The all-conquering Mansfield pairing of Ben Birchall/Tom Birchall, who have proven pretty much unbeatable in recent times, will once again lead away the 3Wheeling.Media Sidecar races of TT 2023.
With nine wins from ten starts over the last five TT meetings, allied to lap records, race records and an outstandingly huge will to win, it’s fair to say it’s going to take special performances from the quality opposition, to stop them upping their TT winning resume in June.
Holder of the two-plate behind fellow Honda powered Birchalls are second quickest, driver/passenger combination in TT history, Pete Founds/Jevan Walmsley (FHO Motorsport).
Third away is Southern 100 lap record holders, another anticipated front running pairing, Ryan Crowe/Callum Crowe (Haven Homes).
Start numbers four and five are assigned to World Sidecars legend Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes (Bonovo Action Racing/Carl Cox Motorsport) and 17 times winner Dave Molyneux (DMR KTM), re-joined by fellow Mountain Course giant Dan Sayle.
Next scheduled to speed down Glencrutchery road are the Anglo/French duo of John Holden/Maxime Vasseur (Barnes Racing).
P7 on the starting order is returning driver Alan Founds/Jake Lowther (Spartan Automotive/Indelible Ink).
Whilst the remainder of the ten seeded driver/passenger-crews feature Gary Bryan/Phil Hyde (SWC Groundworks/TTS Support), triple race winner at last weekend’s Bob Smith Spring Cup Lee Crawford, (passenger to still be confirmed) and previous winners Conrad Harrison/Andy Winkle (Town Garage).
Outside the seeded competitors, added disclosed start numbers include Dan Knight/Ben Hughes (14), Bruce Moore/Mark Gash (23) and Michael Russell/Vicky Cooke (24).
Full re-cap of the TT 2023 Sidecar top 10 seeds:
1 – Ben Birchall/Tom Birchall
2 – Pete Founds/Jevan Walmsley
3 – Ryan Crowe/Callum Crowe
4 – Dave Molyneux/Dan Sayle
5 – Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes
6 – John Holden/Maxime Vasseur
7 – Alan Founds/Jake Lowther
8 – Gary Bryan/Phil Hyde
9 – Lee Crawford/To be confirmed
10 – Conrad Harrison/Andy Winkle
Photo credit: Nick Wheeler
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou