CRMC Brands Hatch Race Report

[sidecar bloke]

BRANDS HATCH – A TOPSY TURVY GRID!

Firstly I must apologise for the lateness of the report – my world seems to have been turned upside down of late, at times I didn’t know whether I was on my *rse or my elbow!!

Brands started perfectly with Christine and Dennis Etheridge cordoning off the CRMC sidecar paddock to perfection. A fantastic entry parked up cheek by jowl to enjoy another great weekend of racing and Gristwood hospitality – more of that later.

This being the first round of the European Sidecar Team Challenge we were joined by Richard Pouwels and Kim van Goch aboard their Ironhead Harley Davidson 1000cc, Ulrich and Germar Seubert on their 850cc Wessie and Harri Vasen and Edmond Cremers from Belgium with the 950 Wessie. Sadly Jean Pierre Capel, Captain of Team Europe was not well enough to travel after his accident in the Czech Republic (on a solo). Damien Perilleux had a wedding to attend (not his I believe) so he also was missing. It was good to see Richard and Samantha Holmes back, apparently the carburetion gremlin has been stamped out. Bobby Szarek and Roger Fuller were out on their Wessie “well, it’s Brands” and Clive Stirrat had decided to blow the dust off and join us again – a perfect entry.

Practice saw problems for one or two. Harri blew a head gasket which required a change of motor and our Windle once again blew some oil.

Race 1 Saturday. The grid stretched way back along the Brabham Straight, a fine sight for sidecar enthusiasts. The flag dropped and the grid charged into Paddock Hill Bend; the blind apex right hander was the scene of mayhem – a racing incident by two front runners was causing the rest of the field, who were arriving full chat, to shoot in all directions to avoid the bodies and bikes in the track. Some seven outfits were left strewn around – fortunately damage to bikes and crews was a lot less than at first thought so the race was restarted after the lunch break, minus a few crews sadly.

Race 1 Take 2 – Much better start!! Eddy Wright and Vicky Cooke cleanly away and round Paddock to take the lead, chased by Brian Gray and Alan Bedford, Dave and Keith Latheron holding third – the Wessie working well (they’re from Up North). Eddy and Vicky held the lead until lap 4 when Brian squeezed past. The Latherons were still in third but coming through the field was the Holmes’ Saab and Bill Hodgkins on the Period 2 Norton Windle. At the flag Brian took the win ahead of Eddy with the Latherons in third. Bill Hodgkins was first P2 home ahead of Brian Toombs and Trevor Johnson. In P1 Eddy Toombs and Ian Salter took the win ahead of Dennis and Christine.

Race 2 – Once again Eddy and Vicky were off to a grand start but that pesky No.7 of Brian and Alan was not far behind. Dave and Keith, third in race 1, fancied their chances in race 2 but Richard’s Saab was also not far behind and on lap 2 the Saab passed the Wessie. It was a bit déjà vu at the front as Brian took the lead from Eddy on lap 4 again. Rather liking their new purchase were Simon Smith and Dave Gristwood running a strong sixth place. So as the chequered flag fell it was Brian and Alan in front of Eddy and Vicky, the Latherons snatching the third place back on the last lap. Bill Hodgkins was against first P2 home with Brian and Trevor ahead of Andy Raynor and Loraine Bown third on the mighty Triumph. P1 honours were taken by the Etheridges Norton – the passenger looking a bit like Andrew Johnson, with Eddy Toombs and Ian Salter on the BMW in second place.

So ended an eventful days racing – just time to check the outfit over, clean up and get ready for the Grand Gristwood Extravaganza! The food was fantastic – enough to feed the sidecar grid twice over; the beer flowed freely but was obviously consumed by competitors in moderation. The singing by some was pleasing to the ear, by others, namely Dave Gristwood and Phil, the Pikey Pirate, frankly awful. Team Banshee arrived back from hospital duly plastered and bandaged and, lets face it, extracted maximum sympathy and frankly milked the situation I thought!! Still, Kev did end up with his own personal nursey!!! Once again a big thanks to Simon and Dave for organising a fantastic evening/night. This is why, if you race a sidecar, the CRMC is the place to race! So ended Saturday, well actually it went some way into Sunday and Ben Gray was still in his seat at 6.30 a.m. Sunday morning, comatose but still at the site of the party!

Sunday Race 1 – As before Eddy Wright took the lead from Brian and Alan. However, behind things had changed. On lap 1 Mike Bellaby and Karl Underwood had got the Wessie to work at last, coming in third and Matt Kingsmill and Andrew Johnson were running strongly in fourth, the Latherons finding themselves in eighth spot. Brian took one less lap this time to take the lead, nudging Eddy back to second on lap 3. Mike Bellaby slid to sixth at the flag but at least he saw the flag and led a fantastic mid-field battle consisting of Mike and his Wessie, Harri Vasen and his Wessie, Ulrich Seubert also Wessie powered, Bill Hodgkins’ 750 Norton and Simon Smith and Dave Gristwood getting the feel of the new Imp – great stuff. P3 Brian led from Eddy, Matt in third; P2 Bill Hodgkins from Brian Toombs and Andy Rayner; P1 Dennis Etheridge with James Blackmore replacing Christine in the chair.

Race 2 Sunday – A change at last as Matt and Andrew led the field over the line to complete lap 1 but neither Eddy nor Brian were far behind and on lap 2 it was the orange Imp out front. Brian had taken it steady all weekend making his move to the front when the backmarkers became involved. Sadly his plans would crash when on lap 4 the red flags were thrown after some confusion over real estate had caused the Tapsells’ Triple to tip as they rounded Druids, in the process Grant, the rider, badly breaking his arm – a horrendous way to end the weekend (a) because of Grant’s arm and (b) because the brothers seemed to have sorted the thing at last. P1 honours went to Dennis and James just ahead of Eddy Toombs and Ian Salter. P2 Bill Hodgkins and Bert Vloemans, Andy Rayner and Loraine with Reg and Kerry Charlesworth third. P3 Eddy and Vicky took the win with Brian and Alan second and Matt and Andrew third.

So ended a fantastic weekend, some grat racing as usual and an evening to remember Saturday night. Once again thanks to Team Gristwood. As far as the injured go Grant Tapsell and Phil Biggs have youth on their side, Kevin Roughan is slightly the wrong side of 40 and as far as Vince Biggs and myself – way past 40! Still I’m sure we’ll all be back ASAP – as they say “sh*t happens”. See you all at Snetterton if not in Belgium before then.

Ian

[Triplebrew]

Race 2 Sunday –Sadly his plans would crash when on lap 4 the red flags were thrown after some confusion over real estate had caused the Tapsells’ Triple to tip as they rounded Druids, in the process Grant, the rider, badly breaking his arm – a horrendous way to end the weekend (a) because of Grant’s arm and (b) because the brothers seemed to have sorted the thing at last. P1 honours went to Dennis and James just ahead of Eddy Toombs and Ian Salter. P2 Bill Hodgkins and Bert Vloemans, Andy Rayner and Loraine with Reg and Kerry Charlesworth third. P3 Eddy and Vicky took the win with Brian and Alan second and Matt and Andrew third.

So ended a fantastic weekend, some grat racing as usual and an evening to remember Saturday night. Once again thanks to Team Gristwood. As far as the injured go Grant Tapsell and Phil Biggs have youth on their side, Kevin Roughan is slightly the wrong side of 40 and as far as Vince Biggs and myself – way past 40! Still I’m sure we’ll all be back ASAP – as they say “sh*t happens”. See you all at Snetterton if not in Belgium before then.

Ian

No confusion at all. It was pretty simple really - we were HIT by an outfit from behind that shoved us across the circuit and very nearly flipped us over.

[djtriumph]

Great report which has of course has to be written from an impartial viewpoint.

[Triplebrew]

Fully agree, however the wording chosen could have been better eg.

Sadly his plans would crash when on lap 4 the red flags were thrown after a coming toether of 3 outfits which resulted in the Tapsells’ Triple almost being tipped as they rounded Druids, in the process Grant, the rider, badly breaking his arm – a horrendous way to end the weekend (a) because of Grant’s arm and (b) because the brothers seemed to have sorted the thing at last. P1 honours went to Dennis and James just ahead of Eddy Toombs and Ian Salter. P2 Bill Hodgkins and Bert Vloemans, Andy Rayner and Loraine with Reg and Kerry Charlesworth third. P3 Eddy and Vicky took the win with Brian and Alan second and Matt and Andrew third.

I feel as written in its original form it gives the wrong impression that a) we caused the red flags and b) the accident was our own doing.

[NickR]

Ian, It was a racing incident, no-one did it deliberately. As Ian said: "Sh1t happens."

At the end of the day, it's sidecar racing not shove ha'penny.

[Simon Smith]

Thanks for another great report Ian (especially after what happened to you and Kevin).

[Triplebrew]

Ian, It was a racing incident, no-one did it deliberately. As Ian said: "Sh1t happens."

At the end of the day, it's sidecar racing not shove ha'penny.

You are completely missing my point. I know it was a racing incident. What has got my back up is the way the report was written. The incident in Saturdays race was written with no names mentioned at all. However Sundays incident states names and the way I have read it implies that we were at fault. If I am being over sensitive then I am sorry

[Vicky Cooke]

Great report Ian, hope to see you out again soon

[sidecar bloke]

Ian/Grant
Firstly I apologise if you feel I have misrepresented your accident at Druids. I'm not a journalist just an engineer/builder trying to do my bit for the CRMC sidecar grid. To me " a confusion over real estate" infers two or more outfits trying to occupy the same piece of track and I thought the article inferred you WERE the innocent party. I feel sure if you spoke to all three drivers you would get three different versions. I certainly don't intend pointing fingers, especially when sitting in a wheel chair some 200 yards away.

The facts are you were nearly turned over and Grant sadly broke his arm. With hindsight I could have worded it differently and I agree your version is a good option. So, once again I apologise for any distress I may have caused you both.

Hopefully see you both at Snetterton. If Kev's not up to it and Grant's arm isn't fixed I may need a passenger!
What are you doing?

Ian

[Triplebrew]

Hi IAn, no worries. Perhaps I have got a 'little bent out of shape' over it Guess things are just getting a bit on top of me at the moment. Up until; this morning things were looking pretty good as the he was to visit the hospital today for the remaining stitches to be removed and a final check up. We had alreasy booked to appear at the Beezumph rally on the strength of his positive vist last week. However today when they took further x-rays it transpires that the bolts fitted have caused a couple of small fractures . Having just had the dissapointment of not going to Chimay and now being told he cannot use his arm at all for 8 weeks things are all a bit grim. Definately not riding at Snetterton and Cadwell is a

[sidecar bloke]

Have just spoken to Kevin who was sitting in the fracture clinic next to Grant this morning. Sorry to hear things aren't going so well for Grant - Kev got the all clear but still thinks he might not go back to work until next Monday!

Ian

[Triplebrew]

Have just spoken to Kevin who was sitting in the fracture clinic next to Grant this morning. Sorry to hear things aren't going so well for Grant - Kev got the all clear but still thinks he might not go back to work until next Monday!

Ian

Great news Ian, how are you 'repairing'?

[sidecar bloke]

The bones appear to be mending OK. Plaster due to come off Jehonville weekend - it's a lovely shade of flourescent pink and I'm getting quite attached to it! Not too much bruising - due to having pretty thick skin!!

Ian

[Triplebrew]

it's a lovely shade of flourescent pink and I'm getting quite attached to it! Not too much bruising - due to having pretty thick skin!!Ian

Is that your leg..........................or the cast

[Triplebrew2]

[