I’ve had a very lapse time of updating the blog, to which i must send my apoligies! From the TT and Southern 100 in 2018, a lot has changed and Real Racing has been through the mill and back! Having a DNF at the 2018 TT and a very uneventful Southern 100, we found it a difficult year for the team. However, we did have a great time with our friends, Kenny and Shirley Cole. Kenny stepped in to passenger for us as Mark was having a year out, and although the racing was not quite what we wanted, the team really did try their best. The Ireson was gaining in age and the frame sustained a fracture in the race, hence the DNF. She was fixed for the Southern 100 but a number of electrical problems caused Wayne and Kenny to pull out of the races due to safety reasons. Wayne realised that the stunning and otherwise, reliable outfit, would possibly not be totally happy with going round the Isle of Man at over 110 mph again and it was time, sadly, to have a change and move forward with the new kid on the block…….the LCR.

Our beautiful Ireson was heading off to Florida to her new home and life with American sidecar champion Peter Essaff. The long process of getting paperwork, storage, freight and regulations sorted took nearly 7 months, but finally she was off!

We would like to thank, enormously, Paul Lusty, owner of We Move Bikes in Gloucester, who helped with the storage and dealt with so much of the logistics. It was a huge help and very much appreciated by both Real Racing and Peter Essaff. We would also like to thank Boris Stroud for all of his hard work in arranging a huge amount of the freight and sorting out some of the problems that were a constant challenge!

The new Girl

Following a change of outfit, we welcomed Mark back and planned out the season with high hopes for an even faster results page. Testing at Mallory Park proved very challenging and it was clear there were going to be quite a few set up issues. Both Wayne and Mark had now got to get used to a whole new way of racing and adjusting to the LCR’s way of racing. Not that easy!! Oulton Park was the first race for the team, under the awning and the support of Optimum Bikes, running with BSB. A cracking circuit and some great racing, however, no record times for the team and a slightly frustrating first outing.

The Isle of Man has always been the main focus for the year and Wayne and Mark were looking forward to aiming for the best times they had ever done. Having little practice time due to the weather on the Island, they had no real chance of improving the handling of the outfit, and with all the teams struggling for on road time, it wasn't going as well as expected, but, the main thing is that we had 2 safe, and solid finishes. We were very pleased to take 12th and 13th and all come home safe ready to look forward to the Southern 100 in July.

The Billowen course had seen some podium finishes in the past for the team, and we knew this year was going to be a bit of a test. The LCR was still not in its comfort zone and even with help from people with the suspension, something was still not working. Wayne and Mark finished race 1 in 9th place and with a race in the afternoon too, it was all hands on deck! Unusually, both races were on the same day due to a red flag the previous day which delayed the programme. it was a rush getting re fuelled, and making all checks before the call was going out for the 2nd race. A quick inspection before the fairing went back on and Wayne spotted an oil leak from the engine!! Nooooo! Dam it! No time to change engines and nothing they could do…….unfortunately, that was the end of the racing week for us.

Very proud to of finished and come home safe even if its was a bit of mixed emotions with the breakdown.

Onwards to the next meeting.

Mallory Park for the EMRA championship, its been a slow turn out for the sidecars at this circuit but we absolutely love it, and always try to support it whenever there’s a round. Mark had work commitments for this meeting so our friend and stand in passenger Joe Newbold, stepped up to help out! Joe has raced solo’s in the Manx GP, the TT and many short circuits, and is a very talented rider. A terrible incident at the TT saw his solo career put on hold for a while which has meant he was able to help Wayne out for this race.

The EMRA round is heavily supported by Johnny Leubke of Dirty Weekender Van Conversions and was the passenger of the late great Phil ‘Dongo’ Dongworth, so Johnny is very passionate about keeping the grids full!

Real Racing had a good lead throughout the race and and the outfit seemed to be behaving itself, despite it sill not being 100%, they pulled the win and finished the season on a high with the title in the bag.

Many thanks to Joe for all his help, and a huge thank you to Johnny, Katie, Chloe and Corrin, for their constant support and dedication to Real Racing and the sidecar family!

2020……. Here goes!

A shocking year for pretty much everyone, in racing, business, personally and educationally., but there was nothing we could do except deal with it! Racing, whether it was short circuits or roads was all on hold, and in the case of the Isle of Man, it was to be cancelled. The best thing to do during lock down was to prepare, rebuild and reflect on some crazy days and even crazier friends!

Enjoy…..

We Move Bikes - Gloucester, Wayne with Paul Lusty, and the beautiful Grace, heading off to the States.

Wayne marshalling at the Manx GP 2019 at Silly Moos.

Wayne and God himself, Trevor Ireson working on the LCR.

Horst and Shaggy with their EMRA Championship win!

Sir Jackie Stewart taking the bars at the TT.

September 2020 saw us out at Mallory Park, a good full grid and some excellent racing, 6th place in race 1, and 4th place in race 2. Problems still with the outfit, not sure where or why, just keep plugging away with different settings.

2021

No TT again due to Covid and the Southern 100 looked like i would be cancelled, so we continued on with our season the best we can. The British Championship was still going ahead with certain restrictions so at least we could be sure of some solid racing with some great teams. Qualiying in 13th place, among a strong grid they went out to race, Having a battle through, outfit not performing to its best but they managed a respectable, although disappointing 11th place. Next round will be at Mallory Park in July.

July 2021. Perfect conditions for this summers racing on the Leicestershire circuit, a familiar track which the Team have enjoyed very many successful racing. Mark made the journey with Stuey Bear and our good friend and team member Phil Bridge, former passenger of the late great Bill Currie, came to help with the events of the weekend. We had a very busy time ahead as the team were entered in the FRSA Championship races and also the EMRA Championship races, 6 in total and not too much time in between to re fuel and do checks. Race 6 in the program was FSRA which they took 7th place, a brief break until race 8, the first EMRA race which they took a close 2nd place, Race 17, EMRA finished with a 2nd place behind the F! of Kirbys, Race 22 on Sunday was the Phil Dongworth Trophy Race with EMRA, supported by Dirty Weekender Van Conversions, a race close to Waynes heart and one he always is proud to be in. A cracking race with a good battle between the long bike of Kirby and Wayne/Mark but the handling of the long bike just had the legs on them. 2nd place but first F2. The boys had raced well, the outfit performing much better and at last they had a break before the next races of the day!

Race 31, EMRA’s last race of the day, again a full grid, great competitors, closely matched by the outfit of Fisher/Stokoe but Wayne and Mark held on to the lead and took 1st place for a brilliant race. Part way round the circuit though, Mark had banged his ankle and sustained an injury, which although he was shrugging off, we could see he was in pain. The last race was the British Championship race and Mark was starting to feel really rough on the start line. Mark wanted to continue and the race got under way. On lap 4, Wayne felt a tap on his back just coming out the Esses, and Marks injury had got the better of him so the team pulled up and called it a day. After a very busy weekend’s racing and all that had been put into the meeting, it was time to rest up, especially for Mark!

During the next few weeks, we got the call Mark, expressing his sadness that he felt he couldn’t passenger Wayne anymore, not only because of the injury but his heart wasn’t in it. After 6 seasons with us we were very sad to hear this but it’s a decision that comes round to alot of the racers at some point. We have had some amazing times with Mark on board, top 10’s at the TT, podiums at the Southern 100, BEMSEE Champions, many many wins and some extraordinary racing. Good times outside of racing with Mark and Sarah, lots of laughs and quite a few headaches! We really want to thank them both for everything that they brought to the team, especially their friendship, which will continue, whether they like it or not!! Many thanks too, to Stuey Bear and Pearl for their constant support and for all of the sponsorship that has been contributed over the years, we hope we’ve done you, and all the other supporters proud. Here’s just a few ..

After the low point of the last few weeks, we were already booked in for the next Championship round at Cadwell Park, which was part of the Sidecar Festival, so with a bit of re organising, we decided to go and see if there might be any good passengers out there that would finish the season off with us. Unfortunately, anyone who could be right to come on board was already committed so we arrived for test/practice day anyway and set up opposite our good mates, Team Lowther. Jake, who already has his ride sorted, agreed to hop on to help Wayne set the bike up and it was amazing what was done. John Lowthers mechanic and friend, Andy, did a bit of suspension work with us and Jake gave his feed back, the outcome was superb!! Finally, Wayne felt like he had an outfit that was up to his capabilities. Race day on Saturday, no passenger, but what we’d learnt made the weekend a success already. The Festival had organized taxi rides at lunch time for wannabe passengers and one off experiences and the proceeds went to charity. It turned out to be a cracking time for our girl who wanted to do her first Taxi ride on the side of Wayne. Scary stuff!! They line up in the holding bay and headed off on the circuit….. it was fantastic, 3 laps, not too fast but what an experience for her, and an honour for Wayne. I thought she’ll either love it or hate it and when i saw her face i knew she was hooked! So much so, that she wanted to go again, but would have to wait until Sunday for the next one, only to tell me that she wanted to get on the side of Lee Crawford!! AARRGGHH!!

Mad as it sounded, i put my trust in Lee, telling him that she’d not gone too fast the day before and there had been no chair wheel air on the corners………. to which he replied…’gotcha….. i’ll give it some then!’ Not quite what i meant but a certain little lady was very happy. They went out of the holding bay and over took most people before the fourth corner, round again ,and again, pulling in and the beaming smiles said it all! That made the year!!! Many thanks Lee!

Louisa’s very first taxi ride with Wayne!

Pete Founds and Jevan Walmsley who won the FSRA race and the Dongo trophy. Weldone lads

The next few weeks we had talks with a passenger, an experienced, committed fella who would be mint for the team, Benjamin Binns who lives on the Isle of Man. He has kindly agreed to join the team for the British Championship so we needed to get him over for some time on the outfit to make sure he could cope with Wayne…… and if the outfit was working for him. Ben has been on with some of the top drivers on the circuit and has had many great finishes, including 2nd at the TT with Dave Molyneux. He has also had an awesome time with the late, great Dwight Beare, who sadly lost his life at the 2016 TT with Ben as his passenger. Ben suffered a serious leg injury and although now recovered, he has vowed never to do the roads again, an understandable decision. I booked Wayne and Ben in for the weekend at Lydden Hill sidecar bash. A long trip for Ben and his family and long enough for us, but well worth it when we got there. What a cracking little circuit…… well set up and well run. Wayne needed to get this outfit working for him to be able to race competitively, so as we run with Nitron suspension we had a different rear shocker fitted with just a few tweaks to it, which was to prove to be outstanding. Many thanks to Mark Jeffries for sorting this out and supporting the Team throughout the years, a first class service! The boys gelled straight away, out for practice, and few adjustments to be made. Qualifying went well and out for first race, leading well in front until they pulled in all of a sudden, back to holding bay, the clutch had gone! After we got the outfit back to the pits and changed the clutch they went out for the 2nd race, starting from the back of the grid as they didn’t finish the first race,…….. again, flying…… to take a comfortable win. Binzy did comment on Wayne’s overtaking skills, saying ‘Right, this is how it’s going to be is it?!’. Two very happy boys! Both Wayne and Ben agreed that they were both very happy on the outfit, Ben seemed to know what Wayne needed of him and the trust was there straight away .We couldn’t be happier. An evening of chat and getting to know everyone, John, Bens dad, Helen, mum, Keiran, Bens nephew and Dave Hirst, good mates. Yet to meet up with Mrs Binns, Nikki-Leigh and daughter Miley, but i’m sure it wont be too long. Met up with some cracking folks that evening…… see photos of the loons!!

Sunday race day, another stunning day for it, busy paddock and looking forward to a great day. Out for the first race of the day for the team……. Another fantastic win, close racing and good times. looking like a theme going on here but second and last race for us, was to be an absolutely awesome race and an outstanding first place. f The last race of the day was the Lord Of Lydden Sider Burn Up, all classes out on circuit and a very closely matched race, with Tim Reeves out in front with a clear lead, Wayne and Ben managed to hold on to a solid 4th place and 1st F2, but an accident behind them ended the race on a sour note, luckily, the team involved went on to make a good recovery

The results at the end of the weekend, Wayne and Ben won 3 out of 4 races and were the Lords of Lydden in their class for the last race! Absolutely fantastic job. So pleased to welcome Ben to the team and his family, we look forward to a great season and lots of safe and successful racing, plus a couple of beers occasionally!!

As for next season…. we were still looking for a TT/Southern 100 2022 passenger, these people are about as rare as they come! We did a bit of asking about but heard nothing, until young Mr John Lowther announced he was retiring from the sidecar paddock. Team Lowther were a great team and extremely competitive both on the roads as well as the short circuits with some fantastic finishes under their belts, as well as being genuinely nice fellas and a really supportive team to be around. But on the up side of this decision, the passenger was free and if it was possible, we would ask!!As a result, we are very pleased to announce that Matthew Rostron will be joining Real Racing for the TT and Southern 100, both of which he has good experience and is a very committed and trustworthy passenger.

Matthew Rostron joining forces with Real Racing for the roads.

Matthew form Liverpool area, will be doing 2 out of the 3 first races with us to get to know Wayne, the outfit and for qualification for the TT and Ben will do 1 meeting until the British Championship starts, its going to be a very busy season! Wayne has another lorry project on the go at the moment, a race lorry which will be more suitable for all the racing this year and going forwards. I’m told its not an easy job converting a lorry but it looks simple enough to me!! Ha Ha! ooops!

The season was coming to a close and we had a roller coaster of a year. However, we must look forward and focus on the new chapter for Real Racing, from new team members, British Championship campaign, TT and Southern 100 after a two year break…. can’t wait!!

We did get ourselves up to the FSRA awards evening, always a cracking night, plenty of laughs and great to meet up at the end of the season with everyone, especially Del Boy, Dean Kilkenny! This chap had recently had a leg amputated a couple of weeks prior to the do, and amazingly he made it there! Johnny Leubke had arranged a room for Del and his wife Leanne and it was absolutely fantastic to see them. Mark and Sarah came which was brilliant, after all, i did say we would stay mates whether they liked it or not!! Always.

Myself, Sarah and friend Julie did an amazing walk for Alzheimers charity earlier in the year and raised lots of money for the good cause. We took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, 24 gruelling miles with some of the most gorgeous scenery ever. We made it just in time and were exceptionally proud of ourselves as it was so so tough. We will do some more charity walks together, we were a great team!

Sarah, Julie and Lynda at the final peak of the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge.

Hello you two!! Mark and his fiance Sarah. Ahhhhh!

Johnny and Katie from Dirty Weekender Van Conversions, Worcester.

The lovely Del Boy made it even though he’d only had his leg removed a couple of weeks before!

Deans award, the FSRA’ Dongo’ award with the special ‘One off Achievement’ dedication for this special chap and all of his determination. Love ya Del Boy!

2022

Happy New Year everyone!! Looking forward to this season, an exceptionally busy year planned, Wayne and Ben booked in for the first round with BEMSEE in March for some time on the outfit at a circuit new to Ben. A long trip for them from the Island but we’re looking forward to catching up and getting back on track!

A couple of rounds booked with Matty to get Wayne and him tuned in together and signatures for the TT. Cant wait to get back to the Island and back in the paddock, meeting up with old friends, all the sidecar family and enjoying the racing.

More news to follow as it comes……. until then, keep safe, healthy and happy.