Round 7 of the British Formula One sidecar Championship at Thruxton in Hampshire over the weekend of the 31st July to 2nd August 2015 was a home round for the Championship leaders of driver Ricky Stevens from Havant and his passenger Ryan Charlwood from Dover.
Their AOS/ Be Wiser team have a 57.5pt lead in this very competitive series run alongside the British superbike Championship.
With a Friday practice and qualifying and two eight lap races on Saturday and a Sunday lunchtime televised race there were plenty of points to race for. This circuit is the fastest in the country and very unforgiving on riders and their machines. The previous weekend the team had a successful testing session at the circuit competing in some club races. The pair were hoping to tighten their grip on the Championship with the three races and tighten it they did in a completely dominant way.
Completing 14 laps in qualifying they finished in second behind their nearest rivals Andy Peach and Charlie Richardson by only 0.026 of a second.
After qualifying Ricky said “Fair play to Peachy he rode well. I know where I can go faster and I feel the lap record will go with the speed we reach at this circuit.”
Race one proved the point. Peach and Richardson had their usual great start. Ricky and Ryan stayed with them and then on lap four made their move. Pulling away the pair gave a commanding performance winning by an eight second margin from Peach and Richardson and in third the Scottish pair of Stephen Kershaw and Rob Wilson. Most importantly the lap record went with a new time set of one minute 18.006 seconds at an average speed of 108.73 mph.
Race two was even better for the pair. This time they took the lead from the start and stamped their authority over Peach and Richardson who were having to keep Kershaw and Wilson at bay. With what can only be described as a near perfect performance Ricky and Ryan again broke the lap record with a one minute 17.507 second lap on lap four at an incredible speed of 109.43 mph, with Peach and Richardson finishing 13.3 seconds behind just in front of the Scottish pair.
Sunday's lunch time race was watched by a huge crowd basking in sunshine and again it was a masterclass from the young pair. From the start Peach and Richardson again took the lead but on lap two just before the chicane they were overtaken by the flying Championship leaders. Again they were running at their own lap record pace setting another one minute 17.909 second lap on lap four, just outside the lap record. They took the chequered flag 12 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals Peach and Richardson. They now have a 72.5pt lead in the Championship having won the last seven out of eight races.
Speaking at the end of the meeting a delighted Ricky said “What a weekend three wins and two lap records. Ryan did a superb job and thanks to all the team and sponsors AOS, Somrow Construction, DFDS Seaways, Molson, E Payme, Stevens Developments, Cool Milk, Matco Tools, KGN Pillenger, Qube, Power Maxed and Maple Manor Parking.”
An equally delighted Ryan said “Everything went right, it's a hard circuit for passengers but I knew we could have good results here. The team have worked so hard so thanks to them.”
The next round is in seven weeks at the TT circuit of Assen in the Netherlands. For sponsorship opportunities please contact Wayne Stevens on 07599 271829
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