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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It was a hot one at Oschersleben in Germany last weekend, with temperatures reaching well into the 30s. As one of the Birchall’s favourite circuits, the team arrived at the historic track with the goal of winning both races to reclaim the championship lead.

Practice and qualifying went well with the Mitchells of Mansfield supported team setting the pace to ultimately claim pole position with a time 0.3 seconds faster than their rivals. Feeling comfortable on track, Ben and Tom even had chance to make a couple of cooling and bedding in laps during the session such was their pace.

Late Saturday afternoon saw the 11-lap Sprint Race take place on the still hot German tarmac. With the top three teams separated by less than one second after qualifying, all knew it would be a closely-fought battle to take the chequered flag. Ben and Tom grabbed the holeshot from the front of the grid and immediately set about trying to gap the outfits behind. Ben, driving superbly, put in fast lap after fast lap, maintaining his lead over the second and third-placed teams. Unfortunately, with just one lap to go, a late pass by Reeves and Wilkes put them in front and with no time to retaliate, Ben and Tom had to settle for second. A frustrating end to such a dominant performance.

With plans to make up for the Sprint Race result, Birchall Racing made some subtle tweaks to their LCR Yamaha outfit before Sunday’s 21-lap Gold Race. Overnight thunder storms had cleared the air, leaving the track and conditions more favourable for the main event. Ben and Tom once again got the perfect start and led the pack into the first corner. Similarly to the first race, with all the action going on behind them, Ben was able to manage his pace and stretch his lead ahead of the sidecars jostling for position behind. Crossing the line unchallenged by their rivals, Birchall Racing bagged 25 valuable points, keeping their championship hopes very much alive with three rounds of the series remaining.

Ben Birchall: “It was great racing in Germany, the circuit is one of our favourites and there’s always a good atmosphere there. I have to say I’m a little disappointed in finishing as runner-up in the first race. We definitely had the pace to win, I just made a small mistake near the end and Tim got past. I was determined to make up for it on Sunday though and that race went perfectly. Once again, the team have been amazing, conditions were tough in the heat but everything went smoothly as usual. We have a short break from the world championship now then its back on it for the Netherlands and Croatia.”

Tom Birchall: “I’m really happy to have another solid weekend. We got pole again so it’s great to have that sort of pace against the clock, it shows our set up is bang on. We just got pipped in the first race which never feels great, but we got our heads down and found a little extra during the next morning warm-up. In the second race, everything went perfectly – we pushed hard and got a gap early on and from there we just managed it, leaving a little in reserve in case we needed it. Just want to say thanks to David Batty from the Hayley Group and his friends for being there over the weekend – it’s always good to have some home support and I’m glad we were able to reward them with a win.”

Round four of the 2019 FIM Sidecar World Championship will be held at Assen, the Netherlands on August 18.

Results: 2019 FIM Sidecar World Championship – Round three, Oschersleben, Germany

Sprint Race
1. Reeves/Wilkes, Adolf RS Yamaha, 17:08.523
2. Birchall/Birchall, LCR Yamaha, 17:09.137 +0.614
3. Paivarinta/Veravainen, LCR Yamaha, 17:14.593 +6.070

Gold Race
1. Birchall/Birchall, LCR Yamaha, 32:44.254
2. Reeves/Wilkes, Adolf RS Yamaha, 32:47.036 +2.782
3. Paivarinta/Veravainen, LCR Yamaha, 32:48.440 +4.186

Photo credit: Mark Walters

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Warm temperatures and clear skies greeted the teams as they arrived at the Pannonia Ring, Hungary for round four – the back-to-back rounds provided a real test for the riders and passengers as the championship reached its halfway stage.

Following a successful free practice, the Birchalls showed their intentions for the weekend by claiming pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session. Times were very tight between the top-three teams however and the Sprint Race looked set to be a closely-fought race.

Setting off full of confidence and hoping to carry the momentum that took the outfit to Gold Race victory just one week previously at the Sachsenring, rider Ben Birchall soon became aware the outfit was lacking the top speed necessary to fight for the win. Putting in a superb ride, Ben did his best to maintain his pace on the challenging Hungarian circuit and ultimately placed third, netting the team valuable championship points.

Working into the small hours overnight, Birchall Racing did their best to source and remedy the fault. Hopeful that the issue was fixed, the Mansfield based brothers made morning warm-up but when it came time to start their engine for Sunday’s Gold Race, the motor refused to fire. With the whole team again coming together to fix the problem the boys managed to get out in time to make the grid.

As the lights went out to mark the start of Sunday’s race, Ben and Tom got off the line well and had soon made their way into second place – the outfit seemingly performing perfectly. Unfortunately, on lap three the technical issue again reared its head and the LCR outfit cut out, spelling the end of the race for the team.

Taking positives from the tough weekend, and after finding the source of the technical issue, Ben and Tom will now regroup and look forward to the next round of the world championship at Assen in mid-August.

Ben Birchall: “I am really disappointed, but they are the highs and lows of racing. All in all, we have been lucky in recent years with a relatively trouble-free run for a long time. Unfortunately, this year we have had a couple of niggles that have hampered our progress in the defence of our world title. On the plus-side, we now know what the issue is and we have shown we have the pace to take wins when everything is going right. We’ll go home now and make some repairs to hopefully fix the issue once and for all. We’ll take the outfit out at the next round of the BSB championship at Brands Hatch to test things and hopefully will be rewarded with a good run out.”

Tom Birchall: “It’s always tough to come away from a meeting knowing you had the pace to take the win but weren’t able to do so – it’s genuinely disappointing. What makes it worse was all the hard work put in by the team overnight and we weren’t able to reward them with a good result on the Sunday. There are still plenty of points left in the championship to earn though, so we’ll get everything sorted and be back ready to take the fight to the others at the next world round at Assen.”

Results – 2018 FIM Sidecar World Championship – Round 4, Pannonia Ring, Hungary

Sprint Race – 9 laps
1. Reeves/Wilkes, Adolf RS Yamaha, 18:02.933
2. Päivärinta/Vervainen, LCR Honda, 18:06.678 +3.745
3. Birchall/Birchall, LCR Yamaha, 18:07.891 +4.958

Photo credit: Mark Walters

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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.

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

The post RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE NETS BIRCHALL RACING EIGHTH TT WIN appeared first on Birchall Racing.

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

The post BIRCHALLS CLAIM SEVENTH TT WIN WITH VICTORY IN 2018 SIDECAR RACE 1 appeared first on Birchall Racing.

The post Video: FIM Sidecar World Championship Round 1 – Le Mans appeared first on Birchall Racing.

Following a winter of training, testing and development on their World Championship winning outfit, Ben and Tom Birchall went out to gain valuable race data ahead of their first 2018 FIM World Sidecar Championship event of the year at Le Mans this coming weekend.

After qualifying in pole position Ben made an excellent start and despite losing out on power to the larger 1,000cc machines, the brothers led into the first corner. From there the 2017 World Champions managed to pull away from the field and were never challenged – Ben skilfully controlling the pace from the front.

The race gave the team the perfect opportunity to fully test their outfit under racing conditions. Work carried out by CF Motorsport to the Yamaha R6 600cc engine proved to be a great success with the machine performing flawlessly throughout the weekend. Pole position, a race win and fastest lap would give the Birchalls added confidence ahead of Le Mans.

The team opted to sit out from Sunday’s race due to the wet conditions of the track, Ben and Tom decided it was important for them to stay focused ahead of the first round of the world championship and not risk any mistakes.

Ben Birchall: “I’m really pleased for the result at Brand Hatch – the weekend couldn’t have gone any better. We were able to gain some great data from the CF Motorsport built R6 engine. We are really looking forward to starting our 2018 World Championship campaign now and would like to thank everyone who has supported us for this season.”

Tom Birchall: “That was a cracking start to the year – just what we needed. To get pole position and a race win helps to justify all the hard work we have put in over the off-season. Thanks to Craig Fitzpatrick for his assistance too, the bike and motor were perfect all weekend. I can’t wait to get to Le Mans now and hopefully things will go just as well there and we can get this year’s championship off to a flying start.

Birchall racing now head to Le Mans for round one of the 2018 FIM World Sidecar Championship on the 20-21 April.

2018 British Sidecar Championship Round One – Brands Hatch

Race 1
1. Birchall/Birchall LCR Yamaha, 12:33.368
2. Kershaw/Clark LCR Kawasaki, 12:36.235 +2.867
3. Bryan/Hyde LCR Kawasaki, 12:39.322 +5.594

Photo credit: Double Red

The post BIRCHALLS MAKE PERFECT START TO 2018 RACING SEASON appeared first on Birchall Racing.

Starting the Sprint race from pole position it was the Birchall Brothers who got the perfect start into the first series of bends on their Birchall Racing LCR Yamaha. Paivarinta/Kainulainen slotted into second place and gave chase to the Birchall Brothers with Streuer/De-Haas following just a fraction of a second behind.

As the race wore on the Mitchells of Mansfield supported brothers began to pull away and crossed the finish line well ahead of Paivarinta who followed them home in second place. Holden/Wilks reeled in and passed Streuer to finish the race in third place.

In the gold race on Sunday Ben and Tom didnt get a clean getaway at the start but once into their stride took the lead by the end of the first lap. They soon pulled clear of the pursuing pack and extended their lead throughout the 20 lap affair to take the chequered flag over 27 seconds ahead of Paivarinta/Kainulainen with Holden/Wilkes again finishing in third place.

Ben said:

“We have enjoyed our time in Germany and are delighted to have secured the win in both races.

The outfit is running really well and things 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.

Ben continued:

“Oschersleben is a great circuit and we were really pleased we were able to take pole position, both wins and the lap record.

Thanks go to our hard working crew members who have pulled out all the stops again this weekend. Thanks also to our sponsors and supporters; we are delighted to have been able to reward them for their loyalty with a brace of wins this weekend.

“We’re off to the TT now so we cant wait for that”

The next round of the World Sidecar championship is in Hungary over the weekend of June 17-18 when once again there are two races for the brothers to contest.

The TT gets underway with practice starting on Saturday, May 27 to Friday, June 2. The first three lap sidecar race takes place on Saturday, June 3 with a provisional start time of 2pm. The second race is on Friday, June 9 at 10.15am.

We’ll be putting together an IOM TT race page so you can find all the latest IOM TT news and results as soon as they happen. Check back on the website later for details.

The post Birchall Brothers At The Double appeared first on Birchall Racing.

First race up was the World championship round where they were racing as champions elect having secured the F2 Trophy in the last round. Ben and Tom qualified for a third row start in the mixed grid of riders, the FIM F1 World championship and the FIM World F2 Trophy. The Mansfield pair were the fastest of the F2 runners and as the lights went out they moved into sixth place overall and first in class. On lap three they overtook Brian Gray on a F1 machine and held station to the chequered flag at the end of a very fast and furious 15 lap affair, taking the win in the World F2 Trophy class.

In the first of three British Sidecar 600 cup races the laps were cut to eight instead of 10 to make up for time lost when a fellow competitor broke down on the warm up lap. At the start they settled into sixth place overall and were elevated to fifth when one outfit was black flagged. They were right on the tail of Archer/Thomas and as they approached the finish line were just about level, crossing the line just two tenths of a second behind in eighth place to secure another victory in the 600 Cup

In the second affair they started from the third row and completed the 10 lap race in seventh place – and a win in the 600 cup. Ben and Tom then started from the fourth row in their final race and after dicing with Walker/Hawes for a few laps they finally passed them to finish the 10 laps in sixth position overall and take their fourth win of the weekend in their own class.

At the end of the day they were presented with their Gold Medals for their outstanding results in the World Trophy where they headed the qualifying charts, won every race and broke the lap record at every circuit in the F2 Trophy class – an amazing achievement for the Mansfield brothers.

Ben said: “Tom and I plus all the team are thrilled to be presented with our world championship Gold Medals on home soil; also to secure the British 600 Sidecar Cup this weekend. It’s a great end to our season. We have to thank our sponsors and supporters for their continued support. We have so much confidence in the bike, it’s been perfect all season and the data we have gained from this season will help us when we challenge for the new format World championship and British title in 2017.

“We have had a fantastic season as we also won at the Isle of Man TT again this year. We are delighted to be able to help Steve Smith at Avon tyres who is auctioning a TT memorabilia poster containing signed photos of some of this year’s riders including us. It is being auctioned by Damon Hill OBE to raise money for Downs Syndrome Association online on Thursday, September 22 a link to place a bid please check out www.DHgolfclassic-auction.com 

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