Ben and Tom Birchall took their fourth career Isle of Man TT victory today as the duo bounced back in style in the second Sidecar race.
The IEG Racing duo were locked in battle with Dave Molyneux and Daniel Sayle for the first lap of the race, but their rivals were forced into retirement and the brothers took a comfortable victory by 38.7 seconds.
John Holden and Andy Winkle took second place ahead of Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance in third and final podium position.
The start of the race was delayed by over three hours due to sea mist but once the race got underway it was Molyneux and Sayle who led at Glen Helen, just a tenth ahead of Holden and Winkle.
By the time they had reached Ramsey the gap was half-a-second but it was now Holden who was leading, with Birchall only a second further adrift in third.
The order changed again at the Grandstand as Molyneux re-took the lead ahead of the Birchalls, with Holden slipping back down to third – almost four seconds behind.
The Birchall brothers took the lead for the first time on the second lap and took a half-second lead ahead of Molyneux.
The new leaders put the hammer down and increased their lead to 4.5 seconds at Ramsey. Their second lap was at a speed of 116.615mph and the lead went up to 6.2 seconds as the duo started their final lap.
There was drama on the final lap as Molyneux and Sayle failed to make it to Glen Helen, with the duo retiring at Ballig Bridge.
This gave full control of the race to the Birchalls, who now had a 28 second lead. The pair managed their time brilliantly and clinched their fourth TT victory.
Holden and Winkle’s second place was enough for them to take the overall Sidecar Championship.
Karl Bennett and Lee Cain bounced back from their first race retirement to take fourth place, with Matt Dix and Shaun Parker taking a career-best fifth place.
