World Championship Sidecar Racing Team, Birchall Racing. Ben and Tom Birchall. FIM

BIRCHALL BROTHERS SHORTLISTED FOR AWARD

World Sidecar champions Ben and Tom Birchall from Mansfield are on the shortlist for an award from Nottinghamshire County Council.

The category is Team of the Year and last year was won by the Nova Centurion Women's 4 x 200m freestyle relay team which included Rebecca Adlington.

This year’s Sports Review of the Year will take place on Friday, February 5 at the East Midlands Conference Centre on the campus of the University of Nottingham. Nearly five hundred people will gather to celebrate our athletes, administrators, coaches, and officials in Nottinghamshire sport in another remarkable year for the county.

BBC East Midlands Today presenters Colin Hazelden and Natalie Jackson will host the evening joined by guests from professional sport including Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club’s Mick Newell as well as players from the Nottingham Panthers and Nottingham Rugby Clubs. The finalists and winners will be announced from a long list of 5 nominees – all of which were invited to attend this glittering evening of celebration.

The Mitchells of Mansfield supported brothers were also featured on Simon Mayo’s BBC Radio 2 programme on Friday night after Ben was contacted to give an insight into the sport of sidecar racing.

The programme is featuring a different sport each week and is concentrating on the sports that although are very popular do not receive the same coverage in the media as major sporting events such as football.

Sports presenter Matt Williams contacted Ben who was in Switzerland at the time collecting his new F1 chassis and asked - live on air - how he managed to fund his sport. Ben replied that he had some very supportive sponsors backing the team and the rest was self funded.

Ben and Tom will spend the next few weeks preparing the new LCR chassis and Yamaha R1 engine to be ready to begin a series of tests ahead of their first race of the new campaign.

The first round of the Battle of Britain F1 Sidecar championship is scheduled for Pembrey on April 10 prior to the team travelling to Le Mans in France to begin the defence of their world title on April 18.

SUCCESSFUL EVENING FOR THE BIRCHALL BROTHERS

A good time was had by all at the recent “Evening with the World Champions” event held at the John Fretwell Sporting Complex, Sookholme, Mansfield and a fantastic response by the guests to the raffle and charity auction will go a long way to helping fund Ben and Tom Birchall’s 2010 world title campaign.

The current world sidecar champions were delighted to welcome over 300 friends, family, sponsors and fans to an evening of lively entertainment at the John Fretwell Centre to help celebrate the brothers’ success during 2009 when they brought the world sidecar crown back to Mansfield.

Ben Birchall commented: “We were delighted with the turn out to support us, it was the first time ever that the John Fretwell venue had ever sold out prior to an event and we were so pleased that so many people found the time to come along and give their support.

“We would like to thank everyone who bought raffle tickets, bid for the auction items and entered into the spirit of things on the night plus the continued support of our loyal sponsors. Rest assured that we will be doing our utmost in 2010 to retain the world title and also have a second stab at the Isle of Man TT course where we will be hoping to secure a strong set of results.”

Ben and Tom will be present at the NEC Motorcycle show in Birmingham on Thursday (November 26) where they will take part in a number of interviews and chat shows including and appearance on the Isle of Man TT stage.

Their 2009 world championship winning outfit will be on display on the Thundersport GB stand throughout the duration of the show to promote the 2010 Battle of Britain National F1 Sidecar Championship that the Birchall Brothers are to contest.

WORLD CHAMPIONS WIN IN IRELAND

Reigning World Sidecar champions and existing lap record holders Ben and Tom Birchall enjoyed a fruitful trip across the Irish Sea at the weekend to secure a win and second place in the two sidecar races held at Bishopscourt in Co Down at the annual Sunflower Trophy meeting.

The Mitchells of Mansfield supported duo qualified on pole, posting a fast lap of 1m 11.345s with a 1.736s advantage over Bryan Peddar and Rod Steadman.

Although qualifying went smoothly in the dry it was a different story on race day when intermittent rain disrupted the racing.

The first sidecar race held over the 1.824-mile course was run in damp conditions and although the rain was not heavy enough for full wets, the damp conditions made it tricky for the riders. Ben and Tom got away to a steady start and picked their way through the wet patches to finish the nine-lap affair over 1.8 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals.

Race two didn’t go so well for the Mansfield pair who were held up in the early stages of the race when an outfit spun ahead of them. Ben had to take avoiding action and dropped well down the field as he negotiated his way past the stricken outfit.

By the time they regained their composure, F2 British Champions John Holden and Andy Winkle had got away and pulled out a commanding lead over the Birchall brothers. But the world champions got their heads down and worked their way through to second place, making inroads towards Holden on lap six of nine. However, their efforts were thwarted when the red flag halted the race and the result declared at five laps distance giving the Birchall brothers a second place end to their race.

“Apart from the weather, we really enjoyed our visit to Bishopscourt,” said Ben. “As always we were made very welcome by the Irish fans and it was nice for us to return to the circuit this year as world champions and also to leave with our lap record, we have held since 2007, still intact.”

This concludes race action for the Birchall Brothers until the New Year when they will take part in a series of tests ahead of the 2010 season.

BIRCHALL BROTHERS TO RACE AT BISHOPSCOURT

Newly crowned world sidecar champions Ben and Tom Birchall from Mansfield head the list of entries for the annual Sunflower meeting at Bishopscourt in Northern Ireland on Sunday.

The Mitchells of Mansfield brothers sealed the 2009 FIM F1 Sidecar World Championship with a second place behind outgoing champion Pekka Paivarinta at the final round of the series which took place at Le Mans in France recently and this weekend will be the brothers’ first appearance as world champions.

Ben and Tom are to contest the two sidecar races that take place on Sunday following the two qualifying periods on Saturday. They have always supported the Sunflower meeting held at the 1.83-mile circuit near Downpatrick, County Down and have won the races in the past.

The brothers are delighted to be taking their world championship winning outfit over the Irish Sea to the Emerald Isle and are looking forward to the weekend and the prospect of two good, competitive races.

Practice takes place on Saturday with two races on Sunday, the first in the morning and the second mid afternoon.

BIRCHALL BROTHERS WIN WORLD TITLE

Mansfield brothers Ben and Tom Birchall won the 2009 FIM Sidecar World Championship after finishing in second place to outgoing champion Pekka Paivarinta and passenger Adolf Hanni at Le Mans on Sunday. Ben’s younger sibling Tom has rewritten the history books by becoming the youngest ever passenger at 22 years and 257 days to win a World Sidecar championship making it a double celebration for the Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored team.

Going into the final round at Le Mans, Ben and Tom held a 14-point advantage over Paivarinta and Hanni and with no one else in striking distance, the final encounter was to be between the two teams.

Paivarinta could only do his best and take the win in the final race but he knew that if Birchall completed the 18 laps in second or third place then he would see his title slip away from him.

Qualifying was a close run affair with Paivarinta sealing pole position just 700ths of a second ahead of the Mansfield duo who took their places on the front row of the grid ahead of a very tense and thrilling finale.

Paivarinta got the hole shot and held the lead throughout the 18 laps while Birchall was content to remain in second place through the opening few laps before being overhauled by former champion Tim Reeves.

By lap 10 Birchall decided it was time to make a move and powered back up into second place and, with a clear track ahead of him, began to reduce the gap between himself and the flying Finn who had stretched his lead to over 10 seconds.

Although he repeatedly bettered his lap times Birchall was unable to catch the race leader and crossed the finish line 8.9 seconds in arrears. But he had done sufficient to secure the world championship title with an advantage of seven points ahead of Paivarinta and Hanni to bring the trophy and world title back to the UK.

“It is a fantastic feeling to be the World Champion,” said an ecstatic Ben Birchall. “And for Tom to become the youngest ever passenger is the icing on the cake. Neither of us can find the words right now to say how happy we are.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to all our sponsors, family and friends that have supported us through thick and thin. We couldn’t have done it without you!

“We will celebrate tonight before making our way home and then the hard work will start to prepare for next year. The World championship winning LCR Suzuki is now up for sale as we already have the new F1 and F2 outfits on order.

“We intend to begin a series of tests early in the New Year as preparation for the defence of our World title and also to have another crack at the Isle of Man TT races.”

The Birchall brothers are now looking for some additional sponsorship to help them retain their newly won world title and anyone interested in supporting the Mansfield brothers can contact Ben on 07843 286295 when he will be only too pleased to discuss further details.

BIRCHALL BROTHERS EXTEND THEIR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

A second place and a decisive victory in the two races at Rijeka in Croatia were sufficient for Mansfield brothers Ben and Tom Birchall to extend their series lead in the FIM Superside World Sidecar championship to 14 points with one race remaining.

The Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored brothers dominated qualifying, setting pole with a lap of 1m 31.362s set in the first of two qualifying sessions and the brothers were anticipating a top result in the 11-lap sprint race on Saturday.

But things didn’t go quite to plan for the series leaders as they encountered a problem with a split pipe which resulted in Tom (passenger) being sprayed with oil throughout the 11 lap affair.

Nonetheless Ben and Tom persevered and ended the race in a valiant second place, setting the fastest lap of the race with a lap of 1m 32.232s, to pick up a further 20 championship points to add to their tally.

“It is all credit to Tom who managed to hold on despite being covered in oil,” said Ben. “Our series lead has been chopped to just four points but I am sure we can go one better in the big race tomorrow.”

As the race got underway Ben and Tom slotted into second place but overtook former champion Tim Reeves at the end of the lap to take command at the front. The brothers were never troubled again and began to pull away to establish a substantial lead over reigning champion Pekka Paivarinta and passenger Adolf Hanni.

At the end of a gruelling 20 laps Ben and Tom took the chequered flag with a 12.8s advantage over Paivarinta and Hanni – again setting the fastest lap of the race with a lap time of 1m 32.859s.

This fine result extends the Birchall Brothers series lead up to 14 points over Paivarinta and these two will go head to head in the final round of the series at Le Mans on September 6.

Ben has one hand firmly on the trophy and said: “We are not counting our chickens yet, anything can happen in that last race.

“But this is a golden opportunity for us to win the world championship and we will be striving to do just that at Le Mans. We have a good advantage so realistically if Pekka happens to win the race we just have to follow him home and finish within the top four and we are there.”

The final countdown will take place at Le Mans in France over the weekend of September 4-6.

BIRCHALL BROTHERS ON PODIUM AT DONINGTON PARK

Despite only completing three laps of the solitary qualifying session, Mansfield brothers Ben and Tom Birchall powered the Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored LCR F2 Honda sidecar outfit through the 27 strong grid to record a fine third place in the F2 sidecar GP at Donington Park on Saturday evening and was part of the support package at the British GP – MotoGP series which saw attendance figures top the 90,000 mark at the weekend.

Qualifying did not go well for the Mansfield pairing as heavy rain prior to their practice had left the track wet and slippery. Ben and Tom went out on wet weather tyres but after a couple of laps they realised that the track was drying more quickly than anticipated so they pitted for a change of tyres.

They recorded just one lap on the new tyres before a fuel pump problem curtailed their track time leaving them down in 23rd position for the start of Saturday’s race.

“It is disappointing for us to be that far back on the starting grid but once that red light goes out we will be on the case and looking to make up as much ground as possible before we round the first corner at Redgate,” said Ben.

True to his word, as the race began the Birchalls shot off the line to pass a gaggle of riders as they hurtled towards Redgate for the first time. By the end of the lap they had picked up 10 places and after just two laps they were up to ninth.

Ben and Tom made further progress, picking off the opposition with every passing lap until they powered past Will Smith to claim third place.

Although they had no chance of catching the race leader and eventual winner, John Holden, they narrowed the gap between themselves and the flying Simon Neary who held second place. But they ran out of laps and crossed the finish line for a fine third position, just a hare’s breath away from second, posting the fastest lap of the race - 1m 43.928s – 86.598mph in the process.

“After yesterday’s troubles in qualifying that was a really good result for us. To come from the back of the grid and finish third is more than we could have hoped for and
we are both thrilled to bits, another lap and we would have made it through to second for sure.

“The engine we were running was just put together with bits and bobs that we had left over after the TT so for it to come through and give us a podium it was superb.

“It was really nice to be here at Donington with all our friends and family and it gave our sponsors the opportunity to come and see us in action – and we were honoured to have Tony Egginton the Mayor of Mansfield with us as a guest of Donington Park.

“I am so pleased they have all come to see us race and that we were able to put on a bit of a show and to come home with a trophy and a bottle of champagne for third place.”

Ben and Tom are honoured to be invited to open the Mansfield Party in the Park on August 1 and to have the bike on display. The brothers will be on hand to explain the workings of the F2 sidecar and to pose for photos and sign autographs on the day. Everyone is welcome to come along and say hello.

The next outing for Ben and Tom will be the fourth round of the FIM Superside Sidecar World championship on August 23 when the series pays its annual visit to Rijeka in Croatia where Ben and Tom, who head the rider points will be striving for a strong result to maintain their series lead.

BIRCHALL BROTHERS SECURE SERIES LEAD

After a close and exciting battle for the lead, Ben and Tom Birchall took their second victory of the year in round three of the FIM Superside Sidecar championship at Sachsenring in Germany to regain their series lead with an advantage of five points over Pekka Paivarinta and Adolph Hanni.

There were to be two sidecar races on the race programme at the German round of MotoGP but the addition of a Red Bull Rookies event caused the sidecar class to be reduced to just one round.

The Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored brothers headed the time sheets in the first qualifying session and this position was maintained when final qualifying was affected by heavy rain. No other crew was able to outpace the Mansfield pair and they lined up to start the 22-lap affair from pole position.

After a close and tense three-way battle for the lead, the Birchall Brothers finally hit the front and made it stick at the half way stage of the race on lap 11.They managed to pull away from the pursuing riders to establish a 10 second advantage which they held to the chequered flag breaking the existing lap record in the process with a fastest lap time of 1m 27.706s.

This fine result means they regain their series lead and go into the next round with a five point lead over current world champions Paivarinta and Hanni.

Round four is at the Croatian circuit of Rijeka on August 23 when Ben and Tom will have to contest the sprint races as well as the longer Gold race. The brothers will be seeking a strong set of results to maintain their position on top of the world rankings ahead of the final showdown at Le Mans in France on September 6.

Meanwhile Ben and Tom revert back to the F11 outfit in order to take part in the 15-lap F11 sidecar race that runs as part of the support package with MotoGP at Donington Park on Saturday with a scheduled start time of 5.15pm.

BIRCHALL BROTHERS ON PODIUM IN SPAIN

After a tense and close battle at the front of the pack, Mansfield brothers Ben and Tom Birchall finished their F1 Sidecar world championship race in third place at the Albacete circuit in Spain at the weekend in round two of the Superside FIM Sidecar World championship.

Throughout the free practice period Ben and Tom were up at the front of the pack and took provisional pole position with a flying lap of 1m 35.583s – just a tenth of a second away from the existing lap record that was set by Steve Abbott and Jamie Biggs as long ago as 1999.

Qualifying saw the Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored pair running in second place for most of the session and this time they posted a fast lap time of 1m 34.633s which bettered the lap record by over a second. But the times were close and they ended up in third place just 2/10th of a second away from pole to start the 20-lap affair from a front row grid position.

Morning warm-up saw the brothers put in five scorching laps to record the fastest time of the session with a lap time of 1m 34.296s once again well under the existing lap record.

As the 20-lap race got underway the top three outfits pulled away from the pursuing pack with the Birchall boys in close formation with reigning world champion Pekka Paivarinta and his new passenger Adolf Hanni. They exchanged places throughout the 20 laps but were beaten over the finish line by a mere two tenths of a second by the flying Fins and had to be content with third place.

“We battled for the lead over the first 10 laps,” said Ben Birchall. “It was a good, close race from start to finish but at the half way stage of the race we encountered a slight problem with the front tyre and decided to go for a safe third place sooner than push too hard with the tyre issue. We had a good old battle with Pekka and Adolf which was really enjoyable and they beat us across the line by the smallest of margins.”

The third place means that Ben and Tom relinquish their joint lead with Paivarinta and drop back to second position on 61 points – just four championship points behind their rivals.

The next round is at Sachsenring in Germany where Ben and Tom will have two bites of the cherry with two races to contest. The races take place as a support to the MotoGP round at the circuit over the weekend of July 19 after which the brothers will return to the UK to ride the F11 machine in a non- championship race to be held at Donington Park on July 25th – again as a support race to MotoGP.

BIRCHALL BROTHERS - RACE TWO – TT

The Birchall Brothers from Mansfield were denied a finish in the second of the two F11 sidecar races at the Isle of Man festival due to an unfortunate accident involving Nick Crowe and Mark Cox. The race was immediately red-flagged and subsequently abandoned with the officials then making a statement that the race will not be rescheduled which leaves Ben and Tom without a finish this year.

After their engine let go on the final lap of race one earlier in the week when they were lying in a comfortable sixth place, the team worked hard to fit a new race engine ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s practice session.

The practice time gave the pair a chance to make sure everything was A-ok for Wednesday’s race but things took a dramatic turn for the worse when they hit a pheasant on the first lap as they went through Sulby.

“I thought we just gave it a glancing blow,” said Ben. “We didn’t think there was any damage so carried on to the end of the lap. Everything appeared to be ok so we went straight through to start lap two.

“But as we approached Barragarrow on our second run, the engine let go and the petrol tank burst. We were able to stop ok and on examination we discovered the bird had hit us harder than we thought and flattened the exhaust.

“So the pheasant caused us a lot of expense, time and effort. We had to replace the fuel tank, exhaust and the damaged bodywork plus find an engine for the race. We got one from a road bike but it was a standard engine and we knew our chances of a decent result in Wednesday’s race were slim.”

The team worked hard through the night to make the repairs to the outfit and they took their place on the start line for the second three-lap race around the 37.73-mile TT course.

The race had been delayed from a 1.15pm start because of earlier rain and eventually the boys set off at 6.15pm.

Because of the lack of engine speed the Birchall Brothers were down in 13th place at the Glen Helen check point and could only manage a time of 132.6mph through the Sulby speed trap – over 10mph less than those ahead.

But they began to make up ground and were running in 11th position when the race was red flagged at Ramsey. The riders were held at Ramsey for a while and then proceeded around the course back to the paddock to find the race had been abandoned.

“We saw the accident just after it had happened,” said Ben. “It looked like a plane crash with the outfit on fire. Our thoughts are with Nick and Mark who are laid up in hospital with various injuries including broken bones and the whole team wish them both a speedy recovery.

“It is a shame they cant find the time on Friday to re-run the race as it means we have been here for two weeks and not even made it to the finish line but we would like to give a big thank you to our team who have worked so hard to keep us on the track over the last two weeks and also our sponsors who have given us the opportunity to compete at the TT this year.”

The Mitchells of Mansfield/Dave Holden Racing sponsored brothers will shortly head home and begin to make preparations for their second outing in the FIM Superside F1 sidecar World Championship that is set to take place at Albacete in Spain over the weekend of July 8 – 10.

The duo are currently joint leaders in the series and a couple of good results could consolidate that.

The boys have just this minute returned to the paddock and told me the problem was an engine failure. They will be working flat out this evening to change the engine ahead of practice on Tuesday.

Practice for the sidecar crews takes place at 2.45pm on Tuesday afternoon.

Ben said: “We are disappointed with the non finish as we were looking good for sixth place. That would have been a really good result for us. But it wasn’t to be and we have it all to do again on Wednesday.”

The second of the three-lap sidecar races is set to start at 1.15pm on Wednesday.

BIRCHALL BROTHERS DENIED SIXTH PLACE IN TT OPENER

Ben and Tom Birchall from Mansfield were denied a sixth place finish to their first TT sidecar race when the outfit suffered a mechanical failure on the very last lap while they were holding a solid sixth place.

The practice week had gone well for the Mitchells of Mansfield/Dave Holden Racing duo and saw them post their quickest lap in the final session on Friday.

The race was scheduled for Saturday but heavy rain forced officials to cancel all racing on the day and re-arranged the Superbike TT and the Sidecar A event for Monday, the sidecars scheduled for a 2pm start...

The Birchall brothers were optimistic of a strong result but were understandably a little apprehensive as they lined up for the start – which was delayed a further 15 minutes to 2.15pm. Commenting just prior to the start Ben said: “I normally watch the racing on a video at home so it is a bit nerve wracking to be actually here and starting the race. But we are here in the flash and really looking forward to getting underway. We have had a good week so far and looking forward to a good ride today and whatever result we get is fine for our first time.”

Tom added: “I am a bit nervous now, but am looking forward to it and just want to get going.”

As they were sent down Bray Hill on their first lap the brothers took their time to get settled into a race pace and let the tyres warm up before stepping on the gas.

They had been moved up the order to eighth from 16th because of their excellent practice results but by the time they got to the first check point at Glen Helen they had dropped back to 14th. As they began to gain in confidence they began to edge their way back up and ended the first lap in 11th place posting a respectable lap time of 20m 49.80s 108.68mph from a standing start.

Lap two saw a number of front runners fall by the wayside and the Birchall Brothers gained a couple of places from their fellow competitors’ downfall. But they also gained in speed and passed Roy Hanks/Dave Wells on time at Ballaugh before moving further ahead and into sixth position at Ramsey.

As they crossed the line to start their final lap they had just about equalled their Friday qualifying time with a lap time of 20m 27.94s – 110.615mph and were running in a safe sixth place, well ahead on time of the outfit in seventh position.

But it was game over as the Birchalls joined the list of retirements, stopping at Hawthorne on the run to Glen Helen on the final lap with a mechanical failure.

• At the time of going to press the brothers had not returned to the paddock so the team cannot be certain of the fault but as soon as they are able to get back when the roads open after some solo practice laps I will let you know.

The disappointed brothers have 24 hours to get the LCR Honda 600cc outfit up and running in time for a one lap practice on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s second and final assault of the TT course.

BIRCHALL BROTHERS FRIDAY TT PRACTICE

Ben and Tom Birchall posted their fastest laps of the week when the final practice session got underway on Friday evening in preparation for the Isle of Man TT races.

Thursday’s session was abandoned because of oil on the road and race officials gave the sidecar teams an extra half an hour of practice on Friday to make up for this.

It turned out to be an excellent evening for the Mansfield brothers who took their LCR Honda 600 outfit through three laps of the 37.73-mile mountain road course posting a quicker lap time each time they passed the grandstand.

They began from a standing start and put in a time of 20m 55.99s – 108.144mph which bettered their times set earlier in the week.

The next flying lap saw them go even faster as they gained in confidence recoding a lap time of 20m 35.70s – 109.92mph and on the third lap they broke through the 100mph barrier to record a time of 20m 27.13mph – 110.688mph - the best ever qualifying lap by a newcomer, bettering the time of 110.362mph set by Reeves and Farrance last year.

“I have been trying to do three laps all week but it’s just not happened for one reason or another – until tonight. It is all credit to the team, Steve Abbott, Jamie Biggs; they have worked so hard all the time trying everything. Also a big thank you to Dave Holden for supplying the bike and Mitchells of Mansfield and all my sponsors and everyone who has helped me get here this week.

Yesterday we just threw everything we could think of into it and today we are just thrilled to bits to get this flying lap. Maybe we will just make a few slight suspension changes before the first race but its all coming together nicely now,” said a delighted Ben Birchall.

Asked if the strong wind bothered him over the mountain he replied: “At first I didn’t realise what it was, just maybe the bike slowing down and then I realised there was a bit of wind but it didn’t really bother me!”

Tom was asked how he felt about jumping from 106mph through to 110mph and he said: “I don’t really know, my eyes are still rolling! But it was fantastic, safe and just a really good fast ride. It’s all credit to Ben really as he was driving. We are getting the hang of the course now and really enjoying it, more so every time we go out and also learning more on each lap.

With the fast lap from Friday evening the Birchall brothers are elevated up to eighth in the overall practice results, a remarkable achievement on their first attempt at the TT course. But they will have to wait a couple more days to put their new found talents into action as the deteriorating weather conditions have caused the race officials to postpone all racing until Monday.

The three lap sidecar race is expected to start around 2pm on Monday.

BEN AND TOM BIRCHALL - TT - THURSDAY PRACTICE

More problems awaited the Mansfield sidecar duo of Ben and Tom Birchall in Thursday evening practice for the Isle of Man TT races but this time it was nothing to do with the Mitchell’s of Mansfield/Dave Holden Racing sponsored brothers but circumstances beyond their control as the session was red flagged on the first lap when the pair had only reached the first check point at Glen Helen.

Another competitor had a mechanical failure resulting in a large oil slick being deposited on the tarmac between Bray Hill and Quarter Bridge causing one outfit to spin and crash, luckily the pair suffered minor injuries but the race control had little option but to abandon the evening practice to allow for the road to be thoroughly cleaned ahead of the final session on Friday.

Ben and Tom were not involved as by this time they were registered as passing through Glen Helen – around 12 miles into the course. They managed to put in a quick time through the Sulby speed trap of 137.8mph being the fifth fastest competitors at the time.

But the session had already been red flagged and the riders already out on the course were held at Ramsey to proceed back to the pits behind the travelling marshal – their practice over before even registering one lap.

“It was disappointing not to be able to get even one lap in but we did at least get far enough at race speed to be able to check the ignition was working ok from the previous evening. The bike was running well and we are looking forward to the final night where we really want to get at least two laps under our belts in readiness for the race on Saturday.

“We are both really enjoying our time here and can’t wait for the race to get underway on Saturday.”

The final session of the week is tonight – Friday when it is hoped everything goes to plan for the Mansfield brothers who line up for their first three-lap race on Saturday at 3pm.

The weather forecast for tonight is fine and dry again but Saturday is not looking too good with heavy rain predicted. Let’s hope the weatherman has got it wrong. It’s not so much the rain as the cloud cover and mist on the mountain that will delay the race start.

BEN AND TOM BIRCHALL – TT PRACTICE – WEDNESDAY

Mansfield brothers Ben and Tom Birchall suffered more niggling problems during their Wednesday evening practice for the Isle of Man TT when they were forced to retire at Barragarrow during their second lap with an ignition problem.

Despite the hitch which showed up during the first lap of the 37.73-mile course, the Mitchells of Mansfield/Dave Holden Racing sponsored pair put in a strong lap of 21m 24. 42s – 105.751mph; not far away from their best time that was set in Tuesday’s session.

But although they nursed the bike around the course as far as Barragarrow they decided to err on the side of caution and pull in to prevent further damage.

“We got the fuel pump fixed from Tuesday but we had hardly got started tonight before the ignition started to splutter. It wasn’t too bad on the first lap but got worse as the evening wore on,” said Ben.

“The problems are coming to light because of the transition from short circuit racing to riding around flat out on public roads. The road surface is not so smooth and the bumps just upset things a bit. Hopefully we have now beaten the gremlins and can get on with memorising our way around the course.

“We were all up until 3am working on the outfit and the Padgett’s Racing team have been really helpful as they supplied us with some new ignition coils. It’s thanks to my band of helpers that we have the bike up and running again so quickly. Ex-world champion sidecar racers Steve Abbott and Jamie Biggs have worked really hard to get us back on track in time for Thursday’s practice and fingers crossed it should all go well tonight.

“We have blamed our photographer Wally for the problems,” joked Ben–“ he was on hand each time we broke down, to take the photo. We have banned him tonight; he can sit this one out in the paddock!”

BIRCHALL BROTHERS TAKE TO THE TT COURSE TT Race Track

Ben and Tom Birchall appear to have taken to the gruelling 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT course like ducks to water. The Mansfield brothers have completed three practice sessions and are now feeling very much at home on the public road circuit that runs from Douglas, across to Ramsey and returns via the Mountain mile back to Douglas.

Saturday evening saw the Mitchells of Mansfield/Dave Holden Racing sponsored duo take part in a steady, controlled lap of the course behind the vastly experienced Roy Hanks and Dave Wells.

After that they were sent out with the rest of the outfits for a non-timed lap to see how they fared.

Ben explained: “The controlled lap was fine as we just followed everyone else but once we had to do it without someone to show us the way it was very different. It was a real shock and we felt very alone out there. The flies were a real pain as they impaired our vision and stuck to the outfit making a right mess. We don’t normally use tear offs on our visors and it took most of the lap before I realised that if I tore one off I could see!

“The sun was very low in the sky as the sidecars are the last class to practice and that bothered us on Saturday as well. All in all we really didn’t enjoy the evening and were left wondering if we had made a big mistake in coming to the island.

“But Monday evening everything changed and we really enjoyed ourselves. All thoughts of despair flew out the window and we couldn’t wait to get out there.

“The course is so fast it is just unbelievable, you know what’s coming around the next bend but because of the high speed you don’t realise how quickly you arrive at the next bend.

“We are still learning our way around and every time we go a bit faster you are on to the next part of the course that much quicker.

“We got two laps in on Monday evening and increased our lap speed to 103.919mph – 21m 47.05s on the second run and were 13th fastest around the course.

“Tuesday we raised our game even further and the first lap was 106.23mph – 21m 21.12 moving us up to 12th overall on the night. But the second lap was a little different, we were really flying and it was almost certainly going to be a faster time but we were forced to stop at Ballaugh when the fuel pump packed in.

“We spent today replacing the fuel pump and checking the outfit over in readiness for the evening practice tonight – Wednesday. We still have to wear our novice jackets but it won’t be long before we can dispense with them and approach the first race as fully fledged newcomers and not novices. We can’t wait to get going under race conditions, this place is awesome and we love it!”

There will be a further update on Ben and Tom’s progress on Thursday.

Pic credit – Mark Walters

BIRCHALL BROTHERS WIN IN GERMANY

Ben and Tom Birchall set the standard for the FIM F1 Sidecar World championship when they won the sprint race and finished a very close second in the Gold race in the first of the five round world sidecar championship races at Schleiz in Germany over the weekend.

The Birchall Brothers from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire dominated practice and qualifying, claiming pole position for the two races with a time of 1.28.434s, just under half a second ahead of current world champion Pekka Paivarinta who this year is partnered by Adolf Hanni.

As the short sprint race got underway on Saturday, the Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored brothers slotted into second place taking their time to settle into the pace before hitting the front after three laps. They held station throughout the remainder of the 11-lap affair to take the victory ahead of Paivarinta and Hanni by a margin of three and a half seconds. The two teams dominated the race, completing the 11 laps over half a minute ahead of the rest of the field with The Birchall Brothers again setting the fastest lap of the race in a time of 1m 28.289s.

It would be a tall order for Ben and Tom to take the victory in the second race as they were given a 10kg victors weight penalty but the Mansfield pair were up for the challenge and took their place at the front of the grid for the feature race of the weekend, the Gold race that was to take place over 22 laps of the German circuit.

Again there was a close battle for supremacy between the Birchall brothers and Paivarinta/Hanni and they battled throughout the entirety of the 22 laps. Ben and Tom hit the front at the midway stage of the race and began to pull clear of their rivals in search of the second victory of the weekend.

But as they began to mix with the backmarkers they didn’t get a clear run through the pack and were held up for a few vital seconds. Paivarinta made good progress and was able to make up ground to eventually regain the lead.

Ben and Tom posted the fastest lap of the race (1m 28.909s) in an effort to get back on terms with the flying Finns but ran out of time and had to be content with second place. As they crossed the finish line there was just a second separating the two outfits and with both teams taking a win and second place apiece in the two races they share the series lead.
Germany
“We lapped all the field except the three outfits behind us,” said Ben. “We are delighted to be sharing the championship lead and to have got a second world championship race win under our belts. The outfit ran like a dream, we didn’t encounter any problems whatsoever. We didn’t have the best of times passing the backmarkers which really lost the race for us. But that’s how it goes; they were running their own race, which is fair enough.

“We had to contend with the winners ballast of 10kg for the second race. But now we have passed that over to Pekka who, as race winner in the gold race, will carry it into the next round. If we had won that race we would have found it doubled to 20kg which could have caused a few problems with stability.”

The next round is at Albacete in Spain on July 4 when the team will contest just one race but prior to that Ben and Tom will make their debut at the Isle of Man TT races in early June with the F11 outfit. Practice begins on May 30 with the two three-lap sidecar races taking place on June 6 and June 10.

GOOD START FOR BIRCHALL BROTHERS

Ben and Tom Birchall from Mansfield got their FIM Sidecar world championship assault off to the best of starts when they set the fastest lap of the session in the first of two qualifying periods at Schleiz in Germany on Friday.

They powered the LCR Suzuki through to provisional pole with a scorching lap of 1m 29.106s, well ahead of their nearest rival and current world champion Pekka Paivarinta who has new passenger Adolf Hanni in the chair this year.

They posted a time of 1.30.341s – over 1.2 seconds slower that the Mitchells of Mansfield supported brothers Ben and Tom Birchall.

Final qualifying takes place on Saturday from 8.30am – 9am followed by the first race to be run over 11 laps at 2pm.

The second race is scheduled for Sunday at is over 22 laps starting at 12.45pm.

BEN AND TOM BIRCHALL – CADWELL Ben and Tom Birchall at Cadwell

Mansfield based brothers Ben and Tom Birchall rode to pole position, completed their opening race in second place and broke the lap record at Cadwell Park on Sunday where the Derby Phoenix club played host to the third round of the FSRA F11 British Sidecar championship over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The Mitchells of Mansfield backed pair dominated qualifying, posting a fastest lap of 1m 37.4s to claim pole over a second ahead of John Holden and Andy Winkle on Sunday ahead of the two 12 lap races.

The brothers set off well in the first race on Saturday and soon established a commanding lead breaking the existing lap record for the class with a scorching lap of 1m 38.36s on lap five.

They looked to be coasting to a certain victory but began to slow when the LCR Honda engine developed a misfire that hampered their progress in the latter half of the race. But despite losing the race lead Ben and Tom secured a strong second place that was sufficient to move them into the series lead overnight.

The second race was held on Monday and although the misfire was still there it was not so virile and this allowed Ben and Tom to post the fastest lap of the race (1m38.9s) on lap two. The brothers were in great form and were the only team to dip into the 1m 38s.

But as they rounded Barn Corner at a fast rate of knots they had to take avoiding action to avoid an out of control outfit in their path and ended up off the track their race over.
Ben and Tom Birchall at Cadwell
“Although we were unable to continue we are both ok which is the main thing,” said Ben. “We were happy with our lap times out there, we set our fastest lap in the early stages of the race and no one was able to better it. We have taken the lap record at each circuit we have raced at in the F11 class this season and that is very encouraging for us.”

Ben and Tom relinquished their series lead to double race winners Holden and Winkle after their non-finish on Monday but hold a strong second place just five points behind them.

The Birchall Brothers travelled directly from Cadwell to Dover to catch the ferry to Germany where they headed to Schleiz for the opening round of the FIM World Sidecar championship that takes place this coming weekend, May 8/9/10.

Using their F1 LCR Suzuki powered world championship outfit Ben and Tom will be targeting a couple of podium finishes to get their world championship challenge underway.

Free practice and qualifying take place over Friday and Saturday followed by an 11-lap sprint race on Saturday afternoon. The 22-lap Gold race takes place on Sunday afternoon.
Picture credit Wally Walters
Action picture shows Ben and Tom heading the field at Cadwell.
Podium shows l - r Neary/Bond(3rd) Holden/Winkle (1st) Ben and Tom Birchall (2nd)

BIRCHALL BROTHERS FIND MORE SUCCESS AT BRANDS HATCH

Mansfield brothers Ben and Tom Birchall rode to a splendid second and fourth place finish in the second round of the 2009 Yokohama/ACU British F11 Sidecar Championship at Brands Hatch over the Easter weekend but despite breaking the lap record have relinquished their series lead and go into the next round just one point behind new leaders Nick Crowe and Mark Cox.

The Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored duo were on the pace throughout the weekend posting fast lap times throughout the qualifying periods but were denied a front row start because instead of the usual three outfits to a row, Brands Hatch is reduced to two and as the pair finished in third place they were placed on row two.

The first of the two 15-lap races saw Ben and Tom not get away to the best of starts and they settled into fifth position for the duration of lap one.

But as they found their pace the brothers moved ahead of Coombes/Knapton to chase after Dongworth/Partridge who were holding third place. After a close battle Ben and Tom forged ahead at Graham Hill Bend and concentrated on reeling in the two leading outfits a few yards ahead.

By lap seven the Mansfield pair broke the lap record, posting a time of 51.036s and one lap later shaved a further second from their lap times to establish a new lap record of 50.86s.

This spurt of speed paid off as by lap nine of 15 they were right on the tail of multi-TT winners Crowe/Cox, moving ahead into second place at Graham Hill bend one lap later.

With four laps remaining the Birchall Brothers began to catch the leading outfit of Reeves and Farrance but misjudged Action Shot, Sidecar Racing. Wally Walters their line at Clearways and ran wide losing ground. They quickly recovered and took the chequered flag in fourth place.

Race two saw Ben and Tom move straight into second place on the opening lap, following in the tyre tracks of Crowe/Cox for the duration of the race which was red-flagged and a result declared at positions on lap 10.

Crowe/Cox were declared the winners and the 25 points gained meant they now hold the series lead by just one point from Ben and Tom Birchall who come away from Brands Hatch with the new lap record registered to them.

“It’s been another superb weekend for us,” said Ben. “Yesterday was unfortunate, it was my own fault as I made a mistake while fighting for the lead but we brought it home in fourth place – but it ultimately cost us the series lead. The second race was also a good result although I think we were beginning to make inroads on the leading outfit when the race was stopped early.

“I would like to say a massive thank you to Mitchells of Mansfield and also John Lawson who provided a couple of tyres for this weekend, without them we would have been struggling. We are thrilled to bits that we have established a new lap record and we are now looking forward to Cadwell Park on May 4th and another good set of results which will enable us to regain the championship lead.”

Picture credit - action Wally Walters
Portrait - Helen Pask

Ben and Tom Birchall DOUBLE PODIUM FOR BIRCHALL BROTHERS AT DONINGTON

Ben and Tom Birchall got their British championship campaign off to the best of starts by taking second place and setting a new lap record in their very first outing aboard the F2 LCR Honda at Donington Park on Sunday in round one of the British F2 sidecar championship. They went on to claim third place in the second race, which secured sufficient points to see them leave Donington as championship leaders.

The Mitchells of Mansfield-backed pairing qualified in second place but were unable to capitalize on their front row start and rounded the first corner at Redgate in fifth position at the start of the opening race on Saturday.

The two leading outfits began to pull away leaving the Birchall brothers to battle it out with Coombes/Knapton, Ian/Carl Bell and Neary/Bond for position but by the third lap they powered through into third place and began to pull away to give chase to the leaders.

When former F1 world champions Reeves/Farrance went out at the Melbourne Loop their second place was inherited by Ben and Tom Birchall who then began to reel in multi-TT winners Crowe/Cox.

But despite reducing the gap by over two seconds in the final laps they ran out of time and had to be content with second place. The pace was such that Ben and Tom set a new lap record for the F2 sidecar class of 1m 43.63s on their penultimate lap.

“We are thrilled to bits with that result,” said Ben. “We came here not knowing what to expect as there a lot of really quick lads in the F2 series and we just didn’t know where we would figure in the results. We are there or there about on the F1 bike but was not sure with the little bike just how competitive we could be. We have done a lot of hard work over the winter months with preparation to get the bike to suit us and it appears to have paid off. We also set a new lap record which is something we didn’t realise until the results sheets were produced.”

Race two on Sunday was run in perfect weather conditions and after a delayed start Ben and Tom slotted into second place at Redgate first time around before taking the lead at the Melbourne Loop a few seconds later. The Mansfield pair held their lead for three laps before being caught by Reeves/Farrance and the rest of the 10-lapper was spent in a huge battle between the two teams.

Things came to a dramatic climax on the last lap when third place riders Holden/Winkle tangled with the Birchall brothers resulting in the latter being relegated to third place where they remained to the chequered flag.

Although disappointed to lose out on the runner up spot the brothers were delighted to find they are the championship leaders with the added bonus of lifting the Bill Boddice Trophy; an annual presentation at Donington Park for the overall winner.

“Two podium finishes in our first two races at this level, championship leaders and the Bill Boddice Trophy, that’s more than we could ever have dreamed of,” said Ben. “If we can continue in this vein then we can look forward to a fantastic season in the F2 class.”

The Nottinghamshire duo also contested the inaugural Motosix challenge where they were to represent England in the six-nation shootout. Unfortunately their race plan didn’t quite work out as they were awarded an eighth row grid position and had to work their way through the field at the start. At the lights they were keen to get away and made up places to 10^th as they exited Foggys Esses on the opening lap.

By lap eight they were through to sixth but, when in the middle of a three-way clash for fourth place, they were bumped by another competitor and spun off course. Despite losing momentum Ben was able to regain control and rejoined the race in 10^th position, eventually completing the race in seventh place.

The Mansfield brothers were unable to compete in the second race because of exhaust damage incurred in the second of the British F2 events.

“There was a bit of fairing clashing going on throughout the races today but it appears to be part and parcel of this class,” said Ben. “In the World Championship it takes a couple of laps for everyone to sort themselves out but in this class it all systems go from the start and the racing is so very close.”

The team now head off to France for a week of intense testing in preparation for their World championship challenge on the bigger 1000cc LCR F1 outfit.

Round two of the British F11 sidecar championship takes place at Brands Hatch in Kent over the Easter holiday weekend of April 11/12/13.

Picture credit – Wally Walters

Portrait – Helen Pask (shows Ben and Tom Birchall with the Bill Boddice Trophy)

BIRCHALL BROTHERS TEST AT MALLORY

Ben and Tom Birchall set the track alight at Mallory Park on Wednesday when they tested the new LCR 600cc Honda F2 sidecar outfit at the Leicestershire circuit for the first time.

The Mitchells of Mansfield – backed team scorched their way around the short and technical circuit over four test sessions and were by far the fastest team on track on the day.

Ben Birchall was delighted in the way the outfit handled and said: “This is the first time the F2 machine has been on track and also our first venture into F2 racing. I am amazed at how the machine handled compared to the bigger and more powerful F1 and the speed I was able to generate around Mallory.

“The fairing design is not complete as yet, it looks a bit bare in the pictures, we still have to add our sponsors names etc but everything will be completed prior to our first race and of course we will have our new race leathers. This was just a low-key shake down test but the picture shows how good the machine looks on track.

“We had a few teething problems but they were soon ironed out and I was able to concentrate on seeing what I could get out of the engine. I have to say I was very impressed with everything and we can’t wait to get out on track under race conditions.”

The brothers won’t have too long to wait as they are scheduled to race the F2 outfit in the opening two rounds of the Yokohama/ACU British F2 championship at Donington Park over the weekend of March 28/29.

The team will also represent England in the two sidecar races that form part of the MotoSix Challenge at Donington Park the same weekend.

• Pic shows Ben and Tom in action negotiating Edwina’s Chicane at Mallory.
• Credit – Helen Pask

BIRCHALL BROTHERS RECEIVE AWARD

Ben and Tom Birchall from Mansfield took time out from their new season preparations to attend the ACU awards ceremony held at the Park Inn Hotel, Northampton recently.

The Auto Cycle Union (ACU) is the governing body for motorcycle sport throughout Britain and sets the rules for the various aspect of the sport.

All biking disciplines were honoured at the ceremony, which was attended by some 430 guests who saw Ben and Tom Birchall receive the award from ACU chairman Jim Parker for finishing in an overall third place in the 2008 FIM Sidecar World Championship.

The attached image shows Ben and Tom with ACU official Eddie Nelson and his wife Chris after receiving their trophies.

The Mitchells of Mansfield sponsored sidecar crew are currently preparing for the new season when they intend to once again contest the World Championship plus are finalising plans to run in the British Formula Two sidecar championship and make their debut at the Isle of Man TT races.

Finishing touches are being made to both the F1 and F2 sidecar outfits and some exciting news on Ben and Tom’s new venture will be issued shortly.

Picture credit - Brian George PR

Website Design Newcastle. North East, UK