THE astonishing run of 13 consecutive Sidecar TT wins by Manx drivers appears to be over.

The severe injuries suffered by lap record holder Nick Crowe in this year's abandoned second race have almost certainly ruled the Jurby man out of racing on the Mountain Course again, while arch rival Dave Molyneux — who cheated death in a similarly horrific high-speed crash at Rhencullen in 2006 — has confirmed that he has quit the sport for good.

Molyneux, the most successful sidecar driver in TT history with 14 wins to his name, is insistent that he made his mind up to quit long before the start of this year's event and the crash involving Crowe and passenger Mark Cox had no influence on his final decision.

But Molyneux and Dan Sayle, who partnered Nicky Crowe to the outright sidecar lap record of 166.67mph in 2007, were the first on the road behind the LCR Honda pair's high-speed smash at Ballacobb and there is little doubt the pair were stunned by what they saw.

'It was like a bombsite,' said Moly at the time, referring to the wreckage strewn across the road and the outfit which had burst into flames.

The incident reminded Molyneux starkly of the incredible crash he suffered just a mile or back down the track three years earlier when his Honda flipped over backwards at an estimated 140mph, trapping him briefly underneath it.

That outift also burned out, but Moly and passenger Craig Hallam miraculously walked away from the wreckage — although Moly's injuries were a good deal more serious than he at first admitted to.

Incredibly, he bounced back from that 2006 practice smash to win both races in 2007 with Rick Long when Crowe and Hope suffered a double DNF.

Brilliant innovator and chassis builder that he is, Molyneux is never one to do things by the book and he made a surprise switch from Honda to Suzuki last year.

Although things didn't altogether go to plan (his second place was the first time he had failed to win a race that he had finished since 2002) he was insistent that he had made the right move.

He proved his point in this year's delayed and what turned out to be lone three-wheel race when he and Dan Sayle won their final race together.

Twenty years after his first TT win with Colin Hardman and 24 years after his debut with Kirk Michael Primary School mate Paul Craine in 1984, then aged 21, Moly now says it is his last throw of the dice in what is undoubtedly a scary game of Russian roulette.

He knows that he and Nick Crowe have been on the edge for the past few years. 'Speeds will continue to rise, but there is a limit to how far a 600cc motor can be pushed and I think we came close to that with the technology, equipment and tyres available to us,' admitted Moly, confirming his retirement.

'I have little left to prove. I have won 14 TTs and I am very proud to bow out on the same number as Mike Hailwood - the greatest road racer of all time.

'Only Joey Dunlop and John McGuinness have won more and, when you consider that the solo riders can race five races each year and the sidecars just two, 14 wins isn't bad from a total of 36 starts.'

In all of those races, with 10 different passengers, Moly never finished outside of the top-10 - indeed he was only out of the top-six on one occasion.

In addition to his 14 victories he notched up five second places, three thirds, one fourth, two sixths and a single 10th in what was his first finish in 1987, partnered by Sulby's Paul Kneale. Five of his first six rides on the course resulted in retirements.

He scored singles wins with Doug Jewell and the late Colin Hardman, doubles with Karl Ellison, Pete Hill, Rick Long and Craig Hallam, plus four with Dan Sayle.

His sweetest TT win was arguably his last at a race record pace of 115.132mph and his most impressive in 2005 when he and Sayle were the first in history to achieve a sub-20 minute lap in a sidecar, going on to complete the entire three laps in under one hour.

Moly's other passenger was resident Dubliner Alan Langton who he claimed a sixth place finish with in 1988.

Away from the Mountain Course, Molyneux was equally as impressive on the short circuits aznd arguably could have made it to the very top of the world sidecar scene had he had the full backing, machinery and the large helping of good fortune that every elite sportsman requires.

Molyneux has thousands of fans across the globe, but many cynics will be quick to say that he has announced his retirement a couple of times before and returned.

If he is to do that on this occasion Moly will have to have a tattoo on his shoulder, announcing '14 times TT winner', removed - and he hates pain !


Courtesy John Watterson IOM Newspapers.