Sidecar champs just keep on winning
00:00, 22 September 2005
NEW FIM Sidecar world champions Tim and Tristan Reeves, from Kent, took part in the final two rounds of the current World Championship series on Sunday.
The brothers, from Bethersden, near Ashford, achieved a decisive win in each race to complete their campaign in style, proving beyond doubt that they are worthy champions.
The rain continued relentlessly throughout the qualifying sessions and it was Finland’s Tero Manninen and Pekka Kuismanen who claimed their very first Pole Position at this level on the Tuusmotor LCR-Suzuki GSXR, ahead of the Team Roberts Racing duo Tim and Tristan Reeves on a similar machine.
As the rain ceased the conditions continued to improve and by the time the crews took their places on the grid for the start of the short sprint race the track surface was completely dry.
As the lights went out it was Tim and Tris who got the advantage and they hit the front from the start, never looking back and continuing unhindered to complete the 10 laps over 10 seconds ahead of Manninen and Kuismanen to take their eighth win of the series.
“I’m amazed at how fast we were,” said Tristan Reeves after the race. That's the only time we’ve ridden here in the dry."
The Reeves brothers had a few problems at the start of the 22-lap Gold race, the final event of the current campaign. They got away to a bad start and were holding fourth place at the end of lap one.
But Tim settled into the race and picked of the leading trio one per lap until he hit the front.
From there, they rode through to take their ninth win in the current campaign, crossing the finish line with a nine second advantage over Manninen and Kuismanen, breaking the lap record along the way.
“As we came around to the start line I thought the clutch felt wrong so decided to take it steady until I discovered what the problem was,” said Tim. “But after a couple of laps it appeared to be ok so I headed off for the win.
"Once in front we rode a steady race and won by a comfortable margin. I was quite surprised to find we had broken the lap record as I didn’t really think we were going that fast"
Tim and Tristan will not have long to sit on their laurels, as they now have to prepare for the annual Sidecar Burn Up at Lydden Hill on Sunday.
Following that they head off to Knockhill in Scotland for the Jock Taylor Memorial race and the following week are back at Mallory for the Festival of Sidecars, rounding off their season with the final round of the MRO Super Sidecar championship at Brands Hatch on October 16.