Engine Man Mike

Big shout out to the guy who has been looking after our motors and getting just as frustrated as us about what kept blowing them up! Luckily, we’re finally on the right track and have resolved the issue, only 7 engines too late!! Mike Cash, you’ve been amazing an we’re so grateful that you’ve had faith in us and stood by us all year. Looking forward to working with you for another season! Thank you so much Mike! (and Eric!)

Horst…… We haven’t forgotten to mention our lovely friend and engine man Horst, who is recovering well from his medical issues and hopes to be doing ‘a little bit’ of light engine work in the future, haircut permitting!!

FSRA Awards evening

Lisa, Matthew, Wayne, Ben, Nikki, Louisa and Lynda

Managed to get the Binns clan over from the Island and Matthew with Lisa down from Formby for this cracking evening! I think we all scrubbed up pretty well! The Radison Blu Hotel hosted the evening next to Donnington Park and East Midlands Airport, a very lovey facility, never disappoints. The team were joined on the table by Jonny, Katie and Lil Dongo Chloe for the dinner dance and presentations, unbeknown to us, we were awarded Kevin James Lowndes Handicap Race trophy for continuous effort in the face of adversity!! Keeping going no matter how much crap is thrown at us…… we sure did that! Overwhelmed to be awarded any trophy but to be recognised for trying so very hard, the dedication and commitment we have all put in, means so much to all the team. Thank you.

Knockhill FSRA

Last round of the FSRA Championship. Without a doubt, this year has been character building! We’ve tried so hard to resolve the engine failure issues and thinking we’d fixed it for one final shot at the Scottish round was wishful thinking! There hasn’t been anything else we could of done to get this right. Ben, Helen, John, Wayne, Phil, Louisa, we have all put our total commitment and 100% efforts into the whole championship, the whole season and unfortunately, this round wasn’t going to be any different! Its an immense journey for everyone to get up to Knockhill, a first for the team and it really is a great circuit. Wayne had Ben had about 8 laps of testing on Friday, feeling like all was going well, engine was strong, not giving it full throttle as it was another fresh rebuild….. then suddenly, it gave up again. Absolutely gutted! The sudden vibrations through the handle bars meant that Wayne knew it was gone without any major damage but enough to finish the weekend. The problem has been relentless and we are pulling our hair out with it! We have a few more weeks to get some more advice and try anything else that’s suggested, but its not going save this weekend!

We would of liked one last crack at the Lord of Lydden title in October, but with the way things are going, its just not possible. Sadly, that’s the end of our season and we’re disappointed that it had to finish on another non finish.

We would like to thank all of our sponsors and supporters for sticking by us all season and for the many that have jumped in to help at every round. Huge thank you to Dorn Hill Farm Machinery for helping us get to Knockhill at the last minute, Boris and Marin Motorsport for the very kind and generous support, Jonny at Dirty Weekender Van Conversions for his unlimiting passion and support for the team… Still believing, we can do it!

For the marvellous job that the marshals and medics have done around Knockhill and all of the circuits we’ve attended this season, we’d like to take our hats off to you and thank you for the fantastic job you do keeping us racing as safely as possible. Pat and John, Jackie and all the others behind the scenes at the FSRA headquarters, thank you and lets move into 2023 with some great racing ahead.

On a somber note…….. R.I.P HRH Queen Elizabeth……… God Save Our King.

Knockhill, a cracking circuit and well run. Loved it.

Would also like to wish Helen Binns, at Knockhill, a very happy 60th birthday….. although it turned out to be a disappointing race meeting and a very expensive one after she lost her wallet and it was clearly found and not returned! Very cross about that! We did, however, have a lovely evening and enjoyed the laughs!

Onwards and upwards!

Grasstrack in July!

We were asked to help with a big grass track meeting in July down in Abingdon, Dalton Barracks Bonanza, a great friend of ours is on the organisation’s committee and it’s always a great show. I helped on the gate and Wayne marshalled at pit exit. What a meeting….. the track had been well watered through the week so it was in prime condition, unfortunately we had a few showers the first part of the day which we didn’t need but it should hold up. Solos and sidecars from all over the country turned out for this cracking weekend! Sidecars we’re 600 cc’s and 1000 cc’s, absolutely amazing machines, the way they man handle these beasts around the turf if crazy….. and they think road racing is mad! Great to see Trevor Ireson there too, what a lovely bloke and great friend of ours, love you see Les, Michelle and Gary….. top friends…. Lovely company.

An absolutely great weekend, got to catch up with some old friends and family….. Louisa’s uncle Mauro came with Vicky and the children which was a surprise.

Thank you to Mark Mitchell for asking us to be a part of the day….. it was fab and look forward to the next one!

Cadwell Park

Back to Cadwell Park for the 4th Sidecar Festival supported by RKB Motorsport. Always an excellent meeting and a great turn out. From classics to F1 world series outfits, they’re all here. Taxi rides were available for folks to try their hand in the chair and get a feeling of what its like being a few inches off the floor doing 100 mph!

We arrived on thursday evening for testing and it was a beautiful drive up with a cracking sunset. Got the awning up, had a mooch round and settled down for the night. Ben and the gang was arriving on Friday evening so we needed a passenger for testing, just to run the engine in, so Taylor Oldroyd, team and personal friend, said he would jump on. Only a novice but more than capable of helping out for the day and a great opportunity for him to see what an F2 is like as he usually passengers a classic.

The engine was one rebuilt from the TT and was one of our top ones, we picked it up on the way back from the Southern 100 and was looking forward to a great weekend with it in the outfit as it sounded awesome! Phil turned up to help us with the weekends events, which was great to have him back again, a full camp nearly!

We’d just booked the afternoon test sessions which was enough to bed the engine in and prep it for race day when Ben would be on board. First session was very steady and managed a few decent laps with Taylor clinging on!! The boy did good but got himself some arm pump which was going to happen as he was quite nervous before he went out and the acid builds up really quickly! After a good talking to we got him back for the next session, bike running really well and Wayne’s seems quite happy with it. The last session and they get back in a Wayne notices an oil leak with spray on his boot. This cant be happening!! What on earth is going on……. After checking to find the source, we find a new oil fitting was loose and it had leaked into the catch tray, which although was the right thing, it didn’t take away that the engine had run with very little oil in it. After tightening it up and re checking everything, Wayne topped the oil back up and started her up again. It all seemed to run ok but the oil pressure was low and that meant that some damage has probably occurred already…. not good news at all. We let Ben know just to prepare him for the worst before he got here, we know he’d of been gutted as we were but there’s not much we can do. All our other engines were at Mikes waiting to be rebuilt so we were stuck. Anyway, Saturday, practice time, with Ben, Nikki, Miley John, Helen and Dave Hirst all in camp now we were ready to see what was possible. Fuelled up and all running ok, the headed out on the first lap, only to come straight back in with a dubious sounding rattle in our number 1 motor. Absolutely gutted! No other words……. I just wanted to walk off and be away from the camp for a bit and Wayne was totally fed up with the whole thing. We had a really good chance with an awesome engine and this happened. So So sorry for Ben and his family, they have made such a long journey over every meeting only to have no track time because of the breakdowns, its very hard for the moral of the team. I know its racing…… but its also really hard to take on when you put so much into it. We can only get this refreshed, again, and get one of the other engines back as soon as Mike can get it done. To say we are low on funds now is an understatement, we might be able to finish the season at a push but it really is going to be scraping the barrel with engines and tyres.

Any help would be much appreciated, please…… we cannot get the Boris motor in until it has had the once over from Mike and a couple of alterations made, this of course, will cost us too, funds which have depleted to nearly zero now. It’s been the toughest year for Real Racing, we’ve never had all these problems before and it’s been a real test of our dedication, but we. Will crack on the best we can and look forward, not backwards!

Taxi rides were going out and Louisa had got her heart set on another try in the chair…… Mike Jackson said he would take her round for a couple of laps and boy she did an amazing job!! She was a real pro out there, working all the corners, out for the lefts and over for the rights! She was awesome, and totally enjoyed it! What have we started?!

Thank you Mike for looking after Louisa!

waiting in the holding area

Sunday was race day too and we were so pleased when Ben said that he’d been asked to hop on with Dean Harrison for the FSRA wild card race. Dean was riding Conrads Ireson that he’d recently brought and it was a great opportunity for Ben to get some track time in too.

There was a lovely memorial lap too for Roger and Bradley Stockton and our awesome Photographer Jenny Triker Wells, who recently lost her battle with cancer. It was a stunning turn out of outfits and a fitting tribute to them all.

Matty and Lisa came on Sunday for Lisa’s birthday taxi ride, so exciting! She went out for a spontaneous couple of laps in the memorial parade with Mike Russell and the for her taxi ride on the side of Dean Harrison….. you lucky lady, hope you had the best time! I believe that both Lisa and Louisa will be taking their passenger licence course together now!

The crew and chief.

Well after a disappointing weekend for us racing, or lack of it, we were heading off with tails between our legs hoping for a better time at our next meeting at Croft in 2 weeks time. Mike is bringing one of the engines to us on his way back from Thruxton BSB and although it’s not our super TT engine, it’ll hopefully see us through the weekend and get us some much needed points and track time. I have everything crossed and Wayne is quietly optimistic, trust me, your confidence in your machine does tend to waiver a bit after so many breakdowns, so I really do hope this gets some of it back for the whole team but Wayne especially.

Thank you so much for everyone’s patience and support through the weekend, to Mike Dommett for a well run meeting as usual, to the orange army and medics, Tony and Emily Brennan, awesome to see our Island friends. Cracking company, Nikki and Miley, perfect weather….. Weldone to all the teams that took part in another successful sidecar bash and looking forward to the next one!

Southern 100

Before I fill you in on the next racing adventure of 2022, there is someone who we are over whelmed by their generosity…….. Mr Boris Stroud of Marin Motorsport. After reading our face book post from Anglesey and seeing our predicament, he very kindly, and surprisingly, sourced us a whole bike with our CBR 600 rr engine that we can use for our outfit. Had this opportunity had not of happened, we may of had to finish our race season early as we just cannot keep losing engines and trying to find the money to get them rebuilt. There’s only so much you can do before you have to say ‘that’s it for this year’! Matty went and collected it and we should have it with us over the next few weeks, then it can start being prepped for the sidecar. Its a season saver and we are utterly grateful. Thank you Boris for your support.

Back to the Southern 100, Another early hours ferry, arrived to a quite paddock and set up camp. Always love this meeting, its well run by the Southern 100 club and all the hard work that goes into it shows as its always so popular with race fans. A little over 4 miles around this road circuit, quite bumpy sections and very fast sections…. all in all its very exciting for racers and spectators.

The weather was perfect and with Matty arriving on Sunday evening, Wayne took Ben out for the Church service at St Lupus, Malew Church…… of course it means they get to do a couple of laps on the open road on the sidecar as these are memorial laps for our fallen friends, so its always an honour to be allowed to do it., and the vicar always blesses the outfit too!

Great to Mark and Sarah here too… this is Sarahs’ holiday and has been since she was a baby! Many many thanks for all your help Mark too, we really appreciate it. Good to catch up!

Monday signing on for the boys, give the outfit a good going over and get ready for the last practice session of the evening, usually about 8.15pm, with low sun and lots of flies! I got a feeling something’s not right, can quite believe this again…… we have a tired standard engine as a spare so Wayne has made a hard decision to change engines and hope for the best, we cant risk the bike cutting out or seizing up mid race so lets get on with it. We did have a bit of neighbourly brain waves as Mark Gash asked to look at our fuel…… he said ‘pour some fuel in a glass for me’…… well we just thought he wanted a drink…..you never know……. but after careful examination, he told us there’s a problem with the fuel, the same fuel we’d used at the TT and Anglesey! After checking the spec sheet that we hadn’t received with the fuel, we found it contained a fairly high level of ethanol which is unsuitable for our engine and would of caused/contributed to the catastrophic failures that our engines suffered.

I cant quite explain the emotions to this news, on one hand so pleased we’d actually found the problem and on the other hand, gutted we didn’t think to change the fuel before. We just assumed our fuel was top notch like it always has been in the past. You just never know i guess! anyway. with the old fuel drained out and some new fresh fuel from Alan Thomas and team, we had a few minutes to spare to get through scrutineering and go out for qualifying! What a rush but we did it and the bike ran well too! Relief at last!!

Our John keeping an eye on proceedings!


Ready for race one on Wednesday, excited and raring to go. We had our full team around us with Ben, Nikki and Miley, Helen and John, Stu and Jenn, Dirty Weekender Van Conversions, Jonny, Nick, Chloe, Jacob and their awesome bunch of friends. With the racers on the start line, myself and Lisa went to watch at Ballakieghan which was very fast and close to the wall! an absolutely cracking few laps, with some very close and nail biting racing……. Barry and Pauline, Mattys dad and mum, we’re just up from us and they were so happy to see them both out there, having a proper race up towards the front where they should be. Crossing the line they finished in 4th place…… really happy for the whole team as we needed that, most of all for Wayne and Matty…. finally they got to show everyone what a great team they make together. With the right equipment, working properly, they can get themselves back up there and start to enjoy racing again!

close battle with Conrad and Winkie.

Race 2 on thursday, a little earlier in the day so it meant the sun wasn’t too low which makes a huge difference on the start line. Wayne had a good start but the teams up front left the second part of the group and had their own battle. Wayne and Matty we having one the best races i seen with them both, along side was Conrad and Greg lambert. Some very close and fast out breaking manoeuvres, exciting and nail biting overtaking, three a breast coming past us at Ballakeigan…… with the Crowe team up front having spun off, it meant 3rd place was up for grabs. On the very last lap, although Wayne and Matty were right in the thick of it, the tired engine just didn’t have enough power to get past Greg and Conrad…… so at the flag they took a stunning 5th place finish. Weldone team!!

photo by Neil Jones

Louisa-May, Me and Lisa

Radio commentary by DJ Karl and DJ Ben

Nikki giving Miley her first flying lesson!

Let the celebrations begin Jonny, Stu and Jenn.

Real Racing would like to thank everyone who’s help us so far this year, we always welcome new supporters and sponsors, and after the season so far, we have so much more to prove how good we are as a team. One person i’m extremely glad to see at the Southern this year, is our dear friend Horst. It wasn’t that long ago that he was seriously ill in hospital with, what i can only describe as a broken heart….. so glad you were there, weldone to Keith and Al for dragging you there!!

Despite the half smile, I really do think you enjoyed yourself Horst!

Anglesey

Welcome to very windy Anglesey for round 3 of FSRA British Championship, Ben, Helen, John and Miley and our Phil had got here and we were all trying to hang on to our flags and awnings getting set for practice in the morning. We had the engine in from the TT and it was appearing to be ok, after all we’d had a solid finish on the Island.

Topped up with fuel and ready to go, Wayne and Ben had a sunny but breezy few laps to go and blow away the TT blues……… But it had reared its ugly head yet again……….. the problem was back! With all other engines either waiting to be repaired or scrap, we were struggling to get anywhere fast, let alone out on track!

We had racked our brains, the cells of anyone with good engine knowledge, and anyone with a half sensible suggestion! There had been tears, tantrums, towels nearly thrown in and just about every other emotion you can throw at us, but still we couldn’t solve this costly problem .Was it water, oil, fuel, sensors, components or something even more simple that we just wasn’t spotting? All the data appeared to be normal, out Motec man has done all the usual checks and was left stumped as we all were.

Our Anglesey meeting was over for the race side of things, and we can only thank Ben and his wonderful family for their commitment at travelling so far for hardly any racing, thanks to Phil for showing up to help too and just getting ear ache, and to everyone who’s helping us and supporting us…..we’re sorry we’ve had no results for you. However, we did decide to put something to good use and that was to do a sponsored head/beard shave to raise funds for our lost team members families from the TT, Roger, Bradley, Ceasar and for Olivier who will need continued medical care on his very long recovery.

Barber Binzy and Bald Bob

With team ’Boss’ Miley, going around the club house shaking her bucket and Ben taking clippers in hand, the beard was going, going, gone….then the clippers slipped right over the head too….. One bald Bob! But just as he’d finished…. good friend Beryl Bridson stepped forward and raised the stakes to have her head shaved too!!! Good on ya Beryl!! Can’t believe the level of support from all of the club house ……. both solo and sidecar teams were extremely generous with their donations and we all had an absolutely cracking time. At the end of the night and with a few more donation sent in afterwards, we raised a total of £900 for both teams. The money has been split equally and the GoFundMe pages both received £450 each. Absolutely amazing…thank you Wayne, Beryl, Barber Binzy and all of the supporters. Nothing can ever replace our loved ones but we can help to create something special to remember them always.

Racing on Sunday was cancelled due to the extreme wind which was deemed unsafe for either solos or sidecars….. usually you can let the chairs out and they’ll cope with most weather but this was stormy and being right on the west coast next to the sea meant the circuit take full force of the conditions.

We all decided to pack up a bit earlier and head off, despite this it still took us nearly 6 hours, but its a beautiful coastline across north Wales and we enjoyed the views.

Thank you to Anglesey Circuit, the orange army, medics and all the organisers…. tough decisions had to be made but understandable.

Anglesey circuit, wild but beautiful, love it here.

Donnington Park

Round 2

Sunny Donnington Park for round 2 of the FSRA British Championship, leathers all sorted and back from Scott Leathers, looking absolutely awesome thanks Jim! Outfit has been prepped and and is sounding great, we have Ben on board and a fantastic team around us, John and Helen Binns and Phil Bridge, oooh and team Boss Miley Binns!!

Timed qualifying, nice and steady, Wayne had some playing with the gearing to do so with a few laps under the belt they qualified 10th on the grid for the race which was coming up after lunch break.

Race 1:- After an incident on circuit the race was re-started and they had 1 warm up and 7 lap race, usually they would get 10/12 laps so it was quite a short race for the FSRA round. All ok in the incident and a cracking race, outfit running well and team working great together…. solid 6th place for Wayne and Ben!

Race 1: 6th place

Sunday morning, 10 minutes warm up and the weathers good, cloudy but dry. Race 2…… A busy grid with a few retirements, luckily not us but we did have a slipping clutch so 9th place finish was a result and a few more points in the bag. A brilliant weekend, some awesome racing and we cant believe how well the engine has held up considering it hasn’t done much for 3 years, needless to say its heading off to be refreshed. Many thanks to Phil Bridge for your hard work prepping the outfit for the boys and to Ben and his family for all their commitment to the team which has made us stronger! Really hard not having Louisa with us this weekend as she stayed at home to look after the animals and went to work… missed you like crazy!

TT is our next outing….. fingers crossed for great racing, amazing weather and some memories to be proud of.

Thank you everyone for your support, as usual, we cant do it without you!

Brand Hatch 1st round of British Championship

22nd - 24th April…. First round of the FSRA British Championship with the legend, Ben Binns in the chair. A long trip to the Kent circuit, but one Wayne in very familiar with and Bens has got to grips with it after the last round there. Outfit is nearly prepped and a new set of tyres will be on, at last!! Lorry is getting there…. that’s all i can say about that!! On a serious note, the lorry conversion has been a massive project and one that Wayne has undertaken virtually single handed. Huge thanks goes to Nathan and Russ for helping with the technical jobs, and we’d like to thank Joe and Jess, Nathan and Sarah for very kindly looking after the hound while we’ve been at racing. It means everything to know the she’s in such good, caring hands! Thank you.

23rd April - So the official start of the FSRA British championship. Ben, Nikki-Leigh and Miley, John and Helen, Phil and Louisa-May are all here and ready for the first warm up. Ben has his new lid from Shark and new leathers from Scott Leathers, a comfort fit shall we say, but he persisted with them. We will be looking for a slight alteration on them, but, they look great now they match up with Waynes.

That look of concentration!

Many thanks to the photographer, email me and ill add you name to the shot as its not on there!

Warm up/qualifying session started on time Saturday morning, with 22 outfits on the grid it was going to be a busy and very competitive 10 minutes! The weather was cloudy but at least it was dry, and it made great handling for the outfit. We got a 4th place position to star the race after lunch, and with the outfit re fuelled and new tyres on, we were looking for some good times.

Out for Race 1 for the sidecars, busy off the start line and a strong pack throughout. Plenty of close competition with Ramsdens and Jackson/Roberts, great work by all teams on a very tight race .Fastest lap was 80.93 after the 18.120 mile race. Finishing a solid 5th place with Race 2 tomorrow after lunch.

Sunday, Race2…….after an overnight shower of rain, track conditions were a little bit unpredictable in places but not enough to change the tyres for. After a quick warm up session, the outfits were back out on the grid ready for race. Very grateful to all of our sponsors who have supported us through this round, but we’ve enjoyed the competitive racing and and friendly banter throughout the team! A very busy pack up the front of the race after a reverse 6 start, Wayne and Ben stayed out of trouble of sat safely up front having an awesome dice with Steve and Matty Ramsden who just pipped them and leaving the team to finished in 4th place with a fastest lap time of 83.02 after 15 laps.

Great shot……By ? Please let me know…..

Weldone to all the teams and we look forward to seeing everyone at Donnington Park on the 14/15th May for round 2, just a week and a half before the TT!

Updates as we go, leathers are on there way back to be altered and TT passenger Matty Rostron will have his before the TT, the big event of the year after 2 years with no road races! Ben will be in camp on the Island to help the team, Phil Bridge is making the journey out to do the bike preparation and support the team. After some cracking races this weekend, we also had some great laughs as a team, and we have a new bottle flipping champion…….. Ben! Louisa and Miley did a track walk on Saturday evening and gave the boys some useful pointers. Great to meet Nikki and Miley, and thank you to John and Helen for their support and friendship. Our Phil has done a stunning job prepping the outfit before and after each outing and his help is invaluable.

Update on Horst, he’s having hospital support with various issues but he’s home and recovering well, although he is unable to manage the TT, we hope he will be fit enough to make the Southern 100 as it wouldn’t be the same without him!!

Great team work this weekend and a great time had by all…….. just one thing……Ben…….step away from the stickers!

Thanks as always to the orange army, medics, organisers and all of our sponsors and supporters. Next update will be from Donnington Park ,again with NGRRC, and the 2nd round of the FSRA British Championship.

photo by Gary French

Taking a lift back to the paddock!



Silverstone. Team Bob & Matty

The weather had taken a turn and we were heading up to Silverstone with minus temperatures for the next 48 hours. Its only an hour and 15 minutes away so we had a really nice drive up, filling up the lorry with fuel on the way was a huge dent in the budget and hence why we would absolutely love a fuel sponsor to come on board and support the team! Anyone got a spare fuel card and interested in advertising on the outfit? Anyway… Matty and Lisa were joining us again this weekend for the second time and this would be another test, riding in the cold as a pose to the previous weeks beautiful sunshine!

Going out for practice on a very cold morning!

holding bay

Cheers John!

Thank you to BEMSEE for a great weekend, the medics and marshalls and all the organisers.

Qualified 10th as the tyres were so cold and it was the national circuit which Wayne hasn’t been to for many years.

Race 1 ….. Sitting amongst some first class teams, the boys went off with a good start, towards the front with a mix of F2’s, F1’s and the Crowe outfit with its Triumph powered motor. 8 laps under some tricky conditions but the team were looking strong and smooth. Coming over the start finish at the end of the last lap, they took 5th place and listed as the first F2! Wayne and Matty came back to the garage positive, and very confident that the outfit was running really sweet. The tyres are actually pretty shot but they had enough in them for the next race……or two! After Phil had re fuelled and done all the pre race checks, it was break time and a bit of a wait until the next race of the day.

The weather was not on our side as it had started to snow and that was causing massive problems for the solos. There were numerous delays and they eventually decided that were would be doing our second race the next morning when conditions were better. We had a lovely evening standing up on the decked terrace of the Brooklands suite/bar for the presentations, overlooking the circuit. Brilliant place to watch from if you get the chance.

Waking up to a very frosty morning, the previous days race was called and we had an early start. Taking all the positives from the previous day, the team were on good form and headed out to the holding bay for the next race. I watched from the Brooklands area and it didn’t dissapoint. It was an awesome race with some very fast cornering and over taking moves! The team had an excellent few laps and saw a last minute battle with George Holden on his F1, as they crossed the finish line in 5th place, 3rd F2! Brilliant racing, throroughly enjoyed watching! As the next race was after a short break, and the tyres wern’t going to perform as well as Wayne needed them to, they decided to head off on the back of the grid and just play with the tyres, Matty’s ability to adjust to the conditions and it gave Wayne a chance to play with the throttle a bit to see how the outfit would handle as they tried to warm the rubber up! This was excellent for both of them and they pulled a few places up to get a solid, safe finish which will go towards the TT qualification. Overall, a great technical race for the team and Wayne and Matty were both chuffed to bits.

The weather decided to be unpredictable for the rest of the morning and as lunch was called, we all decided that they had done what they came to do and totally enjoyed it, so we made the decision to pack up and head home. Its been a great weekend, learnt alot from the outfit and the handling in tricky conditions. Wayne and Matty are both really pleased with how its all progressed and they have enjoyed working together. The next outing for the duo will be at the TT. Can’t wait!! We would like to say an enormous ‘thanks’ to John Lowther who is supporting the team and our Phil for all of his help.

Our next meeting is with Ben back in the chair for the first round of the British Championship at Brands Hatch at the end of April. Lots of work to do until then, to the outfit and the lorry!

Loving it!!

Huge hugs and love to our dear friend Horst, who is currently a poor boy in hospital. He’s in very good hands and we hope he will make a speedy recovery!

See you all at Brands and remember, if you have a business and would like to see it on our outfit at the TT, or you’d just like to see your name on the bike for the season, give us a shout via email and i’ll get back to you with all the info….. 110realracing@gmail.com

Croft - Wayne and Matty

Heading up to Croft for the NEMCRC meeting, 4 and a bit hours for us but it was a fair journey. On board this weekend was our TT and Southern 100 passenger, Matthew Rostron, from Formby, Liverpool. Myself and Wayne had been looking forward to meeting up with Matty ,along with his girlfriend Lisa, and getting some time on the outfit together as its getting closer to ‘the greatest road race in the world’! The weather was absolutely perfect, not a cloud in the sky, parked up and went to sign on. Nice to see so many sidecar teams there, Conrad, Moly, Maria Costello, Darren Hope, Lee Crawford, Greg Lambert, Mike Russel, Tony Thirkel, Lewis Blackstock to name just a few. Wayne has only been to Croft on a couple of occasions and Matty knows it pretty well so getting out for qualifying would prove to be a good test for them both to see how they work together.

Louisa on cleaning duty!

Qualifying 5th with a lap time of 1.34.864, good start to the day, Wayne and Matty altered a couple of things to suit each other better, but on the whole, very happy.

Race one……Great race, excellent teams out there, the team had a good start but just couldn’t quite get the pace up, still learning each others ways and that’s going to take a good few laps! However, a very strong 5th place, 4th F2 and they held their own for a fantastic finish. Best time - 133.770. Picking up nicely.

Race 2…… Again , a great start, moved up one place due to a retirement from Crawford, picking off the seconds for an absolutely cracking race with Conrad, coming in 4th , 3rd F2 with a best lap time of 1.32.499.

Very happy team, minor adjustments made to the fairing for Matty and a chat with the driver for his needs and the boys had got it sorted. A brilliant day with some great results to be moving forward with, considering the two have never ridden together, it was flippin awesome!

Heading to holding bay for Sundays 1st race.

After a chilled evening with Matty and Lisa and Louisa-May, we got a bit of a lie in with the later start for sunday, woke up to another beautiful sunny day. re fuelled, changed the front tyre yesturday, the rear and chair tyres were holding out ok so no other changes needed to be made.

Race 3… Good start and holding a strong pace, first few laps were on the noise and the team were in a good position, best lap time was in lap 3 with a 1.32.783, towards the end of the race the pace had dropped slightly due to the outfit seeming to be low on fuel… still finished in 3rd place and an all round smooth finish with good track times.

You got to love this one!!!!

Race 4…… After some much needed fuel and tyre check, the last race of the day was here, the Mac Hobson trophy race, it was between Wayne and Conrad and they both wished each other the best of luck! A good start from all the teams, although our rear tyre was pretty shot by this point but it didn’t stop Wayne and Matty pushing as hard as they could. The track was warm and the crowds were out in force, it was a fantastic race and they managed a solid 3rd place with a best lap time of 1.32.272 which is our best this weekend.

Superb weekend, excellent racing and fantastic company. The team worked really well and Wayne and Matty had an excellent first weekends racing together. All good moving forward to Silverstone next weekend with BEMSEE for the pairings second outing together. Preparation work continues for the TT 2022 which is looming ever closer, and we are really looking forward to a fast and safe season.

Many thanks to Matthew and Lisa for being there this weekend, its been great getting to know you both and seeing Wayne race again is spot on! Great to meet Matthews Mum and Dad, Barry and Pauline, Lisa’s family too……

Many thanks to NEMCRC for an excellent weekends racing, very well organised, massive shout out to the orange army and the medics. Please can we get an ice cream van next time! I think Maria Costello has jinxed the weather by saying its going to snow for Silverstone, so i’m glad we had this sunny time to enjoy for a while! Cheers mate! See you all next week.

Brands Hatch with BEMSEE and Binzy!!

Saturday 12th March 2022….. the journey down to Brands Hatch in Kent was a relatively smooth one, Ben, John and Helen had the long haul trip from the Isle of Man to join us on our first outing of 2022. Parked up next to Rob Hancock and Shaun Parker, their first time out together too, prepping for the TT.

Saturday morning was a little bit damp out on circuit but no water lying and it was drying out quickly. Wayne and Ben went out and had a good qualifying session, finishing 5th on the grid and first F2. Some top teams out there this weekend so we were looking forward to some excellent racing.

Our good friend Phil Bridge came along to help with race preparation of the outfit and to keep Wayne calm…… it worked most of the time! Phil was an excellent passenger to the late great Bill Currie and has a huge passion for hill climbs in his little Morgan, who he had many great times with his late wife Margaret. What a team they were!

Race 1, a full grid, great conditions, F1’s and F2’s. Wayne and Ben got a good start and made their way up through from 5th on the grid. Times were looking good and the pack were spacing out now, following a couple of retirements from some of the teams and after 10 laps, the boys came in with a fastest lap time of 53.308 and finishing second - first F2. Ben has never been to this track before, so for us, it was even more of an achievement for the first time out! Very happy, outfit running sweet and the team had gelled well together again after the winter break.

Race 2, Good line up again, starting on the 3rd row, Wayne and Ben were set for another exciting few laps, and they didn’t disappoint! a nudge from a long bike tucked them onto the turf but Wayne managed to bring the outfit straight back out only for the race to be halted due to an incident on the next lap. The race was restarted for a 5 lap dash and they had a cracking race, finishing 5th, 2nd F2, with the fastest F2 lap of the race at 52.944.

Overall a fantastic day and great team work from Wayne and Ben, A tyre change, re fuel and minor suspension adjustment was all that was needed, engine sweet and everything else good. Awards evening at the Hexagon which is always a good craic and look forward to another well run BEMSEE race day.

Bob and Binzy with their awards.

Sunday…….. Rain!!! Track wet from night rain, slightly drying out in places but the clouds were all around, the team got up to the grid for the first race of the day, only for the heavens to open and as they left the startline for the warm up lap, Wayne and Ben both felt the track was getting greasy and pretty wet so they decided to pull up. Following that the race was red flagged due to the rain and they called lunch to see if it would pass. The race continued after lunch break, but the track was still very wet and it was very poor conditions for a fast race, so having nothing to prove in the rain and slicks on, it was going to be a race day for the team. We felt really bad that Ben came so far and didn’t get to race on the Sunday, but its like he said,’ you wouldn’t want to go out and wreck yourselves or the outfit just for the sake of it’, so we packed up and headed home.

The whole weekend was absolutely brilliant, the team worked so well together, Wayne and Ben have really gelled on the outfit, making a first class team in preparation for the British Championship starting back at Brands Hatch in April. A huge thank you to the organisers, orange army and medics, you were really up against it at times! Thank you for everyones’ help and support. we look forward to the next meeting.

Real Racing - British Championship here we come!

Happy boy!!

Its been a long time!!!

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!

Wayne, Chloe, Johnny, Joe and Corrin.

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…..

Wayne and Kez

Dongo and Team

Our great friend John.

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.

Having a chat with yer maun

Laxey Beach at its best.

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

Get pushing Bob!

Horst and Shaggy with their EMRA Championship win!

A rare but stunning image!!

Ian Bell, legend and gent.

Sir Jackie Stewart taking the bars at the TT.

Mallory Park, Three Wheeling

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 Donnington Park

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 ..

Thank you Mark

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!

The One! Cheshire Cat time!

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!!

Shelly and Wayne having a laugh!!

Ben and Ken!

Three Wheeling

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.




Not going to plan!!

Second practice and the weather is perfect again........... Out for another lap, all seems to be ok but then yet another set back....... engine decides to blow, piston 3 has packed up and another retirement during practice. Thats engine number 1 too so we're pretty gutted about that! Wayne , teddy and kenny work on the outfit the next day to change to the number 2 engine but we didnt quite make it out in time for the 3rd practice session!

31st May...............Practice.................. out with our #2 motor in. should be strong, holding up well through Glen Helen, over Ballaugh, heading down Sulby straight.............BANG!!!!

Thats the engine rodding itself, engine ruined. Nothing can be done about it, just pull over and sit tight until ACU pick the boys up! Not had this sort of bad luck for a long time!!

However....... The saddest news of the evening was that the very talented and experienced road racer, from the Island, Dan Kneen, had been tragically killed. A freak accident...... none of us could believe it! A huge shock around the paddock. RIP Dan.....thinking of all the family and friends.

To finish the night off on a sad note, an incident involing a course car and Steve Mercer, another very experienced racer, left Steve critically injured and flown to Aintree. We have heard that his condition is said to be stable. Sending our very best wishes for a speedy recovery. 

Not to put a finer point on it, but we're not having the best TT so far! We have to change to motor number 3 before the race but we've encountered some problems.The sandwich plate which the oil cooler connects to, is badly damaged from the blow out and so we have to find someone on the island to can make another peice to fit it! A trip into Ramsey, get it made, back to the paddock, fit it.......oil still leaks!!! ARRGHHHHH!!!!.. Race day tomorrow!

We go back and get another bit ground down and borrow a bit from Nigel Smith, but even with all the will in the world, we cant spot the problem for the oil leak! Race 1 is going to be going up for scruteneering soon and we're not ready, we cant race without the oil cooler on.... it could blow this engine too. Thats it.....I have to officially withdrawl us from Race 1. This has never happened to Wayne before....we're all really disspondant!! 

We watched from the Nook and after the start of the race it was, unfortunately red flagged, an incident involving Tony Baker and his passenger, daughter Fiona. Both were taken to hospital and are said to be recovering slowly. Get well soon both of you...... Wayne has you teeth Tony...OK?

Heads together........measuring everything down to the last tenth of a millimeter......we've found it! Back to Ramsey to see our chap one more time! Another piece made and it fits the cooler!!

Sorted............. Time for a few laps round Jurby testing and running the engine in before practice on wednesday. all ok........

Wednesday practice evening............... bit of a rush getting up to scrutinering..... had a change of gear box, which isnt a 5 minute job! Wayne and Kenny had to get into leathers and i was left on my own to get the outfit into parc ferme!! Im pretty strong but why havnt these machines got power steering?? Luckily, Paul Lusty, our friend from WMB, We Move Bikes, was on hand to help me, and Kenny got back just in time to push the outfit through. Its going to be tight......the time was ticking, the Birchalls had already gone off down Bray Hill......I really didnt think the official was going to let us out but we got up onto the start line just in time...... last off the grid......a little slipping incident leaves me with an injured wrist but i was just glad to see hem get out for practice!!

A good lap, the bike seemed to be running well, perfect conditions yet again.... 105. lap time, cut slighty short as they were sending the solos out off the pit lane, so the actual lap time was a little faster than that, last sector time was 109 at Cronk y Mona. Thats more like it!

Race 2

Finally, we have the chance of doing a full race and this would be end of a very stressful coupe of weeks........ They set off in position 16...... thats ok...... Not too much traffic around...... passing through each section and bring in some decent times. Lap 2 nearly done, we an hear them coming down govenours, out of the dip and........wow........so close to the pit lane wall!!!! The bike sounded sharp and a reasonable time coming round..........

Where are they at the Glen Helen sector???? They didnt go through.....what now!??? A marshall grabs us and informs us that they had to retire at Crosby!! A cracking place to stop if youre going to break down!! However...we needed to know what had happend so i phoned the pub and Wayne came on....... 'Whats happened now?' i said... 'the chassis has broken' Wayne replied..

We could not believe it!! The beautiful Ireson has had a real breakdown and decided to finish this TT in style!! Wayne believes there could of been an issue over the mountain section but by the time they got to Bray Hill on the last lap, he realised the outfit just wasnt handling right and his toes were pretty close to the floor.... too close for comfort!! Crosby was the best place to pull in and settle down to watch the senior race. Eventually, after a non productive phone call to get the recovery vehicle to collect them... it didnt...... Wayne and Kenny made it back to the paddock. Tired, fed up, but safe.

As for the outfit..... well she will be staying on the island to be mended by the capable hands of Moly and we'll collect her ready for the Southern 100 in July.

Lets hope we can have a more succesful race then and move forward from all the events of this years TT. It can only get better!!

Thoughts too for the family and friends of Adam Lyons, sadly killed during his time on the island. another young and talented racer taken too soon.... RIP

Many Many thanks go out to the marshalls, medics, scrutineers, organisers, security, office staff, timekeepers.....oh wow... sorry if ive forgotten any one.

Huge thanks to all our sponsors and friends who came and supported us, sorry we could get any further this year, well try again in 2019!! Hopefully the weather will be as fantastic for the Southern 100,. We have had wall to wall sunshine for 2 weeks.... its made it all so much more bearable and the Manx ice cream taste better!!

Huge 'THANK YOU' to Neil Jones @ Crovan Imaging for all of his help, support and supplying all the best action shots he could get of us for the time the boys were actually racing!!  

Thank you to Kenny for hopping on at short notice and the lovely Shirley for keeping us in stitches for the fortnight!

A memerable one for sure!!

 

 

First practice

All set up and ready for the off..... we've had a couple of days to do some preparations, fitted the new wheel arch...eventually! That was entertaining, as was the paint job...... hence we now have a plain arch until graphics go on! Wayne and Kenny have a bit of a rush round before scruteneering, fueling and tyres pressures, although we've had Teddy, Stu Castles, doing a grand job on the spanners and giving Wayne a hand with whatever needs doing. Paddock is running well....except for a little fire up the top!! OMG.....that was a bit of a scarey moment.... we belive it was an electric bike that ingnited on ingnition, but was contained within the teams lorry, no one hurt so thats the main thing!

With only a few minutes left to get through technical bay, Wayne and Kenny got themselves ready to go, but then Wayne noticed the beather pipe was missing, so Stu ran back to the awning to get it. In the mean time, the other outfits were heading off down Bray Hill and Wayne nd Kenny had to go from the back! After a super sweaty run back, the pipe was fitted and they were off!

Myself and Stu ran to the Nook where Wayne was going to pull in and ajust the chain, as we approached the Goveners roundabout, the first bikes go through....John Holden, Birchalls, Founds, Moly.....We got to the Nook where Tony, Sean and the others were waiting for us. Wayne hant gone through yet but it gave us a minute or two for a breather!

Here they come!!!! There they go!! WHATTTT!!!! Did they forget, no......Did they decide it was ok...No......Why then......

They were at the paddock, pulled in as Kennys visor had come off at Brandish and it woud not only be dangerous, but impossible to continue without it! Glad theyre both ok though, bike running very well, weather is dreamy but very nasty with midgies!! Mozzies are having a lovey evening supper of human legs!!

So with all the hassle in mind, they did a 95.82.....not the fastest but back ok and hopefully will make steady improvment tonight!

Stay Cool!! Updates to follow.......

Its been a long time coming!!! Sorry!

What can i say???? I have had, no, we have had, a year of ups and downs.....

From last years TT and Southern 100 we have had some fantastic finishes and some real low points, let me explain!

As usual, we arrived for the TT, positive and virtually prepared.... Wayne and Mark get set up, pick up the fuel, pretty much the standard routine that needs to happen to get ready for practice week.

The Manx weather can be a little temperamental at times, no more so this year! With limited practice sessions for all riders, they use what time they had and came in with some decent times, obviously saving the engines for the races but ensuring some good qualifying times.

As this year has flown by, my memory of every detail has elapsed, but i can give you race times and finishes, i hope thats ok!?

Race 1

lap time.....  1. 21.09.939  2. 20.44.321   3.  21.08.912

finish position...... 10th

Race 2

lap time....  1.  21.17.263   2.  20.44.172   3.  20.45.267

finish position..... 9th

A few bugs on the mountain!!  Practice night.                                &n…

A few bugs on the mountain!!  Practice night.                                                              photo by Neil Jones

 

So, still a fantastic couple of top ten finishes......however, a fueling problem left us feeling a little cheated of some better times. We had put everything into the engines that we thought would make a marked improvement with our times but it wasn't to be this year!!

A bitter sweet TT, but a safe journey home! 

The Southern 100 was Wayne and Marks highest finishes to date and some of their top performances too. Its an exciting circuit and its not everyones cup of tea, but the boys love it! As a spectator, you get to see some amazing racing from sidecars and those two wheel jobs... but both leave you with your stomach in your throat!!

Race Results

Race 6.......3rd place...... total time...16.10.409 ...      average speed... 94.599.... best time... 2,39.040...     best speed....  96.202 in lap 3.

Race 12..... 2nd Place...... total time.... 13.21.140 ...     average speed...  95.489  ...  best time... 2.38.391... best speed...  96.596 in lap 2.

Thats better!! To say we enjoyed the Southern 100 would be an understatement!! Two podium finishes, among some fine champions in their own right and racing hard, fast and enjoying every second......

Of course...... None of this would of been possible without the help and generosity of one Mr Horst Walczak!! A true legend.... He lent us his engine as he was unable to race this year, and through his kind and generous nature, he was a gentleman and loaned us his prized engine. We would not of had these finishes without him and we would like to say a huge THANK YOU...

We owe you a couple of pints then Horst!!?? You're a top bloke....... see you on the Island then eh???

We left the Island on a high and vowed to sort out the TT issues.... no further race plans had been sorted, but next season was looking to be promising for some top racing...... however, not to be......

Mark had decided to have a break from being a passenger, we were gutted!! Its not too far away from the TT and we have to sort out a new  passenger, get signatures for the mountain course license and prepare ourselves for change!!

Thank you Mark!! We're going to miss having you on board!Photo by Mrs Bob

Thank you Mark!! We're going to miss having you on board!

Photo by Mrs Bob

Not a fun place to be and in reality, we were pushing it for time! Luckily we managed to borrow one Mr Kenny Cole, and experienced passenger and capable of getting some strong finishes. We have gained one of the final two signatures at Silverstone with BEMSEE, and the second one last weekend at Caldwell Park, again with BEMSEE. 

3 weeks left before Wayne leaves for the Island and we have most of the plans in place now, always a rush, lots of driving around picking up parts and visiting sponsors for that last late influx of cash for the necessary tyres and fuels etc.

I will keep on top of this blog now I'm up to date with it..... some new photos to be loaded on and don't forget to click the picture which will take you straight to Instagram for updates throughout the races!!

See you there!!!  

 

 

 

Not long now!!

Hi there, it's been a while since my last post, sorry about that, it's all been a bit manic, as it is this time of year!!  27th May is qualifying/practice for solos and sidecars on 29th. We have a lot of work to do for the preparation, unfortunately that has meant a lot of time off work to sort out testing and collecting parts. We have put everything into the outfit that could possibly be done for this years most famous race and with Wayne in the drivers seat and Mark passengering for the fourth season, the boys really have got a brilliant team and trusting bond. Its taken Wayne years to get to this level, with Mark by his side, they have come so far, doing brilliantly over the last four years and with them aiming for the best possible finish each time, they have proved they've earnt their place in the top 10!

Wayne will be arriving on the Island over the next couple of days and Mark and Sarah by the end of the week. I will be heading across the water as soon as i can and can't wait!

We hope to see as many of our friends, helpers, sponsors on the Island and hope that everyone taking part has a successful and safe race,.

A very clever and kind man who has been following us over the last few years, has kindly produced a fab video of last years TT shots.....thank you to Neil Jones at Crovan Images......We hope you enjoy!! 

Real Racing F2 sidecar team, by Neil Jones, Music by Boneshaker

On a somber note.... Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Nicky Hayden...RIP.