Birchalls break sidecar lap record again to win second race

Mansfield duo set new 120.65mph benchmark with emphatic performance

Ben & Tom Birchall smashed the sidecar TT lap record yet again as they took another emphatic win in today' Sidecar TT Race 2.

The Mansfield duo recorded a fastest lap of 120.645mph on lap two, eclipsing their record set in the previous race of 120.357mph, on their way to victory.

Elsewhere Pete Founds & Jevan Walmsley secured another second-placed finish, also setting a new personal best of 120.079mph in the process, with Ryan & Callum Crowe returning to the podium this afternoon in third.

Having won the opening sidecar event at the weekend whilst smashing the sidecar lap record, Ben & Tom Birchall led proceedings from early on in today's contest with a 4.5 second gap to Founds & Walmsley in second going into lap two whilst the Crowe brothers were making up the top three 15.7 seconds further back.

As they had in race one, the Birchalls then upped their pace heading into the halfway stage to within the speed of their own new lap record of 120.357mph to open their advantage over their rivals further.

And coming past the Grandstand for a second time the Birchalls tore up the record books again to break the sidecar lap record once more, this time managing 120.645mph.

Elsewhere, Founds & Walmsley in second also set a new standard of themselves on lap two with their fastest ever lap of the TT course at 119.887mph as their lead over the third-placed Crowe brothers had grown to just over 30 seconds going into the final run.

Into the final stages of lap three, the Birchalls continued to maintain 120mph lap pace with a 14-second gap to Founds & Walmsley behind who were also pushing the 120mph lap mark to keep the Crowes at bay.

As was the case at the conclusion of race one, the Birchalls took the chequered flag and their 14th TT victories.

Coming home second having cut the gap to the Birchalls to just 9.1 seconds, there was not just another podium for Founds & Walmsley but they did so having broken the 120mph mark themselves at 120.079mph on their final lap to finish 47 seconds clear of Ryan & Callum Crowe who went on to take their first podium of this year's campaign.

The next race takes place this afternoon with the four-lap Supersport TT Race 2 at 2pm.