Nick Crowe made it a Manx double when he took his second victory of the week in Wednesday’s Sure Mobile F2 Sidecar race coming home just over ten seconds clear of arch rival Dave Molyneux and Daniel Sayle. For Crowe, with Mark Cox on board, it was his fifth TT victory and moved him to 5th overall on the all time winners list behind Molyneux, Rob Fisher, Dave Saville and Siegfried Schauzu. Having caught Molyneux on the road, the duo treated the fans to a high-speed dual that saw them never more than inches apart and the two current masters of the sidecar class crossed the line together. John Holden and Andy Winkle brought their Suzuki powered outfit home in 3rd for their second rostrum of the week.

Conditions were still good for the afternoon’s race but the winds were again a problem with the sidecar crews warned that they were particularly strong at the Mountain Mile, the Mountain Box and Brandywell whilst they were also deemed to be gusting at the Verandah. Crowe and Cox made a blistering start on their Honda and they seized the lead at Glen Helen on the opening lap and had Molyneux and Sayle firmly in their sights. Indeed, the 13 times winner was down in third at the first checkpoint, Holden and Winkle nosing ahead into second. Klaus Klaffenbock and Christian Parzer occupied fourth ahead of Phil Dongworth/Stu Castles and Steve Norbury/Rick Long.

Crowe had the magnets on Molyneux and as they crossed the line to start their second lap he was only a second behind on the road and, thus, 9 seconds ahead on corrected time. Holden was slipping off the pace slightly, suffering with a few handling issues, but he was comfortable in third whilst Klaffenbock and Norbury were having a great scrap for fourth. Dongworth was in sixth but coming under extreme pressure from Saturday’s sensations, Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance.

Crowe overtook Molyneux on the road on the second lap and, for the remainder of the race, the duo circulated in close formation, later admitting that paintwork had been exchanged on a number of occasions! The crowds lining the course were witnessing a real spectacle but, having made up the time on the road, Crowe knew the race was his and although Molyneux tried to edge ahead, his fellow Manxman was having none of it and kept him firmly at the bay.

Although no records were broken, Crowe and Molyneux were lapping in the 114mph+ bracket, which no one else could match, and they were well clear of Holden who was never challenged for third. Crowe eventually took the win by 10.5seconds with Holden 34 seconds adrift of Molyneux in third, although it was again another excellent result by the Clitheroe driver.

The battle for fourth went right down to the wire and it was Norbury and Long who prevailed over Klaffenbock and Parzer by the tiny margin of 0.89seconds – after 113miles of racing! For the Austrian pairing though, there was still great satisfaction, having achieved their first TT finish since 2005.

Reeves and Farrance lapped in excess of 112mph to take sixth and cap a simply stunning TT debut whilst Dongworth and Castles took seventh, the Worcestershire driver also enjoying a strong TT08 after suffering a number of breakdowns in recent years.

Simon Neary and Jamie Winn finished in eighth with the top 12 completed by Nigel Connole/Dipash Chauhan, Dougie Wright/Stuart Bond, Gary Bryan/Robert Bell and Greg Lambert/Sally Wilson. Newcomers Mark and David Brown had an excellent drive into 21st, lapping at an excellent 104.655mph.

Kenny Howles and Doug Jewell were airlifted to hospital following an incident at the 11th milestone and there are no details on their condition currently available.


Results

Lap by Lap

Provisional Result