After six podium finishes and over 20 years of racing at the TT, Conrad Harrison finally made his way to the top step of the podium in the first Sidecar race of the 2014 Isle of Man TT.
Partnering Mike Alyott, the duo took the victory by 17 seconds from former winners John Holden and Andy Winkle, while 2013 winner Tim Reeves, with new partner Gregory Cluze, rounded out the podium placings a further 16 seconds behind.
Conditions for the race were perfect, as they were in the morning’s Superbike encounter, and it was Ben and Tom Birchall who took the early advantage ahead of Holden/Winkle. Dave Molyneux and Patrick Farrance held third, while Harrison/Alyott and Reeves/Cluze completed the top five.
By the end of the lap the Birchalls were in control, while Molyneux/Farrance moved up to second ahead of Holden/Winkle.
The Birchalls’ lead was short lived, however, as news came through that the outfit had crashed out at the Black Dub, promoting Molyneux/Farrance in to the lead by a clear ten second margin over Holden/Winkle and Harrison/Alyott. The brothers sustained minor injuries in the carsh, but were taken to Nobles Hospital for further assessment.
Molyneux/Farrance then began to take advantage of the clear road of starting at number one, holding a mammoth 21.5 second lead at the end of the second lap. It was the battle for second was the one to watch, with Holden/Winkle and Harrison/Alyott separated by less than a second. Their battle soon became the battle for the lead, though, as Molyneux/Farrance failed to appear at Glen Helen on the final lap, retiring at Hawthorn.
As the lap continued, it was clear that Harrison/Alyott had the advantage, opening up a sizeable margin as they put in their best ever lap around the TT Course (114.674mph), winning by 17 seconds over Holden/Winkle, while Reeves/Cluze were a similar distance back in third.