The 2019 season was one of huge highs as well as sobering lows for Ben and Tom Birchall. Despite showing race-winning pace at every single round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship, the Mansfield-based duo were unable to turn their speed into valuable championship-winning points. A run of bad luck that followed them throughout their international campaign caused a number of DNFs, making it incredibly tough for the boys to claw back enough points to claim a third consecutive title. Ultimately finishing third in the final series rankings, Ben and Tom were nevertheless pleased with their performance and proud to have finished on the overall championship podium.

The 2019 Isle of Man TT however, went perfectly. In contrast to the 2018 event, the small island was not blessed with two weeks of sunshine, but instead mixed weather and showers made for tricky qualifying conditions for all. With a lack of good track and testing time, all Sidecar TT competitors went into the rescheduled Monday three-lapper faced with a damp and blustery course. Making the most of their skill and experience, Birchall Racing led from start to finish, even managing a 119.129mph lap on their second circuit. Ben steered the Haith, Live Your Adventure – Isle of Man & Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored outfit into the winners’ enclosure at the end of the third lap to claim the team’s ninth TT victory, breaking the race record in doing so.

Race two on the island was just as thrilling. With the organisers doing an excellent job to find a slot for all of the races that week, Sidecar Race 2 was brought forward to Thursday and reduced to two laps. In arguably the best conditions of the fortnight, the Birchalls set off down Bray Hill and never looked back. Bringing their LCR Honda outfit home 20 seconds ahead of the second-placed outfit, Ben and Tom earned their 10th TT win to secure themselves as overall Sidecar TT Champions once again. To top off an amazing event, Ben and Tom also won the Motul Award for Technical Excellence – their LCR outfits filled the three podium positions in both races and close to half the sidecar field was made up of LCR machines.

Birchall Racing have already started on their preparations for the 2020 season. After much deliberation, the boys have decided to take a break from the world championships and concentrate on the TT and the ever-popular BSB championship. The team will also be contending selected European road races throughout the year. The decision comes from both Ben and Tom wishing to spend more time closer to home with their young families. Never ones to rest on their laurels however, the boys plan on making some changes to their outfits to push the limits that little bit further in the forthcoming season.

Ben Birchall: “I have had a fantastic year again and firstly I have to thank everyone who has made it possible. The team has enjoyed an incredible season, with another dominant performance at the TT and some excellent results in both the British and world championships. We were on the pace all year but just weren’t able to convert it into the finishes and points we needed to claim the world title. It’s disappointing, but that’s the way racing goes sometimes. We’ll turn our attention now to getting everything ready for next season, we’ve already got some great plans in place and are looking forward to another strong year.”

Tom Birchall: “Overall I’m really happy with our 2019 racing campaign. The year was split into two really with the World Championship and the TT commitments. We took on a new challenge this year with a new design and engine configuration for the world championships and it worked well, showing a good competitive pace at all rounds. We came away with several wins, pole positions and fastest laps, which we are very proud of. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t quite clinch our third consecutive championship but we gave the season 100% and came away with third, which is a huge achievement in itself.

“The TT was amazing. Although the place has always been in our blood ever since we were kids, the event has become such a big part of our lives now. Partly because we’re building bikes for the TT and other competitors but also because of how things have grown over there. It really is a highlight of our year to be able to bring good racing and entertainment to all the fans who support us.”

Birchall Racing would like to say thank you to all their fans for their support over the 2019 season. Also, to their team and supporters without whom, none of this would be possible. Here’s looking forward to another successful year of racing and hopefully more top results.

Photo credit: Lucas Croydon, Mark Walters, Jon Cole

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Originally due to take place on Friday June 7 – Senior Race Day – the second of the two sidecar races was brought forward to the action-packed Thursday slot due to the inclement weather forecast to arrive on the Friday afternoon. As part of Thursday’s hectic schedule, the three-lap race was cut to two and presented an exciting challenge to all competitors.

In arguably the best conditions of the fortnight, the Birchall brothers set off down Bray Hill with rivals Holden and Cain hot on their heels. At the first timing check at Glen Helen, only one second separated the two front-runners – the Birchalls with the advantage.

With all teams taking time to adjust to the track conditions and lighter initial fuel load, times were close on the way into Ramsey. Rounding the hairpin with a 2.757-second lead, Ben got his head down once again for the climb up the mountain. Getting the perfect drive out of Ramsey and hitting every apex over the short circuit style mountain section, Birchall Racing completed their first lap at an average of 118.38 mph, extending their advantage over the second-placed outfit to over 10 seconds.

Maintaining a consistent pace on the second and final lap, the Birchalls brought their Haith / Live Your Adventure supported LCR Honda safely home over 20 seconds ahead of Holden and Cain. Earning their second win of the week – their 10th in total – gave the brothers the perfect result at the end of a tricky fortnight. The Mansfield-based pair won both races, led every lap and posted the fastest lap time in each of the two outings – an incredible achievement that is only made possible by the hard work and preparation of the entire team.

To top off an amazing event, Ben and Tom also won the Motul Award for Technical Excellence. Their LCR outfits filled the three podium positions in both races and close to half the sidecar field is made up by LCR machines.

Birchall Racing head into Signpost corner on the way to their 10th TT win – Photo: Mark Walters

Ben Birchall: “It’s feels great to get another TT double, it’s a real honour to have equalled the win record of a legend such as Rob Fisher. It takes a lot of work, but it’s not just me and Tom, Jim and Ed have had as many wins as we have and we couldn’t do it without them. Most of our sponsors have done the same too, it’s fantastic that we can keep doing what we do and rely on the constant support of so many. It’s been an amazing TT for us, but I’m thankful for some time to relax. We have a world championship to defend now, but I’m already looking forward to coming back next year.”

Tom Birchall: “It’s all been a bit of a dream really, it’s difficult to find the words, to win 10 now is unbelievable. We all put everything into it, families, supporters everyone – they are with us through the bad times so it’s good to be able to reward them with the good times like this. The TT consumes you for so long on the run up to the event, it’s all you ever think about. To be successful here takes an incredible amount of work and you never get it 100% right – you are always learning. When it comes together there’s no feeling like it, the conditions out there were beautiful and it’s great to see so many crowds cheering you on.”

Full results here.

Photo credit: Mark Walters

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Following an extremely challenging practice week, where inclement weather resulted in many cancelled or curtailed qualifying sessions, all teams were short on both track and set up time. Despite the scheduled Saturday race slot postponed to Monday, the crews still faced tough conditions on the 37.73-mile course with damp patches and a very strong wind.

Setting the pace right from the flag-drop, the Haith/Live Your Adventure backed team set fastest sector after fastest sector. Enjoying a lead of over four seconds at the first run through Glen Helen, Ben stayed focused and maintained a consistent pace, stretching the gap as the race went on.

With a stunning first lap of 117.709mph, the Mansfield-based brothers went into lap two with a 15-second lead over the second-placed outfit of Holden and Cain. Steering their LCR Honda perfectly through the lower part of the course, Ben and Tom increased their lead to over 21 seconds at Glen Helen.

At Ramsey Hairpin, just over 24 miles into the lap, the boys were on lap record breaking pace – seven seconds inside their 2018 time. A strong, gusting wind up the mountain climb slowed their progress however and the pair completed the lap at a still-impressive 119.129mph average.

Although still extending their lead, Ben eased off a little on the third and final lap to preserve the machine, ultimately clocking a third lap of 118.12mph. Crossing the line with a 48.116-second lead, Birchall Racing secured their ninth Isle of Man TT win.

The total race time of 57-minutes-24.005 seconds broke the boys’ existing record set on race two in 2018. The win also crowns Tom as the most successful sidecar passenger in the history of the iconic event.

Now with just days to prepare for the second race of the festival, due to be held on Friday, Senior race day, Ben and Tom will be hoping for further success at this year’s Isle of Man TT Races.

Ben Birchall: “It is an incredible feeling to win a TT, there really is nothing like it. We, like all the competitors this year, have had such a tough practice week. We have made some changes to the outfit this year, but without much track time to test everything we weren’t 100% sure how it would perform. Thankfully, everything went well on the day and we were able to bag our ninth win. Tom was amazing as usual and the Honda motor was superb – thanks to Padgett’s for their continued help with that. I’d just like to say a big thank you to all the spectators and fans for their support over these two weeks. The weather has been awful for everyone but to see everyone lining the track, cheering us on is a real boost, so thanks to everyone for their support. Hopefully we can do the same again this Friday.”

Tom Birchall: “It feels great to be back here taking another win, this has been one of the toughest that’s for sure. With the changes to the bike and the conditions through practice, it really shows what you can do with a good team behind you. I’d like to thank all of the team and friends and family for their support, it really does take a lot to come together to ensure success on the island. It’s a real honour to become the most successful passenger, again it wouldn’t be possible without good support and of course, Ben to drag me round!”

The 2019 Isle of Man TT Sidecar Race Two will take place on Friday June 7.

Photo credit: Mark Walters

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In perfect conditions, the IEG Racing supported pair rode three blinding laps, all of which were inside their previous lap record set in 2017. Following a steady start to the race, driver Ben Birchall began to push and on lap two, the brothers increased their lead over the second-placed outfit to over 15 seconds. Their lap-time of 18 minutes 59.018 seconds – the first sub 19-minute lap for a sidecar – netted the Mansfield-based duo a new record average speed of 119.250mph.

Easing off just a little on the final circuit, the Birchalls still recorded an impressive lap of 118.427mph. The win marks the eighth for Mitchells of Mansfield supported Birchall Racing – their fifth in a row. Tom now equals Manxman Dan Sayle as the most successful sidecar TT passenger, both with eight wins to their credit.

Birchall Racing won the Fred Hanks Award for the fastest aggregate time in both sidecar races and, with three LCR outfits on the podium, were also awarded the Chassis Manufacturers Team Award.

Ben Birchall: “What can I say, it’s been such a fantastic week. I’ve got two great competitors who pushed me all the way today and on the opening lap the first board I saw said we were in second place – two seconds behind. I knew then we had a race on our hands. I have to give full credit to John (Holden), it’s been a tough week for him, and I wish Fiona all the best following her accident.

“Things felt really good with the bike though and the conditions out there were perfect, so I was able to push on a little harder and again the lap times just come when everything is right like that. I didn’t go out there to break the record, my aim was to stay as clean and consistent as possible, but we were rewarded with an amazing lap time and the win. I can’t begin to try and explain what it feels like or takes to win around here, there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes that enables us to race and for that I have to thank everyone involved.”

Tom Birchall: “It feels amazing to take another win on the TT course – you can never take anything for granted around here. The first lap felt strong, but John was just that little bit faster – I knew then we would have to press on a little more. We fired out of Quarterbridge on the second lap so well, that it was obvious something special was going to happen, Ben’s driving was amazing – smooth and yet so fast and that’s exactly what you need around the Isle of Man.

“We have to thank everyone that has supported us, especially over the last two weeks. The Isle of Man TT is such a massive challenge to all who race here and we wouldn’t be able to claim the results we do without such a strong and dedicated team behind us.”

Birchall Racing now turn their attention to the FIM World Sidecar Championship and round three at Sachsenring, Germany, June 23-24.

Results: 2018 Locate.im Sidecar TT Race 2

1. Birchall/Birchall, LCR Honda, 57:25.040
2. Holden/Cain, LCR Honda, 57:47.960
3. Reeves/Wilkes, LCR Honda, 58:03.738

 
Photo credit: Mark Walters

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The race started on time but an incident on the first lap caused the red flag to be shown and a full-restart was necessary. With the teams given time to regroup, the starter eventually dropped his flag at 7pm on Saturday evening.

Pushing hard straight from the start, the Birchalls had already opened up a gap of 2.1 seconds over the second-placed pairing of John Holden and Lee Cain by Glen Helen, just over nine miles into the course. They continued to pull away from the field opening up a lead of over 13 seconds at the end of lap one and in doing so, broke their own lap record with an average speed of 117.502mph.

Lap two continued with Ben and Tom setting a sensational pace, doubling their lead over Holden and Cain to a comfortable 26.1 seconds at the end of the lap. Their average speed over the 37.75-mile second lap increased to a stunning 118.694mph in a time of 19m 04.353s.

Posting an average speed of 117.771mph on the third and final lap, the Birchalls continued to increase their lead over the eventual runners-up Holden and Cain. The win is the seventh for the Mansfield-based team and the fourth consecutive victory following their 2016 win and their double a year later in 2017.

Birchall Racing will now concentrate on the Locate.im Sidecar TT race two, held on Friday June 8 – Senior Race day.

Ben Birchall: “I really enjoyed that – what a race. You never really know what pace you can run around the Isle of Man, you just have to take things as smoothly as you can, hit every apex and not make any mistakes. Tom has been faultless and the team have been incredible, supporting us and enabling us to be here so I can’t thank them enough.”

Tom Birchall: “What an incredible race – it’s hard to take it all in really. The pace was so hot after the restart but Ben drove superbly and the whole race was pretty much flawless. After a difficult practice week, the first race can always be a bit tricky. The first lap before the red flag was not so great but, on the restart, Ben got his head down and the speed just comes when everything clicks like that. I have to thank our whole team, sponsors and families as it takes a lot of hard work to get here and be competitive and we couldn’t do it without such a great group of guys and girls behind us.”

Results – 2018 Isle of Man Locate.im Sidecar TT Race 1

1. Birchall/Birchall, LCR Honda, 57:33.635
2. Holden/Cain, LCR Honda, 58:20.767
3. Reeves/Wilkes, LCR Honda, 58:42.668

Photo credit: Mark Walters

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Setting off down Glencrutchery road the Mitchells of Mansfield supported brothers were knocked back into second place by John Holden and Lee Cain who were fastest to Glen Helen and stretched their lead by another half a second at Ballaugh, but by the time they reached Ramsey the Birchalls had turned it round and were leading by one and a half seconds. They were well ahead at the end of the first lap and stretched the gap even further on lap two with a fastest lap of 116.423s.

Ben and Tom eased off the gas a little on the final lap to be sure of bringing the LCR Honda home safely and crossed the finish line to take their sixth TT victory and second double win with a final lap time of 115.295mph. They also remain unbeaten in 2017 as they lead both the FIM World championship after winning every race to date and also won the British 600cc Cup race at Oulton Park last month.

Ben commented:

“I went a bit steady on the first lap as it didnt feel quite so good; there was not so much grip and there were a few damp patches. We obviously had a race on our hands with John so thought come on lets sort this out and get going. I think after that we were ok. I am so happy that we have won two in a week and its thanks so much to our team, family and friends and of course our sponsors who have also become our friends.

Ben went on to say:

We have got such a great package for this place, I love riding around here, the sun was shining and the crowds were waving, we were in the lead, me and my brother on a bike that was flying, what was there not to like. We have been on tender hooks this week, the Wilson Craig engine has been so good and I can’t thank everyone enough.

It’s such an honour to be able to race around here, especially on Senior day with such a huge crowd who were all waving their programmes at us; thanks to your support. Both of us have had our ups and down all week and I am now full of flu and coughing a lot but we have come through it all and it’s fantastic.”

It’s back to World championship duty next for the Birchall Brothers who have another round of the Sidecar World championship with two races in Hungary over the weekend, June 17/18.

The post Ben And Tom At The Double appeared first on Birchall Racing.

Practice week was all but a washout with the weather curtailing the action around the 37.73-mile Mountain road circuit and Saturday’s race action was replaced by a day of practice so that the riders could at least get their machines up to speed.

The Birchall Brothers went on to set the fastest lap of practice on Saturday with a 116.675mph and were the first riders to set off on Monday down Glencrutchery Road on their way around the first of three laps of the course.

The Mitchells of Mansfield supported riders soon proved their dominance in the race and recorded a first lap of 115.965mph before heading off on an even faster lap where they scorched around the course and shattered the existing lap record set by themselves last year with an amazing 117.119mph lap. On the final lap Ben eased the pace as the weather began to close in and spots of rain were seen over the Mountain mile. Even so they recorded a time of 115.017mph on the final lap to take the chequered flag for an untroubled victory, their fifth at the TT races, over 25 seconds ahead of second placed riders Holden and Winkle.

Ben was amazed when he discovered how fast they had been and said: “I didn’t really go out to try to do that fast a lap it just happened. We always ride as hard as we can and whatever we get is good. I need to thank the guys that do the boards for us; they have done them for a few years now and they were spot on.You really need the boards around here. It just emphasises how much help is given to us around the circuit and it’s really appreciated.

Thanks to all our sponsors and supporters who have stood by us over the past few years of coming to the TT we are really grateful for the support you are giving us.”

Tom added: “The conditions over the mountain were a bit tricky especially on the last lap when it was drizzling with rain. But Ben judged the conditions perfectly and we were able to bring the bike home safely. You never know what the TT course will throw at you; everything was perfect until we got to Ramsey Hairpin on the first lap and we locked the front wheel up!”

“The marshals were doing a great job with the flags and it’s just an awesome event to take part in. Coming down the mountain I had a little peek and saw the crowds cheering us, we had so much support which was fantastic. It’s an honour and a privilege to be here and we have loved every minute of it.”

The second race takes place on Friday when the Birchall brothers will be hoping to record another victory around the Isle of Man TT course.

The post A WIN AND LAP RECORD FOR BIRCHALL BROTHERS appeared first on Birchall Racing.

The Birchalls now have 50 points and extend their lead to 16 over Nichols/Tilley.

The Mitchells of Mansfield supported riders dominated free practice and qualifying in their class and started the first race from a third row grid position of the mixed grid of outfits.

Saturdays Race

Ben and Tom began their campaign in sixth place overall on lap one but moved up a place to fifth on lap two and held station to lap 10 when they moved up a place to fourth.

In their efforts to catch Walker and Hawes, Ben made a mistake and took to the grass on the back straight. They lost a few seconds on Walker but maintained their fourth place and on the final lap made up nearly six seconds to complete the race in fourth place just 0.8s away from the top three. They won their own class by a huge margin of 16 seconds

Ben Commented:

“That was a good race and it would have been even better if we hadn’t gone grass tracking down the back straight!

“That lost us quite a bit of time but although we managed to make it up we couldn’t quite make it past Walker. It has however placed us in a good position on the second row for the race on Sunday.”

Sundays Race

As race two got underway the Birchall brothers quickly became embroiled in a battle for position with Walker /Hawes with the two outfits exchanging places throughout the first four laps. But Ben spun the LCR Honda at Murrays and lost time as he got the outfit back on track. They dropped down the order to eighth overall but maintained their lead in their own class and gave chase to the outfits ahead.

On lap six they were on the back of Guy/Pilmoor-Brady and one lap later overtook them. Two teams retired therefore Ben and Tom were promoted to fifth place overall before the red flag brought the race to an early end after a F1 outfit spilled oil onto the track after a machine failure.

Ben and Tom head directly over to the Isle of Man to take part in the Southern 100 races which run over the next few days and then return in time to travel to Thruxton for the next round of the British championship on July 24.

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As we waited for the start of today’s race, news filtered through that there was to be a delay to the start time, due to sea fog on the west of the Island. Originally, the race was planned to start at 10:15am but the race was delayed for over 3 hours before we finally got underway with a new start time of 1:30pm.

We had a full field of starters prior to the race but as 1:30pm drew closer, more and more teams started to withdraw. A whole host of teams announced that they would not be lining up for a variety of reasons but the main contenders weren’t going to miss this shot at TT glory.

Unfortunately numbers 26, 27, 31, 32, 36, 45, 46, 48, 51, 52, 56, 57 did not make the start line, see the list below for the partially revised race line up.

As the teams lined up, it was Ben and Tom Birchall who were set to start in second position behind Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle. Ben and Tom were looking calm but determined as they waited for the signal to start this long awaited Sure Sidecar race 2.

Manx radio grabbed a quick word with the brothers on the start line, just moments before they were due to set off.

Tom Birchall:

“Yeah we’re looking forward to it, there’s a great turn out and it’s going to be good to be out in front of all these fans. Hopefully, we can do better than we did on Saturday!

Ben Birchall:

“I’m Just going to give her a go today and hope she’s smiling on me”

Lap 1

And we’re away for the final Sidecar race of the 2016 Isle of Man TT.

As they approach the first corner at Glen Helen, it’s Dave Molyneux’s outfit that comes into view first 1.542 seconds in front of the Birchall Brothers with Holden and Winkle right behind them.

Ballaugh Bridge was the next time check on the road with Molyneux and Sayle coming through in pole position, ahead of Tom and Ben Birchall who were 2.360 seconds behind them, this left the IEG sponsored outfit in third place in the early timings but the star pairing from the first weeks qualifying sessions and race one winners, Holden and Winkle, were right up the back of the Birchalls LCR Honda. in third position on the road.

Nothing between them

At Ramsay, it was Holden and Winkle from Molyneux and Sayle with Ben and Tom rounding out the top 3, but with just 1 seconds separating the top 3 teams, we were set up for a fabulous race.

As we went through Bungalow it was Molyneux and Sayle leading with Tom and Ben moving into second place in the timing and on the road but Holden and Winkle were also right there in the mix, with only fractions of a second separating the top three pairs.

Cronk-ny-Mona saw the same three teams go through at the front of the race with the Birchalls on a charge, and as we made our way to the Grandstand to finish the first lap, it was Moylneux/Sayle and Birchall/Birchall that were starting to pull away from the rest of the field, with the Holden and Winkle slipping back to 3.745 seconds behind.

Lap 2

As we breathlessly raced down towards Glen Helen for the second time, it was Molyneux and Sayle who led by the slimmest of margins, from the Birchalls who were now within sight of the red, Molyneux machine but a few corners later Ben and Tom were also ahead in terms of time. It looked ominously like Ben and Tom were finding their form from the first race and they began to grind down the deficit between themselves and the machine of Molyneux and Sayle.

Ballaugh Bridge was swiftly dealt with by the front two teams, who were now right up against each other and battling hard for first position on the road. Molyneux had given away 3,238 seconds to the Birchalls as they looked to extend their time margin over the DMR Honda.

Pushing on regardless

Clocking 146.8MPH through the Sulby speed trap it was looking serious for the rest of the field as Ben and Tom started to tighten their grip on the race. With retirements coming thick and fast, it was fingers crossed time for the Birchalls as they pushed on regardless with the memory of Saturdays disappointment firmly in the back of their minds.

Through the Ramsay hairpin it was the Birchalls who were stretching out their lead to 4.526 seconds. As they sped up the mountain, Molyneux and Sayle were in sight, it would now only be a question of time before they were caught and passed but tenacious work from Molyneux was keeping the Mansfield brothers at bay.

Bungalow came and went in a blur of colour and noise as the Birchalls started to turn the screw, taking another second out of Dave Molyneux’s outfit, but the race was stretching out behind with the 3rd place crew having completely lost touch with the leading pair. Cronk-ny-Mona saw the gap holding steady at 5.542 with top speeds just a whisker away from the 120mph mark.

As we went through the grandstand it was the Birchalls who now looked to be in full flight, not holding anything back, they catapulted across the line at a furious pace with a new lap record seemingly at their mercy, they made a second lap of 116.615, within a whisker of the lap record they achieved in the previous race.

Lap 3

The final lap was at the Mansfield duo’s mercy and the appearance of the TV helicopter whirring away overhead, signalled that the fastest sidecar at this years TT was about to enter Glen Helen for the final time, it was, of course the pairing of Ben and Tom Birchall who appeared out of the murky distance first.

Surprisingly Dave Molyneux was nowhere to be seen as Holden and Winkle sped past a good while later, it transpired that Molyneux and Sayle had retired with a mechanical shortly after the Birchall’s had passed them at Greeby, but the real news was that the leading pair had stretched out an incredible gap of 21.745 seconds now that the meat had been removed from the sandwich.

Image credit Dave Kneale

Would thoughts now turn to machine conservation, in mind of race one’s early retirement? Not a bit of it! These boys are relentless and they shot through Ballaugh Bridge with a lead of 24.143 seconds, tearing another 2 and a half seconds away from their nearest rivals.

With news of an incident at Ballaugh spur it was obvious nothing but a red flag would halt the Mansfield duos charge and once again they came hammering through the Sulby speed trap at exactly the same velocity as the previous lap. It was clear that there would be no letup from the all conquering Birchall brothers.

At the Ramsey hairpin, the boys were surely aware that they were in a commanding lead, but they weren’t hammering the revs when exiting the hairpin, was this a sign that machine conservation was now in Ben Birchalls mind? It wasn’t apparent that the brothers had noticeably slowed because again, they had now put yet more time into their nearest rivals.

https://twitter.com/demontweeksmc/status/741263934406164480

The final climb up the mountain was dealt with in impressive fashion by the LCR Honda and the Mansfield team were left with a seemingly unassailable lead. First again, through Bungalow, it was now turning into something of an embarrassment, as the boys murdered the competition with a performance that can only be described as remarkable.

By now, it was only a matter of time before Tom and Ben were crowned 4 times TT winners and that proved to be the case as they ate up the road in front of them with the chequered flag poised to welcome them across the line.

Ben and Tom Birchall crossed the line a mile ahead of their nearest rival to rapturous applause from everyone in the grandstand. What we witnessed here, this afternoon, was an almost faultless performance from one of the finest sidecar teams in modern memory.

After crossing the line the brothers excitedly jumped into the air, hugging one another, their joy clear for all to see. Ecstatic family members, sponsors and supporters rushed to join them as they celebrated this remarkable achievement.

 Ben Birchall:

“Brilliant, I can’t thank my team enough!  We want to thank all of our sponsors who’ve made it possible for us to be here at the TT, we also need to say a big thank you to IEG who are always brilliant when we come here to race and thank you to everybody else who’s helped to put us here today. It’s been brilliant”

“I just thought, calm down now and I actually gave Dave Molyneux a kiss on the way through Greeby so I hope he’s alright, but I was just weary of what happened in the first race but today was so different, the bike was a bit sluggish at the start but as we got down the fuel we got quicker and quicker”.

“To win like that around here is incredible”

Tom Birchall:

Absolutely jubilant, we were a bit steady to start with but as it is round here, we just waited for it to come to us and that’s what happened but the support on the last lap was awesome.

Let the Champagne flow

As the popular winners received an ovation from the crowd, the boys embraced once more and kissed the TT Sidecar trophy as they stood, victorious on the podium. A sweet moment after the devastation of not finishing the first race.

As the national anthem finished, the crowd gave generous applause and Champagne was sent sprayng through the air, as the celebrations continued unabated, Tom Birchall cheekily poured champagne inside the back of Tim Reeves’s leathers, helping to cool him down, no doubt.

A fitting end to one of the best and most enthralling TT sidecar competitions in recent memory.

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Firstly we heard on Friday that Conrad Harrison had to withdraw from the race after losing two passengers in a week and just before the race got underway on Saturday we heard the sad news that Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle would not start Race 1 due to a technical issue.

The show goes on

First away from the start line were Ben and Tom Birchall, on their IEG Sponsored LCR Honda, they blazed away from the line and into the distance on the way down to Bray Hill and as the teams sped their way into Glen Helen it was Holden and Winkle to emerges first, ahead of the Mansfield team. As they races toward Ballaugh, Holden and Winkle had drawn out a significant gap of +4.583 over the Birchall Brothers with Reeves and Farrance following on +2.834 further back.

Next up was the Sulby speed trap and it was Holden and Winkle again topping the chart with a top speed of 145.6mph ahead of Reeves and Farrance at 144.9 followed by Ben and Tom Birchall clocking 143.4

By the time we approached the Ramsey hairpin, Holden & Winkle had stretched their lead further to over 6 seconds, continuing the fine form they had shown in the run up to the race in qualifying. Tom and Ben fought to stay in contact and seemed to have stemmed the flow of lost time as they got to the Bungalow where they were again 6.5 seconds behind, but as the race started to take shape, the red flag was out.

There had been an incident at Rhencullen and the race was stopped, Ben and Tom were safely out of the way of the incident and made their way slowly up to Parc Ferme to await further instruction.

Flags out at Governor’s as the sidecars came round on lap 1 #iomtt #iomtt2016 pic.twitter.com/WGM73227gL

— Isle of Man TT (@iom_tt) June 4, 2016

Take a look at the video below to see action from 2011 with Holden and Winkle on the way up to Rhencullen, the scene of todays incident.

As news started to filter through it still wasn’t clear who had been involved in the incident or if there had been any significant injury.  The incident was quickly cleared but had left oil on the track and as such, was going to take time to clean up. It was later announced that the organisers were hopeful of a restart and another announcement was to be made at 3pm

Sidecar race is red flagged, on the bright side it makes them easier to film at brandywell! pic.twitter.com/fdtswgl4rb

— Red Renna (@MissRedRenna) June 4, 2016

News slowly filtered through that the Sure Sidecar Race 1 would have a full re-start at 4pm but worryingly we still had no news as to the status of either the driver or passenger of the sidecar involved in the incident.

Race 1 Restart

Everyone lined up for the second time with Ben and Tom Birchall once again starting from the front followed by Holden and Winkle and the pair of Reeves and Farrance making up the first 3 starters for the second time.

As we headed down to Glen Helen the first machine into view was the Birchalls IEG LCR Honda, followed a second later by Holden and Winkle and they were also quickly followed by a visibly quick but ragged Reeves and Farrance.

The top 3 teams went through Ballaugh Bridge in a flash but still in the same order, with the Birchalls just over 0.7 of a second in the lead. The Sulby speed trap saw the teams go through at 144.9 for the Birchalls and 145.9 for the other two followers.

The Birchalls flew into Ramsay hairpin at tremendous speed, closely followed by their nearest rivals Holden and Winkle but the Birchalls were putting in a tremendous effort and had opened up a gap of 2.354 seconds. The Mansfield team seemed to be putting in a more determined effort as they sensed the Holden/Winkle duo slipping back and that was certainly the case as they went through bungalow with the lead now stretched out to 4.374 seconds

Cronk ny Mona saw the gap extended further as the Mansfield duo pulled the pin and went at the course to fire into a lead of 7.046 seconds and this was again upped to 8.1 seconds at the Grandstand, posting a lap of 115.543 (19:34:565)

Ben and Tom Birchall tackle the tricky corner at Governor’s Bridge #iomtt #iomtt2016 pic.twitter.com/2Ycr4FE9ij

— Isle of Man TT (@iom_tt) June 4, 2016

Lap 2

As the Mansfield leaders hurtled through Glen Helen for the second time on the LCR Honda, it was clear that the lead was now becoming significant, we had to wait 9.228 seconds before we saw the chasers came through. Ballaugh was almost blur as the flying Birchall brothers blasted through 10.579 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals.

The Sulby speed trap proved how consistent these guys are with the top 2 fastest teams posting exactly the same speed on the second lap and the Birchalls being just 0.3 mph slower than the previous lap.

13.054 was the gap by the time they made it through Ramsey and this was further extended to  18.324 as the Birchalls showed what a classy outfit they are but there was no sign of the brothers slacking off the pace as they were the quickest pairing through Bungalow.

As we completed the second lap it was clear that the Birchalls were now in full flight, putting in a new lap record of 116.798 and nonchalantly riding away into the distance, leaving the rest of the field in their wake.

Lap 3

By now it was becoming something of an embarrassment as the Mansfield double act carved their way through Glen Helen with an impressive gap of 29.087 seconds.

As the lap progressed it was clear that last years winners were not thinking about conserving their machine and the gap between themselves and the next nearest pairing of Holden and Winkle further increased, with a new lap record under their belt and a win more or less in the bag, inspired riding bought the LCR Honda through a full 34 seconds ahead of their rivals.

But it wasn’t to last as disaster struck at the Sulby crossroads and the Birchalls were forced to pull up and retired with a technical issue.

https://twitter.com/ProntoDesigns/status/739122925647888384

Victory was handed to Holden and Winkle with the duo of Peter Founds and Jevon Walmsley, over 54 seconds back and crossing the line almost at the same time as his brother Alan founds with passenger Aki Aalto.

What a race! But it’s not won until your across the line. So well done to Holden and Winkle for taking the victory but ultimately we can only feel gutted for Ben and Tom when they had clearly decimated the field for the whole of the race.

https://twitter.com/CaseyEndeveld/status/739124624806576129

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