Dramatic Brands sees Blackstock and Lawrence crowned champions.

From the BRITISH SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP SITE CLICK BELOW

The dull, grey weather prevailing over recent days persisted into Kent for the SSD sponsored Brands Hatch finale. Friday saw free practice kicking off the action with Lewis Blackstock/Oscar Lawrence setting the standard ahead of Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau. The defending world champions were again crowned 2025 FIM Champions in the final round at Oschersleben but were later the subject of an alleged technical infringement. At the time of going to press, the result of that investigation remained unresolved, so the title is still in limbo, subject to the final decision expected next week.

The track was dry for both free practice and the thirty-minute qualifying later in the afternoon, although the temperature had dropped markedly. 

Ben Birchall with Mark Wilkes aboard show showed well initially along with the Laidlow brothers and Luke Williams/Kevin Kolsch. A red flag brought things to a close with an incident at Sheen Curve involving seventy-five years old Brian Gray and young Frankie Muldoon.

At half-distance, Sam and Jack Laidlow headed the times, with an “all-out” philosophy for the weekend. It chopped and changed constantly heading towards the conclusion as Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau went top, six-tenths ahead of Blackstock. One second split the top four with six minutes left on the clock. Into the final two minutes, and Blackstock/Lawrence shot to the top with the Laidlow brothers grabbing third from Williams/Kolsch. That was how it ended up, with Blackstock claiming pole position ahead of Payne and Rousseau.

Race One – Late on Saturday the penultimate race for the 2025 SSD British Sidecar Championship got underway. The light was fading but what unfolded on track shone brightly over the entire ten laps. From the lights, Lewis Blackstock and Oscar Lawrence shot into the lead followed by Sam and Jack Laidlow diving through the middle, eclipsing Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau. The reigning World Champions also lost out to Luke Williams/Kevin Kolsch, so they would have to fight from fourth place. Behind them came the Ben Birchall and Mark Wilkes Hager Honda closely followed by Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clement. These two outfits had a race-long battle, swapping places between themselves, also mixing it with the Laidlow brothers after they slipped back from the front.

The defending British champions fought all the way, passing and repassing, but it came to an end when their Yamaha/LCR blew an engine on the penultimate lap.

Meanwhile, at the front, Blackstock/Lawrence extended their lead after shaking off the Laidlow threat, but Williams/Kolsch were now dealing with a real problem in the shape of the Payne/Rousseau Steinhausen Yamaha. They were on a mission and made a move on Williams into second place. As they were entered as wild cards, they would not take championship points, but the move unsettled Williams. At the same time, Ellis/Clement got the better of Ben Birchall, moving fourth with the Laidlow’s demise. This was the best display by the Brookland Yamaha pairing on home ground this season, and they will be lifted for the final race tomorrow. Like Payne, they were not taking points, so Birchall/Wilkes scored the third-place reward in that respect.

On the final lap, Blackstock lost some time, appearing to slow, as Payne and Rousseau took control at the front. On the run to the flag, Luke Williams sensed a winning result but could not overhaul Blackstock who hung on to claim maximum points and close the gap.

Certainly, behind this enormous scrap at the front, the best of the rest was Rob Biggs with Ferry Segers in sixth place, just nineteen seconds off Birchall/Wilkes.

A great performance saw Cup winners Rob Atkinson/Mark Middleton overcome a late challenge by Paul Kirby and Ema Salmon, they having already fought past Phil Bell/Phil Hyde, opening a five-second gap in so doing. The RAF Motorsport team has improved race by race, with things looking very promising for next season.

Mention must be made of the sterling effort by Tim Reeves who started from the back of the grid, having only completed three sighting laps with Danyon Turner alongside. A new name for all of us, the young Australian arrived in the country yesterday, only getting clearance to ride late last night. He had never seen the track before but the confidence between them built to the extent they brought it home in eighth place.

Result – 1/ Payne/Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing), 2/ Blackstock/Lawrence (DHR Yamaha), 3/ Williams/Kolsch (AQ Logistics Yamaha), 4/ Ellis/Clement (Brookland Yamaha), 5/ Birchall/Wilkes (Hager RYDE Honda),

6/ Biggs/Segers (Express Tyres Service Yamaha), 7/ Crowe/Crowe (Opul/Kel Honda), 8/ Reeves/Turner (Reeves Racing Yamaha), 9/ Atkinson/Middleton, 10/ Kirby/Salmon.

Race Two – Close to eleven in the morning, the ambient temperature had dropped significantly, but the track was dry for the final outing.

Williams was on the front row alongside pole man Payne, with Blackstock joining the Laidlow brothers on row two. Ellis and Birchall formed row three with Biggs and Reeves completing the fourth row.

Ten laps were again scheduled with Blackstock fully aware he needed to take maximum points. The gap between himself and Luke Williams was now thirteen points.

The warm-up lap was uneventful, but to the total despair of Luke Williams and Kevin Kolsch, as they arrived to take up their front row position, there was a problem with the machine. It was pushed off the grid, only to find the fault was terminal. Words cannot define how they must have felt.

When the lights went out, Blackstock/Lawrence chased pole sitters Payne/Rousseau into Paddock Hill Bend challenged by Sam and Jack Laidlow. The Cumbrian brothers were safe in third place in the standings, so they were now racing for reputation and personal satisfaction. Behind them, a very strong start by Birchall/Wilkes and Ellis/Clement took the fight to the Laidlows.

There was a veritable freight-train stacking up behind, with Tim Reeves and Danyon Turner, Rob Biggs/Ferry Segers and the Manx Crowe brothers very much in contention. Reeves had come from eighth place on the grid, was lapping quickly, and giving his young Australian passenger a baptism of fire. He had every intention of moving further up, but then a mechanical problem forced him into pit-lane.

This was a thoroughly entertaining race with every team pulling out all the stops. At the front, Ellis had now caught Blackstock and was in pursuit of Payne/Rousseau, almost catching them at the flag.

Blackstock and Lawrence were now bringing it home safely, and the finish could not come soon enough. It was just reward for over a tough season in which they recovered from a eighty-eight-point deficit earlier on in the year.

Williams/Kolsch clinched second place, what might have been this weekend, will have to wait for next season.

Another very consistent performance by Rob Biggs kept him a respectable fifth in the standings, destined to wear the number five plate once more in 2026.

Cup race winners again. Atkinson/Middleton showed a clean pair of heels to Phil Bell/Phil Hyde and Paul Kirby/Ema Salmon, the latter team clinching the Cup title.

Result – 1/ Payne/Rousseau, 2/ Ellis/Clement, 3/ Blackstock/Lawrence

4/ Birchall/Wilkes, 5/ Laidlow/Laidlow, 6/ Crowe/Crowe, 7/ Biggs/Segers

8/ Atkinson/Middleton, 9/ Bell/Hyde, 10/ Kirby/Salmon

Final Championship Position – 1/ Blackstock/Lawrence 239,

2/ Williams/Kolsch 227, Laidlow/Laidlow 195, 4/ Christie/Christie 155,

5/ Biggs/Segers 144, 6/ Birchall/Rosney/Wilkes 132.

Cup Class– 1/ Kirby/Salmon 291 2/ Bell/Hyde 272, 3/ Atkinson/Middleton 240, 4/ Peach/Hope 137, 5/ Moss/Hauxwell 81 

Stay with us here for all updates and news as it happens on www.britishsidecarchampionship.co.uk

Words – Barry Nutley

Image – LC Photography