By Alan Founds TT 2024 race week, got off to a great start, increasing his podium finishes tally into triple figures, after an exemplary performance in Sunday’s 3wheeling.media Sidecar race alongside star passenger newcomer, Rhys Gibbons.
On route to P3, Founds and nephew Gibbons lapped ultra close to the 116-mph lap mark (115.984 mph), making Gibbons one of the quickest three wheeling TT debutant passengers, in the meeting’s history.
Speaking on Thursday of qualifying week to Road Racing News, driver Founds, Yamaha powered again for his eighth TT tenure, was delighted with the progress made by his nephew.
“Yeah, he’s doing mega, he’s took to it like a duck cover, he doesn’t seem to be fazed about it too much.
We’re trying to increase the speeds, slowly, slowly but it’s difficult to get me head around what he must be feeling and what he must going through in his first TT.”
“We just need to do as many laps as we can, for Rhys more than anything, being a newcomer around here he needs to do as many laps as he can during practice week.
But the problem with all that, when he starts doing all his laps, he’s getting battered, getting bruised, getting bruise on top of bruise, that’s something that in short circuits don’t prepare you for.
So, with him trying to do that, that’s a bit of a shock to him but he just needs to do laps, but we’ve got to take it gently, we don’t want to beat him up for the race.”
Commenting about what parts of the fabled, mythical Mountain Course have felt more bumpy or smoother compared to in 2023, he stated:
“The usual from Ginger Hall all the way through to Ramsey is bumpy as hell, that’s where Rhys is struggling a little bit because he’s getting bounced everywhere.
But I think when his head adjusts to the speeds, head adjusts to the bumps, he’ll be good, but we forget how bumpy it is.
Because it is a whole twelve months before every time we go out, so every time we come here, we always say bloody hell that’s bumpy, but I think it’s like that every year.”
Photo credit: Nick Wheeler
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou
