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TT 2018: Sidecar win and lap record for Birchalls

Ben and Tom Birchall took their seventh Isle of Man win on Saturday evening when they blitzed the record books in the opening Locate.im Formula Two Sidecar race, shattering both lap and race records.

The Mansfield brothers broke their own lap record on each of the three laps, moving the outright lap record to an astonishing 118.694mph, and they came home 47.1s clear of John Holden/Lee Cain with Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes completing the podium in third.

"I had a bit of a scrappy first lap but once I settled down, the race was faultless," said Ben afterwards. "Chris Mehew has built us some great engines and so many people have helped us out so it's great to repay them with another win. Tom was absolutely awesome and holding on at those speeds is good going. The place never stops evolving and we never stop improving so it was a great race."

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"We were pushing hard on the first lap but I could tell from Ben's body language that he was relaxing and settling in more as the race wore on," added Tom. "I caught a glimpse of the speed on one of our boards and the reception and cheers from the crowd was amazing."

It was the Birchalls that led through Glen Helen on the opening lap, their advantage over Holden/Cain a slender 2.1s with Reeves/Wilkes only a further one second back as Alan Founds/Jake Lowther, Pete Founds/Jevan Walmsley and Dave Molyneux/Dan Sayle completed the top six.

As the lap progressed, the Birchalls continued to extend their lead through all the timing points and as they flashed across the line at the end of the lap, they broke their own lap record with a speed of 117.502mph. That gave them a more than healthy lead of 13.1s over Holden/Cain and although Reeves/Wilkes continued to hold onto third, there were problems for Founds/Lowther who pitted to make adjustments and Molyneux/Sayle who retired from the race whilst holding onto sixth.

The pit stop dropped Founds to 21st place but there were no such problems at the head of the field and the Birchalls were setting a sensational pace and by the end of the lap, they’d doubled their lead to 26.1s, smashing the lap record with a stunning lap of 118.694mph.

Holden/Cain became only the second crew to lap at more than 117mph with a lap of 117.370mph and they were now 19 seconds clear of Reeves/Wilkes. Founds/Walmsley were up to fourth with a new personal best lap of 114.613mph ahead of Conrad Harrison/Andy Winkle and Founds/Lowther who had amazingly climbed all the way back up to sixth.

On the third and final lap, the gaps between the front runners continued to widen and with a final lap of 117.771mph, the Birchalls came home for their seventh TT win and fourth in a row. Holden’s runner-up spot was his ninth podium in a row and 19th in total whilst Reeves/Wilkes came home in a good third place.

Founds/Walmsley took fourth place with brother Alan and passenger Lowther taking a brilliant fifth place given their earlier pit stop and it was Harrison/Winkle who completed the top six.

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