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. More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: McGuinness takes 11th in second Supersport TT Morecambe’s John McGuinness finished 11th in Wednesday’s heavily delayed second Supersport 600cc race at the Isle of Man TT races with the race being held in extremely damp conditions. Rain on the west part of the Island left a long section of the course with a lot of standing water and with the other parts of the course dry, conditions were extremely tricky. Starting at number 2 once more on his HM Plant Honda, a couple of major slides, particularly one at Rhencullen, meant John found himself down in 11th place at the end of lap one and a lap of 115.518mph was over a minute and a half slower than the times of the previous day. The Glen Helen section remained damp throughout and John slipped further back on the 2nd lap to 14th but a final lap of 119.402mph elevated him back up to 11th at the end of the four laps. Speaking later a disappointed John said,”It was really tough out there today and the roads were really wet on the first lap. There was standing water for a good ten miles on the first lap and I had a couple of really bad slides, one at Rhencullen putting me out of the saddle and nearly over the handlebars. I was as close to coming off as I’ve ever done and it really knocked my confidence. After that, I just rode at a pace I felt comfortable with in the conditions but 11th obviously isn’t where I want to be.” “Some of the boys were pushing really hard today and I just didn’t think it was safe to do that. There’ll always be another TT race so I just concentrated on bringing the bike home and getting a finish. We’ve just got the Senior race left now and having won the Superbike race earlier in the week, I’ll be hoping to do the same again on Friday.” The 6-lap Senior is the final race of the 2009 TT with the race due to start at 1.00pm. More, from a press release issued by Keith Amor: Amor forced out of second Supersport TT Keith Amor’s run of podiums at the Isle of Man TT races came to an end on Wednesday when he was forced to retire from the second Supersport race. The Wilson Craig Honda rider was lying in fifth place when his bike spluttered to a halt at Ramsey on the fourth and final lap. The race was delayed by 3 and a quarter hours due to heavy rain on the west side of the Island and when it finally got underway, the riders were warned that roads were damp for a significant part of the first half of the lap. This could clearly be seen in the lap times and a lap of 116.744mph saw Keith lie in 8th place at the end of the opening lap. As the race wore on conditions improved and the track began to dry and with an increased lap speed of 121.193mph, he moved up to fifth at half race distance. Maintaining his position, he looked all set to claim another top five finish when the bike stopped as he approached Parliament Square less than 15 miles from the finish. Speaking in the evening, a philosophical Keith said, “It was really hard work out there today and conditions weren’t good at all to begin with. I was extra careful through the wet sections and was practically tiptoeing through them as you simply couldn’t afford to take a risk. It did begin to dry up as the race wore on so I started to push a bit harder and although I was in fifth I hadn’t given up hopes of climbing up the leaderboard. Everything was going ok but the bike just ground to a halt when I entered Ramsey on the last lap and that was that. We’re not sure what the problem is yet and it’s a prime example of how the TT is – on a high one minute and then down the next. There was nothing we could have done to prevent it so we’ll all look forward to the last race on Friday and hope to end the week for a strong result.” The 2009 TT finishes on Friday with the 6-lap Senior taking place at 1.00pm. More, from a press release issued by Tim Reeves’ publicist: Reeves denied as second Sidecar TT Race abandoned Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance’s hopes of stepping on to the podium at the 2009 Isle of Man TT Races were dashed when Wednesday’s second 3-lap Sidecar race was abandoned due to a serious crash involving their good friends, and rivals, Nick Crowe and Mark Cox. The crash occurred at Ballacobb on the high-speed run towards Ballaugh, almost half way round the Mountain Course, on the opening lap of the race. Both Nick and Mark were immediately attended to before being helicoptered to hospital where they are currently being treated. With rain on the west part of the Island in the morning, the race was put back from it’s original start time of 2.15pm to 6.15pm although conditions were ideal when the outfits left the line. At the first timing point at Glen Helen, Tim was in fifth place but was gaining ground all the time on those in front of them before the crash occurred and, less than 30 seconds behind Nick and Mark on the road, Tim and Patrick were one of the first past the scene. Talking on Thursday, Tim said, “Both Nicky and Mark are really good friends of ours so, first of all, on behalf of everyone connected with the team, I’d like to pass on our best wishes to them and hope they both make a speedy recovery. When accidents like that occur, it puts the racing into perspective and we hope they’re up and about soon. We made a good start to the race and felt confident of moving up the leaderboard but when we came through Alpine Cottage, the yellow flags were out and we were the second crew to pass through the incident. There was debris everywhere and although we got going again once we’d gone past Ballaugh, it was no surprise to see the red flag at Ramsey. It’s a real shame as, like I say, Nick and Mark have been terrific allies ever since we’ve been in the F2 paddock and we’ll be off to visit them in hospital as soon as we can.” With time running out, the organisers had little option other than to abandon the race not just for the night but also for the meeting, the first time since 1998 that only one sidecar TT race has been held. More, from a press release issued by Brammo: Excitement is building at the inaugural TTXGP on the Isle of Man as Brammo’s two production-based Enertia TTR race bikes took second and third in yesterday’s final qualifying sessions. The world’s first no-emissions motorcycle race is now just hours away as the 23 teams from around the world hit the track tomorrow, June 12. For additional information about the event, visit www.ttxgp.com. Team Brammo Enertia Best Buy Racing manager, Brian Wismann, who’s also Brammo’s director of product development, is thrilled with the progress the team has made and said, “Our crew is working smart to further refine the settings on both Enertia’s to achieve the right balance of speed and range, and we believe that we’re close to having the optimal mix. Starting with the same Brammo Enerita that customers can buy instead of a one-off, high-budget garage project has both challenges and advantages but we felt it was important to demonstrate the capability of a commercially available product and advance the category of electric powered transportation.” To see interviews with Brian and other team members, go to Brammo’s YouTube channel. Andy Leisner of Hardcard Holdings, the motorsports management firm that is assisting Team Brammo, said, “The experience on the Isle of Man has been incredible and we can’t thank Best Buy enough for all of their support they’re providing us, both from all of their infrastructure and promotional. I have been associated with some of the top racing programs in the world and the Brammo organization has brought a new level of wisdom and thinking to the sport. It’s no wonder they’re a leader in the design and production of electric motorcycles.” You can follow Team Brammo Enertia Best Buy Racing on www.brammo.com, or on Twitter at @BrammoSays. Additional pictures of the Enertia race bikes (including a hi-res photo enclosed in this email) and video can be found at www.brammo.com. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Relentless Suzuki’s Bruce Anstey enjoyed his first podium of TT 2009 in the Relentless Supersport Race 2 yesterday. The Kiwi finished second on his GSX-R600 machine, making it 19 career TT podiums. The race was eventually started on the Mountain Course after a three-hour delay due to inclement weather conditions, but the battling Kiwi was always in the mix for honours. Bruce Anstey: “We finally got the gremlins sorted out and my GSX-R600 ran perfectly today. Michael Dunlop got us all on the first lap and that was it really. The conditions were difficult and it was hard to know how far you could push it out there. It did start to dry up as the race went on, and although I wanted the win, this is a pretty-strong second place after what we have been through this week.” Philip Neill – Team Principal: “It’s great to get the GSX-R Relentless Suzuki back on a TT podium, especially in a Relentless-sponsored race. Bruce and everyone in the team needed a result to lift our spirits after the bad luck we have suffered. Thankfully the little GSX-R600 never missed a beat. It has been tough trying to keep everyone’s heads up, but everything is now in place for Friday’s Senior TT. Bruce and the GSX-R1000 Superbike are both up to the job, and if Bruce can win it may even ease Cameron’s pains a little!” Injured Aussie Cameron Donald had set the TT alight only a week ago when he became the first man to break the magical 131mph barrier, but an incident at Keppel Gate the following evening forced him out of this year’s TT Races, with shoulder and back injuries. Tomorrow’s Senior TT closes this year’s action on the famous Mountain Course. More, from a press release issued by Hydrex Honda: MARTIN LOOKING FOR SENIOR TT VICTORY Hydrex Honda’s Guy Martin will be looking to end his 2009 Isle of Man TT race campaign on a high note on Friday when he contests the Senior TT. Traditionally billed as the ‘Blue Riband’ event of race week, the 6-lap race brings down the curtain on the two-week festival and with three podiums to his name already, Guy will be hoping it’s the race that gives him his first ever TT win. After Wednesday’s second Supersport 600cc race was heavily delayed by rain on the west coast of the Island, the weather has improved ever since and Friday should see some terrific racing with the outright lap record likely to be under threat again. The 600cc race didn’t pan out as Guy would have liked and although he occupied third place at the end of the opening lap, the engine began to overheat on the second and with smoke beginning to come from the bike, he retired at the end of the third, his first non-finish of the week. Friday’s Senior race sees Guy back in action on the 1000cc Honda Superbike and with the forks from his 2008 machine flown in especially for the race, he’s in confident mood. Speaking ahead of the race, Guy said, “Wednesday’s race was a bit of a disaster and to say the conditions were iffy would be an understatement! I went as fast as I could, given the wet circuit but on the second lap the bike started to overheat and that was the end of that. It was completely out of our hands and disappointing to have a DNF but that’s how racing goes sometimes.” “With regards to the Senior, we could have done with the practice lap on Wednesday to test the forks properly but we went up to Jurby Airfield on Thursday afternoon and they felt good straightaway so I’m feeling confident ahead of Friday’s race. It’s the main race of the week and the one everyone wants to win so that’s what I’ll be firmly aiming at doing.” The Senior race is due to get underway at 1.00pm.