Päivärinta/Vervainen, LCR Honda, 30:01.676 +2.634 seconds
3. Birchall/Birchall, LCR Yamaha, 30:05.664 +6.622 secs

Photo credit: Mark Walters

The post MIXED FORTUNES FOR BIRCHALLS AT ASSEN appeared first on Birchall Racing.

In warm conditions, the former RAF airfield once again came alive as the British Superbike paddock arrived for a weekend of racing on the UK’s fastest circuit. The program included three races for the British Sidecar Championship contenders – two on the Saturday with the third on Sunday.

2018 British Superbike Championship, BSB BSB R07 Thruxton, Hampshire, 3rd August 2018.
Ben Birchall and Tom Birchall, Mansfield, Mitchells of Mansfield

During Friday’s single qualifying session, a set-up choice by driver Ben Birchall didn’t perform as expected and left the team with very little time to rectify the issue and post the lap-time they had expected for the conditions on-track. Despite the minor set-back, the brothers qualified in a solid third place for Race One.

The first race went perfectly – fired up and more motivated than ever for a good result, Ben got the 600cc LCR Yamaha outfit off the line well and had soon moved up to second place. Although down on power compared to the larger machines, a pass on the penultimate lap took the Birchall brothers into the lead where they would remain until the flag. The overall win is the first for a 600cc machine and is perhaps even more surprising due to the nature of the high-speed circuit.

Reverse grids for the remaining two races meant it was always going to be hard for the Birchalls to fight through the pack to claim another win. With the Craig Fitzpatrick built Yamaha performing perfectly however, the team were able to finish as runner-up in both races, just behind the overall championship leaders Kershaw and Clark. A great ride in race three did see Birchall Racing momentarily take the lead, but the pair couldn’t quite match the pace of the more powerful 1,000cc machine of the eventual winners and decided to settle for second overall and the class win.

The ability to fight with the larger machines and take a race win is testament to the performance and set-up of the LCR Yamaha and puts the team in a strong position going into round five of the FIM Sidecar World Championship to be held at Assen in The Netherlands on August 18-19.

2018 British Superbike Championship, BSB BSB R07 Thruxton, Hampshire, 4th August 2018.
Ben Birchall and Tom Birchall, Mansfield, Mitchells of Mansfield

Ben Birchall: “I am thrilled to have taken the first 600cc win over the 1,000cc machines, especially on a fantastic, fast track like Thruxton. It really shows how good the bike is now and makes all the hard work the team have put in worthwhile. A big thank you to everyone that has helped and supported us over the last two British races and we’ll now look forward to the next round of the World Championship in Assen.”

Tom Birchall: “That was a really good weekend – I’m so happy that we were able to take an overall win against the bigger bikes. It was perhaps just a little too much to ask for to come from the fifth row in the reverse grid races to take another win, but we had a great time trying. It’s nice to race in England and show the local fans what we can do and what we are capable of. The format made for some thrilling racing and it’s good to see the other 600s up there battling too – we had a good fight with Ricky and Ryan in what overall was an amazing weekend and puts us in good stead for Assen.” 

Birchall Racing’s next outing will be the fifth round of the 2018 FIM Sidecar World Championship held at Assen on the 18-19 August.

Results – 2018 British Sidecar Championship – Round 7, Thruxton

Race One Result
1. Birchall/Birchall – LCR Yamaha, 10:47.666
2. Kershaw/Clark – LCR Kawasaki, 10:48.632
3. Stevens/Charlwood – LCR Kawasaki, 10:48.795
4. Ellis/Richardson – LCR Honda, 10:56.457
5. Lovelock/Lawrence – LCR BMW, 11:01.808

Race Two Result
1. Kershaw/Clark – LCR Kawasaki, 10:48.267
2. Birchall/Birchall – LCR Yamaha, 10:52.234
3. Stevens/Charlwood – LCR Kawasaki, 10:53.604
4. Ellis/Richardson – LCR Honda, 10:59.279
5. Bryan/Hyde – LCR Kawasaki, 11:02.236

Race Three Result
1. Kershaw/Clark – LCR Kawasaki, 10:45.797
2. Birchall/Birchall – LCR Yamaha, 10:51.734
3. Stevens/Charlwood – LCR Kawasaki, 11:03.437
4. Bryan/Hyde – LCR Honda, 11:06.941
5. Gilbert/Tritton – LCR Yamaha, 11:09.817

Photo credit: Tim Keeton – Impact Images

2018 British Superbike Championship, BSB BSB R07 Thruxton, Hampshire, 5th August 2018.
Ben Birchall and Tom Birchall, Mansfield, Mitchells of Mansfield

The post BIRCHALL RACING CLAIM OVERALL RACE ONE WIN AT THRUXTON appeared first on Birchall Racing.

In what proved to be a tricky weekend for the Mansfield based duo, hard work and determination paid off with a third place in Saturday’s Sprint Race followed by a commanding victory in Sunday’s Gold Race.

Heavy rain greeted the sidecar crews on arrival to the historic Sachsenring circuit on Friday for the first of the two qualifying sessions. With wet tyres the only sensible choice on the cold and saturated track, the Birchalls posted the third fastest time but hoped for better results on Saturday. The second qualifying session was held in the same horrendous conditions and the top three teams failed to improve on their original qualifying times set the day before.

The 12-lap Sprint Race also required the use of wet tyres – the rain had stopped but the track was still very damp and required the utmost care and skill to avoid any mistakes. Just a couple of laps into the race it was obvious to driver Ben Birchall that the set-up of their LCR Yamaha outfit was not ideal for the conditions. Despite the handling issues, Ben steered the sidecar home in third place, earning the pair valuable championship points.

Sunday dawned warm and dry at the Sachsenring circuit and left all sidecar crews with a difficult day ahead. With no dry track time from the whole of the weekend so far to produce data, set-up would be a combination of estimates and guesswork. Falling back to settings from the last time the FIM Sidecar World Championship was held at the German circuit in 2014, the Birchall brothers set out on their sighting lap. With a few more adjustments made prior to the start of the race, the Birchalls were unsure how the LCR chassis would perform on the long 19-lap main event.

As it happened, the team need not have worried. Riding superbly and with the skill that has earned multiple world championship and TT wins, Ben steered his way through the field. Following a close battle with fellow Brit Tim Reeves, Ben decided to make the pass and take the lead. With the outfit handling perfectly the Birchall brothers were able to gap Reeves and the rest of the competitors by approximately one second per lap. At the end of the race, Birchall Racing crossed the line with a 10.848-second advantage.

The win enables the team to close in on the championship leaders in the overall standings as the 2018 season nears its halfway stage at next weekend’s round four at the Pannoniaring in Hungary on June 30.

Ben Birchall: “That win felt really good – it was exactly what we needed to get our championship defence back on track. At the beginning of the weekend, in the wet conditions, we thought we had found a good set up and were planning on fighting for the win on Saturday’s Sprint race. It wasn’t until we got out on track that we realised the handling was off and we were suffering from some front-end understeer. I am pleased to have held on for the final spot on the podium but a little disappointed to be off the pace. Sunday was completely different. We took a risk by falling back to settings from 2014 but it paid off. The bike felt great and we were able to set our own pace and control the lead from the front. The lap times we were doing were on par with those we set in 2014, but back then we were running 1,000cc engines, so that’s really encouraging. It has been a great weekend at a great venue but now we go straight to Hungary for round five and hope to close in on the championship leaders even further.”

Tom Birchall: “That was a tough weekend for everyone I think. Ben rode really well, it was just a shame to struggle a little on Saturday. The Gold Race couldn’t have gone any better, settings were great and the Yamaha motor was pulling really well. It’s great to get another win and hopefully we can repeat the success next weekend in Hungary. I’d like to thank the team and everyone that supports us, without them success like this wouldn’t be possible.”

Results – 2018 FIM Sidecar World Championship – Round 3, Sachsenring, Germany

Gold Race – 19 laps
1. Birchall/Birchall, LCR Yamaha, 28:08.170
2. Reeves/Wilkes, Adolf RS Yamaha, 28:19.018 +10.848secs
3. Päivärinta/Vervainen, LCR Honda, 28:22.160 +13.990secs

Photo credit: Mark Walters

The post BIRCHALL BROTHERS TAKE THE WIN IN SACHSENRING appeared first on Birchall Racing.

Following on from their double win at the Isle of Man TT races last week where they set a new lap record of 117. 119mph the Mitchells of Mansfield supported brothers headed straight to Hungary for a round of the World championship where they were to contest two races in the current World championship campaign.

The Mansfield pair secured pole position during qualifying with a lap of 1m 58.679s which is a faster time than the fastest lap time from last year during the race with the larger 1000cc engine. 

Ben said: “The bike is perfect, we will see how the race goes, it has been a good weekend so far.”

As the lights went out for the start of the sprint race it was Paivarinta and Kainulainen who got the hole shot into the first corner but they ran wide allowing the Birchall brothers to get ahead. But a fellow competitor suffered a crash further downfield and the red flag brought proceedings to a halt. At the restart it was Paivarinta once again to get away in the lead but by the end of lap one Birchall had taken the lead and continued to forge ahead extending their lead to take the chequered flag a full nine seconds ahead of their rivals with Holden/Wilkes finishing in third place.

Ben and Tom were over the moon with their win plus the added bonus of setting a new lap record of 1m 59.532s.

After spending the evening preparing the LCR Honda for the Gold race on Sunday the teams took their gird positions for the start of the 15 lap affair. This time The Birchall brothers scorched away to complete the 15 laps for another win over 18 seconds ahead of Paivarinta with Holden once again taking third place.

Ben said:

“we are delighted to have taken the double win here this weekend. It’s been a long month with us having two world championship rounds with the two TT races sandwiched in between so we were thrilled to have come out on top after such a tiring month. It’s good that the rest of the competitors are now getting to grips with their 600cc outfits and the racing is a lot closer.

“We have to thank our team for their sterling work again this weekend plus our loyal sponsors for their continued support. With over a month before the next World championship race we have time to contest a round of the British championship and are looking forward to Snetterton at the end of the month.”

The Birchall brothers remain unbeaten in the world championship this year and are settled at the head of the rider standings on 125 points with the next round at Assen on August 6.

Meanwhile Ben and Tom will take in a round of the British 600cc sidecar championship at Snetterton over the weekend of June 30/July 2.

The post Birchall Brothers Victorious In Hungary appeared first on Birchall Racing.

The new rules for the world championship meant that all Sidecar teams had to change from 1000cc to 600cc engines.

Having switched to the smaller engine last year Ben and Tom Birchall secured the FIM F2 World Sidecar title, securing pole positions and lap records on their way to the title.

The Mitchell’s of Mansfield supported riders have made the change to Yamaha this season and have taken part in some intensive pre-race testing in France prior to the race at Le Mans.

The brothers dominated practice and qualifying and began the 18 lap race from pole position. But they didn’t get the hole shot as John Holden was the first to reach the chicane but Ben and Tom were hot on their heels and took the lead on the exit to the chicane to accelerate away extending their lead with every lap.

The race came to an early end when another competitor crashed heavily with three laps to go and a result was declared at 15 laps distance with Ben and Tom recording the win well ahead of Paivarinta/Kainulainer (2nd) and Streuer/Raisseau (3rd). The Mansfield pair also set a new lap record with a 1m 44.685s lap – 143.9kmph set on lap nine.

Ben said:

“That was a perfect start to our championship; it couldn’t have gone any better for us. All the hard work and preparation we put in over the closed season is paying off nicely.”

“Le Mans is a fantastic venue and it was great for us to take pole position, the win and the lap record. We now look forward to getting our British Championship campaign underway at Oulton Park on May 1.”

The next round is at Oschersleben in Germany over the weekend of May 20/21. Prior to that the Birchall brothers will contest the second round of the British Sidecar Championship at Oulton park on Monday May 1st

The post BIRCHALL BROTHERS TAKE DECISIVE WIN AT LE MANS appeared first on Birchall Racing.