Arrived on the island early morning…. Set up in the bottom paddock next to Mark Parrot and Robbie Silvester, Helen and Mack! 🐾 The weather forecast was looking promising and we were looking forward to some fast, safe and exciting racing! A number of teams, mainly solos, we’re missing from the paddock due to incidents in previous races and we wish them all well on their recovery.

Matty arrived with Lisa and the lads went to signing on, The sidecar grid was probably one of its lowest for many years and we really need to get it back up to some decent numbers.

Mondays practice was all set off ok and then we had the news that the engine had let go leaving Snugborough, heading for Union Mills in top at full chat! Television footage showed the smoke pouring out of the bike but Wayne managed to pull it in at the Railway without any oil being lost anywhere! So gutted as this is not the news we expected! The lads got back to the paddock and the outfit returned later on the recovery vehicle.

Very deflated, we got on the phone to Mike Cash, our main man with the engines, to give his verdict….. a piston had gone but Mike was sure he could fix it on site and was heading to the Island on the next ferry! Wayne changed the engine and we missed Tuesdays practice, however, when Mike arrived, he and Wayne got onto the data and discovered that there was still a problem. After a long phone call to Pete Alton, the map was changed and the motor was running as smooth and sweet as ever. Wednesday nights practice went ahead and under perfect conditions, Wayne and Matty had a lap under their belt!

Catching up with the Binns, Noel Beare, Helen, John, Patrick Farrance and the rest of the clan, we had a lush evening of BBQ, beverages and bonfire!

Dan, Ben and Bens hero… Patrick Farance!

Qualifying 3, The team went off ok but the news came in that they had retired at Rhencullen! What now?!!! After an arduous wait, we found out that it was only the lanyard which had come out and Wayne was able to fix it without any outside assistance! they asked the marshal if they could continue at race pace, not coasting, but the message came back as a ‘NO’!

At the end of the session, Wayne was told to follow the course car back and keep up, so he did, although the journey back became a little confusing and very frustrating, eventually the team got back to the paddock.

Qualifying 4 ….. Up to scuteneering, all looking spot on then they found a fuel leak!!! Back down to the awning and fixed that only to fid that the engine was flooded, then to top it all, the battery was flat!! if you was superstitious, you probably wouldnt of gone out at this point, but with Mike, Ben, Wayne and Matty doing absolutly everything to resolve the problems, they got the bike back through scruteneering just before the session lane was about to close!

We wouldnt of done all of this work so quickly and calmly without the mega support from Ben and Mike! Huge thank you boys!

Dirty Weekender Campervan Conversions… Jonny and Katie

Saturday, Race day

Starting #16, two places in front from our initial #18…….25 on the start line… Race delayed due to an incident on the mountain.

Off the start line and away down Bray Hill…. Wayne and Matty were looking to do a steady first lap, 2nd flying lap and the 3rd to bring her home with a good pace. After a slight hold up behind a couple of outfits, Wayne managed to over take and find open road to get on. They were putting in some excellent lap times, 108, 110 and an average for the race of a 107.069.

After the full 3 laps, the team came back with a very solid and creditable 7th place. Absolutely excellent. The outfit seemed to be running very well and Wayne and Matty were made up to of done the 110 again, though a first fastest time for Matty!!

Photo credit to Neil Jones, Crovan Images

We also had the 4th fastest time through the speed trap! Some going that team!

We also had the honour of James Hillier taking the drivers seat although from his reaction I think he prefers 2 wheels!! Thank you James, apparently Ben was a bit happy to be your passenger!

Huge weldone to Wayne and Matthew, They deserved this for all the hard work and dedication of working as a team. I would also like to say a huge thank you to Ben for helping out so much, Mike for dropping everything and getting to us to fix things, and the rest of the team for your unwavering support. We cant do it without any of you……

At the awards ceremony, Team boss, Miley, decided she would make a star appearance to help the lads collect their replicas and she seemed very comfortable up on stage!!

A day off to enjoy Laxey beach with Louisa, Taylor, Nikki-Leigh, Miley, Dean and Vicky and the kids….. oh, and Deans film crew!! Just one of the best places on the island for me.

We had a one lap dash before the second race, to get any outfit adjustments done, if needed, and to set us up for the second race. No problems for us and we were ready for the big day, Race 2.

My long time mate Woody, came to the island to watch the racing and I was over the moon when he said he’d be able to come to the start line for the race. It was a lovely tribute to an old friend and an exciting day for Woody to be a part of.

Setting off down Bray Hill for Race 2, sponsored by Nitron Suspension, in #16 place again, which was not the right place for the team, considering they’d had a faster lap time than some of the teams placed in front of them, but Wayne and Matty did everything they could to keep it on the noise and pass others where possibly. Times picked up and the team achieved another two 110 mph laps and finally managed to get a strong 9th place finish with an average time of 108.988, a little under what Wayne wanted but a solid and safe race. Huge congratulations to all the finishers and all who took part, even if it didn’t quite give you the result you wanted. Karl Schofield and Dave Quirk, wishing you a very speedy recovery from your little incident.

Lets get the sidecar grid back to its healthy numbers… we need more three wheels out there on the TT circuit, Southern 100 and all races. Support the sidecars.

We had one of the worst TT’s last year and one of our best this year…… we couldn’t of wished for better weather, fantastic racing and an incredible team, held together by some amazing supporters and sponsors.

W.M.B Logistics, Dirty Weekender Campervans, Nitron Suspension, Dorn Hill Machinery, TED, John Fisher, Kev Packer Body Shop, CSC Racing, Marin Motorsport, Paxford Garage, Jacko, Chris Beauman and all the Three Wheeling Media Team, all of the 110 Club members and every single one who supports us from near or far.

Thank you…….