Nick Crowe
made it a Manx double when he took his second victory of the week in
Wednesday’s Sure Mobile F2 Sidecar race coming home just over ten
seconds clear of arch rival Dave Molyneux and Daniel Sayle. For
Crowe, with Mark Cox on board, it was his fifth TT victory and moved
him to 5th overall on the all time winners list behind Molyneux, Rob
Fisher, Dave Saville and Siegfried Schauzu. Having caught Molyneux
on the road, the duo treated the fans to a high-speed dual that saw
them never more than inches apart and the two current masters of the
sidecar class crossed the line together. John Holden and Andy Winkle
brought their Suzuki powered outfit home in 3rd for their second
rostrum of the week.
Conditions were still good for the afternoon’s race but the winds
were again a problem with the sidecar crews warned that they were
particularly strong at the Mountain Mile, the Mountain Box and
Brandywell whilst they were also deemed to be gusting at the
Verandah. Crowe and Cox made a blistering start on their Honda and
they seized the lead at Glen Helen on the opening lap and had
Molyneux and Sayle firmly in their sights. Indeed, the 13 times
winner was down in third at the first checkpoint, Holden and Winkle
nosing ahead into second. Klaus Klaffenbock and Christian Parzer
occupied fourth ahead of Phil Dongworth/Stu Castles and Steve
Norbury/Rick Long.
Crowe had the magnets on Molyneux and as they crossed the line to
start their second lap he was only a second behind on the road and,
thus, 9 seconds ahead on corrected time. Holden was slipping off the
pace slightly, suffering with a few handling issues, but he was
comfortable in third whilst Klaffenbock and Norbury were having a
great scrap for fourth. Dongworth was in sixth but coming under
extreme pressure from Saturday’s sensations, Tim Reeves and Patrick
Farrance.
Crowe overtook Molyneux on the road on the second lap and, for the
remainder of the race, the duo circulated in close formation, later
admitting that paintwork had been exchanged on a number of
occasions! The crowds lining the course were witnessing a real
spectacle but, having made up the time on the road, Crowe knew the
race was his and although Molyneux tried to edge ahead, his fellow
Manxman was having none of it and kept him firmly at the bay.
Although no records were broken, Crowe and Molyneux were lapping in
the 114mph+ bracket, which no one else could match, and they were
well clear of Holden who was never challenged for third. Crowe
eventually took the win by 10.5seconds with Holden 34 seconds adrift
of Molyneux in third, although it was again another excellent result
by the Clitheroe driver.
The battle for fourth went right down to the wire and it was Norbury
and Long who prevailed over Klaffenbock and Parzer by the tiny
margin of 0.89seconds – after 113miles of racing! For the Austrian
pairing though, there was still great satisfaction, having achieved
their first TT finish since 2005.
Reeves and Farrance lapped in excess of 112mph to take sixth and cap
a simply stunning TT debut whilst Dongworth and Castles took
seventh, the Worcestershire driver also enjoying a strong TT08 after
suffering a number of breakdowns in recent years.
Simon Neary and Jamie Winn finished in eighth with the top 12
completed by Nigel Connole/Dipash Chauhan, Dougie Wright/Stuart
Bond, Gary Bryan/Robert Bell and Greg Lambert/Sally Wilson.
Newcomers Mark and David Brown had an excellent drive into 21st,
lapping at an excellent 104.655mph.
Kenny Howles and Doug Jewell were airlifted to hospital following an
incident at the 11th milestone and there are no details on their
condition currently available.
Phil Wain
Nick Crowe and Mark Cox
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Picture's provided by
Stephen Davison @ Pacemaker press Intl |