The Mitchells of Mansfield supported team headed off to France directly from Brands Hatch where they scored a brace of second places to take the overall win in the opening rounds of the Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecar championship.

In the opening round of the world championship Ben and Tom held second place throughout the two qualifying sessions behind current world champions Pekka Paivarinta and Adolf Hanni and began their race from a front row grid position.

But the Mansfield pair did not get the best of starts and found themselves in sixth place at turn one. They soon recovered and set about catching the riders ahead and at the end of the first lap they were up to fourth and right on the tail of Jorg Steinhausen and Greg Cluze.

They passed Steinhausen on lap three and Tim Reeves/Ashley Hawes one lap later to take up second place to give chase to the leaders, Paivarinta/Hanni who by this time had established a five second advantage over the rest of the field.

By lap eight of 10 realising that he had insufficient time left to catch the flying Finn, Ben eased off and concentrated on protecting his second place. The red flag then brought the race to an early end and a result declared at eight laps giving Ben and Tom a creditable second place.

“That was a good solid result for us,” said Ben. “I am pleased to get some safe points in the bag. After a bad start I realised I had a lot of work to do and did well to get through so quickly from sixth to second which proves what a strong package we have this year. Had I got away a bit quicker things could have been different but I left myself a bit too much to do in such a short race. The usual race distance is 22 laps but we only had 10 this time and that was just not enough to reel in the leaders.”

The Birchall brothers now turn their full attention to the Isle of Man TT races and make the final preparations for the two races there. Practice week takes place from Saturday, May 26 through to Friday, June 1st. The first three-lap race is scheduled for Saturday, June 2 and Race two is set for Wednesday, June 6.

The next round at the Hungaroring in Hungary is not until June 10 just after the Isle of Man TT races when Ben and Tom will be seeking a top result to stay in touch with Paivarinta/Hanni who lead the championship by five points.

Podium shot shows left to right Tom and Ben Birchall. Adolf Hanni and Pekka Paivarinta, Tim Reeves and Ashley Hawes.

Credit for all pics to Wally Walters.

We hope you can all watch it and cheer us on.

Ben commented: “We have concluded our pre-season build up and testing which has all gone like clockwork this year. We have managed to not only find sufficient time to work on our fitness but have also built the TT bike and been to two different venues for testing. The new outfit is very smooth and we have never felt as confident on an F2 machine as this.

“We have also tested the F1 outfit in France and managed to shave a further second from our lap times from last year at the same circuit. Both driver and passenger have never felt so prepared and we are looking forward to the start of the season.

“I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for the continued support of our loyal sponsors and also to Klaus Klaffenbock and the team for their support at the 2012 TT races.”

First on the agenda is a trip to Brands Hatch where the Mitchells of Mansfield supported brothers will contest the opening two races of the Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecar championship over the Easter weekend. All nine double header rounds in this year’s championship will be run as a support class to the MCE British Superbike championship and the Birchall team intend to compete in as many rounds as possible.

The first round of the British championship kicks off at Brands Hatch at Easter with a test session on Good Friday followed by free practice and qualifying on Saturday. The first 18-lap race is scheduled for 5.05pm on Sunday and the weekend is rounded off with a second 18-lapper on Easter Monday at 5.40pm.

The first round of the FIM World Sidecar championship takes place at Magny Cours in France on April 14 as part of the support package to the Bol d’Or 24-hour race.

The Isle of Man TT races take place from May 26 – June 8.

The Engineering Department at The University of Leicester are collaborating with Ben and Tom Birchall, former World Sidecar Champions, to improve the performance of their F2 sidecar at this year’s Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races. 

The news comes alongside the announcement that the Birchall brothers are to join forces with former world sidecar champion and three times Isle of Man TT winner Klaus Klaffenbock to contest the 2012 TT races.  This partnership has resulted in a brand new team to be known as Cofain Racing by Klaffi.  Tony Forryan of the Department of Engineering noted that ‘this announcement is huge in the Sidecar world and any sidecar crew racing at the TT would jump at this opportunity’.   The team was launched at the Isle of Man Creg-Ny-Baa on the 10^th February 2012, when 2009 World Champions Ben and Tom Birchall were unveiled as the riders to represent this exciting new team at the TT festival. 

Considered the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world, victory at the Isle of Man TT is the goal of every racer who ventures onto the Snaefell Mountain Course. Ben Birchall commented; “Ever since Tom and I decided to compete at the TT in 2009 it has been our desire to be successful and our ultimate aim is to win there. Joining this team will give us the best opportunity to achieve our goal and with the bike preparation now nearing completion we can’t wait to begin our pre-season testing.” 

The University of Leicester is working with Ben to provide improvements to the bodywork of his machine, and maximise his potential to reach the top step of the podium. Dr Simon Lawes of the Department of Engineering will be carrying out a 3-D scan of the fairing, for Dr Andrew McMullan to perform a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis.  This virtual wind tunnel work will provide clues to improve the efficiency of the sidecar and increase its top speed. 

Sidecar engineer Louis Christen has specially made a brand new LCR chassis for Ben and Tom in Switzerland. Honda engines tuned by specialist UK tuner Chris Mehew complete the package, and the Birchall brothers are anticipating top results at this year’s event. 

Professor Sarah Hainsworth, who is leading the project said “ It is really exciting to be associated with the team that won the world championship, and the aim of the work at Leicester is to help improve the aerodynamic performance of the bike which will allow improved performance.  The modelling should allow us to optimise air flow, minimise the drag and improve the overall top speed that the bike is capable of. “ 

Press release from Univiersity of Leicester

Having won both sidecar races in 2010 and one in 2011 Klaffi retired from competitive racing but still wanted to be involved with the Isle of Man TT and said: “The best teams in the world compete at the Isle of Man TT and for this reason I just had to remain involved with it. After we stopped racing in 2011, my friend Andy Faragher and I decided to start a competitive sidecar team at the TT and before long had everything organised – sponsors and a team that is capable of winning.” 

Left to Right - Adolf Hanni - Ben Birchall - Tom Birchall - Klaus Klaffenbock

The team was launched at the Isle of Man Creg-Ny-Baa on Friday (February 10) when 2009 World Champions Ben and Tom Birchall were unveiled as the riders to represent this exciting new team at the TT festival. Twice world champion sidecar passenger Adolf Hanni will also be involved in the running of the team and his input will be invaluable. 

A brand new LCR chassis has been especially made for Ben and Tom in Switzerland by sidecar engineer Louis Christen, and with Honda engines from Honda specialist UK tuner, Chris Mehew to complete the package the Birchall brothers are anticipating  some top results at this year’s event. 

Ben Birchall commented: “Both Tom and I are honoured to have been asked to join Klaus in his new venture. Klaus and his team’s reputation for professionalism and determination to win along with Adolf Hanni’s unrivalled commitment and experience in sidecar racing made the decision to join the team very easy for us and with the continued support of our existing team and sponsors in my opinion Cofain Racing by Klaffi will become one of the strongest sidecar teams in the history of the TT. 

“Ever since Tom and I decided to compete at the TT in 2009 it has been our desire to be successful and our ultimate aim is to win there. Joining this team will give us the best opportunity to achieve our goal and with the bike preparation now nearing completion we can’t wait to begin our pre-season testing.” 

Practice for the 2012 TT takes place on the 37.73-mile mountain road course from Saturday, May 26 – Friday, June 1 prior to the two three lap sidecar races the first being on Saturday, June 2 and race two on Wednesday, June 6. 

This venture is additional to Ben and Tom’s usual F1 sidecar challenge and they intend to continue to contest both the British and world F1 sidecar championships in 2012 the dates of which are set to be finalised in the next few weeks. Ben and Tom are busy preparing the F1 outfit ahead of a very busy season of racing.  

The Mitchells of Mansfield brothers timed their qualifying to perfection setting the fastest lap of the session on their final lap of 1m 36.611 seconds to snatch pole from under the nose of championship leaders Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze. 

As race one set off on Saturday afternoon Ben and Tom settled into second place to follow Reeves/Cluze for the majority of the 10 laps. The pair pulled clear of the pursuing pack and the Birchalls set about reeling in the leaders. At the half way stage of the race Ben and Tom rounded Melbourne alongside their opponents but were unable to make the move stick. Next time around they passed the leaders at Coppice but instantly slowed allowing Reeves back through. 

It was obvious the Mansfield pair had struck trouble and although they kept going they were caught by Lovelock/Lawrence who passed them at the Melbourne loop on the final lap. Although the Birchalls put in a brave effort they were just beaten to the finish line by the smallest of gaps – eight thousandths of a second separating them from second place. 

After the race Ben explained the problem: “As we went to take the lead I felt there was something wrong and it turned out to be a puncture in the rear tyre. We managed to nurse the outfit home and just missed out on second place.” 

With the tyre replaced Ben and Tom went out for race two confident they had the pace to win this time. They began the second race on Sunday morning from the second row of the grid and moved up to second as they rounded Redgate for the first time. But they were right on the back wheel of Reeves/Cluze who held a slender lead and after allowing time for the tyres to come up to temperature Ben made his move passing Reeves at the Esses on lap three. From there they never faltered and set the fastest lap of the race on the next lap and again on the next two circulations to break the existing lap record by just under a second with a time of 1m 35.229s – 94.03mph. 

The pair pulled clear of Reeves and crossed the finish line 3.9seconds ahead to take the win, maximum points and win the Bill Boddice Trophy for a fourth time. 

“We felt strong for the second race and put into practice what we knew we could achieve. Once we got in front we just rode off the pit board and brought the bike home for the win. We are really pleased to win the Bill Boddice Trophy for the fourth time and also delighted we could win at our home track of Donington Park. It is good that we were able to produce a win for all our sponsors and friends that came to support us over the weekend.” 

The next round is at Silverstone but the Birchall brothers will have to give that a miss as they travel to Le Mans for the final round of the world championship where they are currently holding second place. Although the title has already gone the way of Paivarinta and Hanni, a good result at Le Mans will clinch the runner up spot for the team who take part in the final world championship race on Saturday, September 24. 

Photos show Ben and Tom in race action at Donington and with the Bill Boddice Trophy. credit Wally Walters

Things could have been different for the Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored duo as, after winning the first race of the weekend, they suffered a crash at Schleiz in Germany resulting in a trip to hospital and then being ruled out of the second rounds of the British championship at Brands Hatch. Had the unfortunate pair not tangled with a back marker but gone on to win the race they would have been nicely placed at the head of the championship table. 

Fully recovered from their mishap at Schleiz Ben and Tom went on to complete their remaining world championship races on the podium notching up two wins, four seconds and a third place, starting six of their races from pole position and scoring 146 championship points on their way to the runner up spot. 

In the British Championship Ben and Tom were only able to contest five of the eight rounds because of date clashes with the world championship but nonetheless they notched up a string of podium finishes with three wins, seven seconds and a third place to their names and completed the season in a healthy fourth place. Again if they had been able to contest the full championship they would once again have been title contenders. 

The pair rounded off their season with a visit to Bishopscourt in Northern Ireland where they took pole position and set a new lap record. With a win and a second place in the two races the Birchall Brothers won the trophy for the fourth consecutive year.

Not content with contesting the F1 class the brothers once again headed to the Isle of Man where they took part in the annual TT races on the F2 outfit.. The pair enjoyed their best results so far with a seventh in race one and fifth in race two which won them a brace of silver trophies apiece. They set their best ever lap of the gruelling 37.73-mile circuit on lap two of the second race with a speed of 111.622mph. 

Ben said: “I would like to convey my thanks to all those who were associated with the team in 2011. The support and help you gave to Birchall Racing was gratefully received. We hope that despite the difficult financial climate you are able to once again support the team which will enable us to increase our efforts at the world and British championships and also the TT Festival.

The Mitchells of Mansfield duo were competing at the annual Sunflower Trophy meeting and were riding on the new Bishopscourt 2.136-mile International circuit where a new lap record was to be set by the fastest rider in each class.

Qualifying took place in the dry and the Birchall brothers dominated proceedings, setting the fastest lap of 130.123s – 86.323mph on their way to claiming pole position with a 1.682s advantage over nearest rivals Tim Reeves/Ashley Hawes.

As the first race got underway Ben and Tom didn’t get the best of starts and were third into turn one. But they soon recovered and made their way to the head of the field of lap two of nine. Once they had the lead they never looked back and at one stage extended their lead to over nine seconds. But as they negotiated the back markers they slowed and eventually crossed the finish line with a 6.9 second advantage over John Clarke/Stuart Graham with Reeves/Hawes a further two seconds back in third place.

Heavy rain greeted the riders as they formed the grid for the second race and the Birchall Brothers were not taking any risks, settling for a safe second place in the dire conditions some 8.5s behind Reeves/Hawes. Clarke/Graham were a distant third over 13s behind Reeves.

“We had a steady race in the rain,” said Ben. We couldn’t match the pace of Tim Reeves and so drove according to the conditions and brought her home safely in second place. Although Tim won the Marty Murphy Trophy second place gave us the overall win over the two races for the fourth year in a row.

“We would like to extend our grateful thanks for the continued support of Montgomery Transport and a special thank you for their input into the two race meetings here inIreland– the Mondello round of the British Sidecar championship and also the Sunflower meeting this weekend at Bishopscourt.”

Having completed the final race of the season all at Birchall Racing would like to thank their sponsors and supporters for their continued assistance throughout the year and look forward to next season when, subject to securing the budget, they will once again be contesting the World championship and the British F1 Sidecar championship on the F1 machine plus they will contest the Isle of Man TT races on the smaller F2 outfit.

Although the race calendar has yet to be announced it is hoped that there will be no date clashes and the team will be able to ride at every round in each class.

Photos by Wally Walters

Qualifying threw up some problems for the Mitchells of Mansfield duo who encountered a misfire with the Yamaha R1 engine. Despite this they still managed to secure pole position with just shy of a second advantage over champions elect Pekka Paivarinta and Adolf Hanni. 

The team worked hard to rectify the problem and thought they had it cured but as they went to the starting gird the machine refused to start. Eventually the engine fired up and they took their place at the head of the grid. 

But once the lights went out it was Paivarinta that got the hole shot into turn one leaving Ben and Tom to get away in fourth place. They soon recovered from their bad start and moved up into second position but it was impossible to make a serious challenge for the lead because of the misfire which continued to plague them. 

At the end of the 18 laps Paivarinta took the win with Ben and Tom Birchall finishing in second place some nine seconds behind the winners. Hock and Becker were a distant third trailing the Birchalls by 15 seconds. 

“The misfire caused us problems all weekend,” said Ben. “We really thought we had it sorted prior to the race but it reared its head again as we went down to the start. We managed to hang onto the back of Paivarinta for as long as we could but eventually had to settle for second place. In fact the misfire was getting worse so we were really lucky to finish the race.” 

The Birchall brothers have ended the world championship campaign in second place once again. They were second in 2008, won the title in 2009 and were third last year. 

“It was unfortunate we were unable to win the final race of the series,” said Ben. “Our grateful thanks go all our sponsors, friends and family for their continued support, without them we would not have been in a position to collect the silver medals. We look forward to next season so we can have another crack at bringing the world title back toMansfield.” 

Ben and Tom set off forIrelandwhere they are to take part in the final two races of the Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecar championship that takes place atMondelloParkat the weekend. The Brothers currently hold fourth place in the championship after missing three of the eight rounds. But the points are tight at the top. Reeves/Cluze have already taken the title but there are only 21 points separating the Birchalls from second place. Two good results at Mondello could see them move up to third or possibly second which is where they finished last season. 

Photo by Mark Wally Walters

The rain began to fall during qualifying and got worse as the session went on causing the Mitchells of Mansfield brothers to miss out on the opportunity to set a fast lap time. As third fastest competitors they were placed on the second row for the start of the first of the three races. With the rain pouring down the pair set off but were boxed in at turn one and had to make a quick decision to run off into the gravel to avoid taking everyone else out with them. Being stuck in the gravel the machine was not able to be moved and the pair sat the race out from the safety of the marshals’ post.  
Because they were unable to set a time in race one Ben and Tom were placed at the back of the grid for the start of the second encounter. The race was shortened to eight laps because of red flags and hold ups in other classes and as they got underway in terrible conditions Ben and Tom made their way through to 11th place on lap two before pushing forward to eighth on lap four. Although they remained in eighth place they were right on the tail of the group ahead and crossed the finish line less than a second away from fourth position. 

It was still raining as the riders took their places on the grid for the final race of the championship and the Birchall brothers began their campaign from the fourth row of the grid. They got away to a blistering start to head the pack into turn one but as they crossed the line to begin lap two the red flag halted the race and they had it all to do again. At the re-start they were in third place after the first lap and moved up to second one lap later to chase after champions elect Tim Reeves and Greg Cluze who were some distance ahead. But the rain stopped and the track began to dry causing the wet weather tyres to overheat. They completed their race in second place well ahead of Lawrie/Neave who were a distant third some 10 seconds adrift. 

“It was not a brilliant weekend for us,” said Ben. “The weather didn’t help us but that’s racing, in those conditions anything can happen – and it did in the first race! But considering we only contested five of the eight rounds, to finish in fourth place was quite a respectable outcome.

 “We would like to convey our thanks to Paul Jackson of Montgomery Transport for their continued support and also all our sponsors for their support over the year.” 

Ben and Tom travel back across theIrish Seato Bishopscourt at the end of the month for the annual Sunflower Trophy meeting. Having won there for the last two years and also the current lap record holders, this time they will be seeking another win to complete their hat trick. 

Photo by Wally Walters