In ideal conditions Klaus Klaffenbock and Daniel Sayle completed a hat trick of wins together, with victory in the Sure Sidecar Race 1 at TT 2011. For Daniel it was his seventh win, after four with the now retired legend who is Dave Molyneux.

Klaffi had a cunning plan and it worked to perfection. John Holden and Andy Winkle were first to start and had targets painted on their backs as far as Klaffi was concerned. He wanted to catch them as soon as possible knowing that all he had to do then was stay close to them and the race would belong to him and Daniel. At Glen Helen, Klaffi had gained one second of the starting interval to lead the race from Holden; Conrad Harrison and Mike Aylott were third 4s back on Holden, with Tim Reeves and Greg Cluze in fourth. At Ballaugh the lead for Klaffi was up to 3.14s.

Holden was the first to emerge into the sunshine at Waterworks and was rapid through the two right handers. Klaffi was next and clearly well ahead on time; the watch showed a lead of 5.19s. Harrison was third 10.28s behind Harrison and in turn just 2.05s ahead of Reeves. Tony Elmer/Darren Marshall and Gary Bryan/Jamie Winn filled the next two placings as the outfits powered away up the climb to Tower Bends and the Gooseneck beyond.

Klaffi had caught and passed Holden by Cronk ny Mona and with an opening lap at 114.460mph led by 11.28s. Reeves had a quick trip over the mountain and held third by 3.57s from Harrison. Elmer and Bryan completed the top six; all of whom lapped at over 110mph.

At Glen Helen the lead was just 0.1s less than at the Grandstand with Klaffi unable to break the tow he was now giving to Holden. Reeves had eked out an advantage of 4s over Harrison; 6s further back was Elmer who had a similar advantage over Bryan. At Ballaugh Holden led on the road to be 9.98s down on corrected time. At Waterworks there were just 5 metres between Klaffi and Holden as their race on the track heated up.

They exchanged positions several more times; enjoying themselves in the sunshine and putting on a show for the fans. Daniel Sayle said that this race was like the race that he had alongside Dave Molyneux, when Nick Crowe and Mark Cox were the opponents. Holden was marginally quicker on lap 2; going around the world’s best road race circuit at 114.861mph to Klaffi’s 114.798mph. Reeves lapped at 112.881mph to extend his advantage over Harrison to 6.29s. Elmer held 5th and Bryan 6th. The Birchall brothers were 7th and the returnee Dougie Wright was 8th.

Newcomers Carl Fenwick and Mark Sayers were getting to grips with the circuit; lapping at over 107mph and holding 10th position.

Klaffenbock and Holden were just 0.2s apart on the road at Ballaugh; behind them Harrison was piling on the coals and closing on Reeves. At Waterworks Klaffi had a 100m lead on the roads and victory in the bag if the machine kept behaving itself. Our watch showed Reeves to be2.6s ahead of Harrison as they accelerated away up the mountain for the final time. Klaffi had a trouble free run over the mountain and took his victory by 11.62s. Reeves had his slowest lap of the race and this allowed Harrison; who set his fastest lap of the race, to claim the final podium placing. Elmer and Bryan duly completed the leader board. The Birchalls, Dougie Wright and Greg Lambert were the other silver replica winners.

Sure Sidecar Race 1

1. Klaus Klaffenbock / Daniel Sayle LCR Honda 114.262mph
2. John Holden / Andy Winkle LCR Suzuki 113.890mph
3. Conrad Harrison / Mike Aylott Shelbourne Honda 112.273mph
4. Tim Reeves / Gregory Cluze Haith Honda 111.893mph
5. Tony Elmer / Darren Marshall Ireson Yamaha 111.490mph
6. Gary Bryan / Jamie Winn Baker Honda 110.701mph